Chldren Bedding

Buying baby bedding can be a fun purchase to make before your baby is born. Bedding can form part of a layette, a mixture of clothing and bedding for a new baby.

Sheets and blankets
Although you can now buy baby sleeping bags for newborn babies, most parents start off with cotton sheets and cotton cellular blankets. They are easy to layer and keep your baby at the right temperature: you can simply add or take away a blanket if your baby is too hot or too cold. You could also cut and hem sheets from an adult bed if you don't want to buy sheets especially for a cot.

If your baby starts off in a carrycot or Moses basket, you can also buy special 'pram size' sheets and blankets. Generally speaking, you will need about four sheets and two or three blankets to start with. Sheets are usually made of either traditional woven cotton, brushed flannelette which feels warm to the touch, stretch cotton terry or cotton jersey. Stretch fitted sheets are very useful as they are less likely to come untucked while your baby sleeps and are quick and easy to put on and take off.

If your baby's bedroom is very cold, you can use acrylic cellular blankets rather than cotton ones, which wash well. If you buy traditional wool blankets, check to see if they can be machine-washed. Polyester fleece blankets are widely available too and are very useful for the pram on a cold day but they may make your baby too hot.

Sleeping bags
Sleeping bags are very popular with many parents nowadays. The great thing about them is that your baby can't kick them off, which means that he is less likely to wake up because he's feeling too cold. Although you can buy baby sleeping bags for newborn babies, most parents start using them when their baby is a few weeks or months old. If you are using a sleeping bag for your baby, you will only need a few bottom sheets for the cot as well. Or, if it is a very cold day, you may want to put a sheet or a blanket over the sleeping bag.

The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths recommends that you should always use the right size sleeping bag for your baby and not put him in a sleeping bag which is too large, as he could slide down inside the bag. Also they state that you should never use a sleeping bag with a quilt or duvet, as it will make your baby far too hot.

Tip: A 2.5 tog sleeping bag is all the warmth you need, even in winter. If you buy anything higher than this, it could make your baby too hot. See our temperature chart below for more information.

Pros

No covers to throw off means your baby stays the same temperature all night

If you're away from home and your baby will be sleeping in an unfamiliar place, the sleeping bag will be something familiar to him

Cons

Older babies and toddlers might find sleeping bags too constricting and try and undo the zip fastener

Babies can't move around in bed as easily as if they were using blankets and sheets.
Room temperature and bedding guide

Room Temperature and Bedding Guide
Room Temp: 24 degrees C / 75 degrees F
Amount of Bedding: 1 Sheet
Tog rating for sleeping bags: 0.5
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Room Temp: 21 degrees C / 70 degrees F
Amount of Bedding: 1 Sheet w/ 1 blanket
Tog rating for sleeping bags: 1
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Room Temp: 18 degrees C / 65 degrees F
Amount of Bedding: 1 Sheet w/ 2 blankets
Tog rating for sleeping bags: 2.5
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Room Temp: 16 degrees C / 60 degrees F
Amount of Bedding: 1 Sheet w/ 3 blankets
Tog rating for sleeping bags: 2.5 & 1 blanket
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Duvets and pillows
Duvets and pillows are not recommended for your baby until he is a year old because they can restrict your baby's movement and may make him too hot. Once your baby is over a year old, you may wish to use a duvet instead of blankets and sheets or a sleeping bag. Quilts and duvets are available with a variety of fillings including a hypoallergenic version. If you buy a quilt, look for a cover made of 100 per cent cotton and buy a spare one so that you can have another to hand when the dirty one is in the wash.

Pros

Giving your baby a quilt may help him get used to it when you eventually move to a grown-up bed

Bed making is easier and quicker than with blankets and sheets

Cons

Not really a necessary purchase. You can stick with blankets and sheets or a sleeping bag until your baby moves to a "big bed".

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