Baby bed

stickybean

Just a quick one... looking for some advice on what to get for in the babies bed? We have a moses basket for downstairs and a crib for upstairs. We got the safety mattresses for both.

A friend said juts to use pillow cases as the sheet for the mattress, they work out cheaper and you go through a lot. After that... what do we need?

In Mother Care they said a Cleva Mama pillow is now recommended from birth as it stops flat head? I had never heard of this.

Is it okay to use a bumper? I am hearing mixed reviews... also they seem to come with a quilt but we were told only to use cellular blankets and only ever one layer to avoid suffocation? We're due baby in December when it will be much colder. Surely more than one layer is needed?

Also gro bags and swaddles? Are these instead or an add on?

Sorry for all the questions... my mission this week is to get all the bedding sorted

Cakerbaker

stickybean wrote: »

Just a quick one... looking for some advice on what to get for in the babies bed? We have a moses basket for downstairs and a crib for upstairs. We got the safety mattresses for both.

A friend said juts to use pillow cases as the sheet for the mattress, they work out cheaper and you go through a lot. After that... what do we need?

In Mother Care they said a Cleva Mama pillow is now recommended from birth as it stops flat head? I had never heard of this.

Is it okay to use a bumper? I am hearing mixed reviews... also they seem to come with a quilt but we were told only to use cellular blankets and only ever one layer to avoid suffocation? We're due baby in December when it will be much colder. Surely more than one layer is needed?

Also gro bags and swaddles? Are these instead or an add on?

Sorry for all the questions... my mission this week is to get all the bedding sorted

Can't answer all your questions but I would recommend a gro bag, these are instead of blankets. They're handy as baby can't kick them off and they keep baby warm if you're moving them from bed to crib after feeding. My guy kept waking when putting him back in the cold crib after being in the warm bed for a feed. I didn't bother with the clevamama pillow, didn't use any pillow, and we don't have a flat head. I'd start with the basics (sheet for mattress and grow bag for me) and see what else may be necessary as you go along. I've so many things that I thought were completely necessary that are sitting there unused. In fact I'm now even wondering why we have a cot as baby is in bed with us most of the time!!!

Edited to say you can get gro bags in different togs so would probably want a warmer one for winter. And I used the mamas and papas brand of gro bags, not the gro bag brand.

Bacchus

Also interested in all of the above

On the grobags... what's the deal with the official brand Grobags? They seem so expensive (€40, though I found em cheaper on amazon) when compared to ones you'd get in the likes of Next which you'd see for around €20-25.

Cakerbaker

Bacchus wrote: »

Also interested in all of the above

On the grobags... what's the deal with the official brand Grobags? They seem so expensive (€40, though I found em cheaper on amazon) when compared to ones you'd get in the likes of Next which you'd see for around €20-25.

.

I got 2 packs of mamas and papas own brand and am happy with them!

stickybean

Cakerbaker wrote: »

.

I got 2 packs of mamas and papas own brand and am happy with them!

Do you put a blanket on as well? Sorry if thats a silly question, just thinking about their arms

lollpop

Pillows are not recommended because of SIDS. If you want to use the clevamama one, I'd use it in pram when baby is awake rather than at night.

Pillows cases for sheets worked great for me.

Bumpers not recommended and certainly small babies don't need them as they won't be rolling around.

Gro bags very handy, especially in winter. Google it but I think they usually say don't use before 6 weeks, just cellular blankets up to that. The dunnes and Penny's ones are great, no need to buy expensive. If you want the actual gro bag brand then tk max usually have them half the price.

Cakerbaker

stickybean wrote: »

Do you put a blanket on as well? Sorry if thats a silly question, just thinking about their arms

I just used the gro bag, going by the hse guidelines their arms should be over the cellular blanket too.

Lucyfur

Have a moses basket for downstairs and a SnuzPod for upstairs. Have some fitted sheets and plenty of pillow cases if they run out.

Not using a pillow or bumpers.

Have a good few cellular blankets which will be used for the first few weeks and plan to switch to grobags then. Have one from a friend and it feels lovely and cosy. It's meant to be fine with just a babygro and vest underneath for winter

angeldelight

Grobags come in different tog values for different temperatures. Unless your house is particularly cold the 2.5 would be the standard one. Definitely no bumpers or quilts - Gro bags OR blankets not both. Babies aren't good at regulating their own temp so it is easy for them to overheat. A long sleeved vest, babygro and 2.5 tog bag is what we used. Their arms will feel a little chillier than their torso but that's normal and you should always feel the back of their neck or their chest to give you an indication of their temperature.

I always used the official gro bags as they're affiliated with the lullaby trust but the others should be fine too

angeldelight

Oh and the pillow isn't needed, changing the way you put baby down so they're not always lying the same way will help with preventing flat head. As would using a sling sometimes, and tummy time (if your baby doesn't hate it )

fits

Great idea for a thread. I find this all very confusing too. We are planning to have cot tied to bed like a co sleeper and have them share it. But im not sure about what blankets and sheets to buy.

rainbow kirby

We have a Chicco Next2Me, crib sheet and a blanket over the mattress, have been using a grobag since the little guy was around 5 weeks. Cellular blankets before that and layered his clothes if it was cold (he was born Easter Monday and it was a slow spring to warm up!). He outgrew the first size of grobag at just under 4 months and I got him 2 in the 6-18 month size at that stage, one from Amazon and one from TKMaxx, neither the official brand but I also didn't pay more than 15 quid for either :pac:

On the hottest nights this summer it's been in the high 20s in the bedroom, I've put him to bed in as little as a vest and nappy on those nights and he's been fine. He's in bed now in a vest, nappy and grobag on a day where it topped out at 24 ish and is still quite mild in the evening.

Our cotbed just arrived this week and we're moving him out of the Next2me and into it next week aged 24 weeks, just for comparison. He will have outgrown it sooner than many babies would.

xalot

From my experience:
Yes to pillow cases for moses basket mattress, handy if baby spits up during the night you can just flip them over and clean the next day. Plus WAY cheaper. This is what they use in the hospitals.

No to Cleva Mama pillow, physio class last time around said there was no need for a pillow, all you need to do is alternate which side you put the baby down each time for a nap and flat head wont be an issue. We bought a baby friendly pillow from ikea for €6 for when he was around 9 months and in the big cot.

Didn't use a bumper, was a bit nervous of them.

Swaddling for the first few weeks as it helps with startle reflex, just used cellular blankets last time, think I'll try swaddle me this time as my fella always wiggled out of the swaddle. Gro bags after that are a godsend, they come with different togs depending on the time of year. TK Maxx is your only man for these. Total bargain.

That's just my experience, every parent will have different preferences.

appledrop

I wouldn't get a pillow they are not recommended due to SIDS. Our little guy likes to sleep on one side but even so he didn't develop flat head as we made sure during the day he was in different positions etc. We have only used cellular blankets so far as he was born in summer so they were perfect. We are going to move to grobags now but I know PHN said they shouldn't be used too early for newborns. Maybe it's because they can overheat too easily or the size of them. I just brought one recently only seem to come in 0- 6 month size which would be huge on a newborn. One good tip I got was never think a newborn is cold if their hands are. Check instead by seeing how warm their chest is. Then you won't have them too warm. We are using a bumper in the crib. They are not recommended but we had to as our little guy hated the crib. We had to keep him in his moses basket until he couldnt fit in it any more! He is very wrigglely + kept putting his hands out the bars + crying when he couldn't get them back in. He also kicks the end of the crib. He likes it now with the bumper + we make sure it's secure. We also have an angel mointor which I find brilliant for peace of mind.

StarBright01

Great thread has solved a lot of my questions too!

stickybean

Had a quick look in TK max, they have the real gro bags. and loads of other varieties from €18.99 or 2 pack for €35.... They all seemed to be boy or girl, couldn't find any neutral but they say to wait till 4- 6 weeks so wait and see whether our little bean is a boy or girl and get it then

Some of them are so beautiful, the designs are gorgeous!!! Thanks for the TK Max tips :pac:

appledrop

I got a real grobag in smyths last week for 20 euros. They only have one style l but it would suit a boy or girl. Worth a look if there is one near you.

angeldelight

Most of the grobags have a minimum weight so if your baby is on the bigger side they might be able to use from birth

catrionanic

I've bought a couple of the gro snug bags - they are suitable for use from newborn and you can swaddle with them if you want to. I bought them from Amazon I think as could find them any cheaper.