Safety Before Everything Else: Finding the Perfect Baby Crib Bedding

If you’re a new parent, chances are you’re getting completely overwhelmed by the vast range of styles available for baby bedding and nursery decor. If you’re looking for an animal design, you can find just about anything you can imagine, from a caterpillar crib set to mystical creatures. So what about angels? That shouldn’t have too many choices, right? Right - only a hundred or so! And if you want nursery rhymes or cartoon characters, put aside a couple of weeks just to browse!

Whether it’s boy nursery bedding or baby girl, it can be really difficult to stick within your budget, because everything is so sweet. To be a bit blunt, that designer bedding set you paid $1000 for is going to go through the same spitup and diaper leaks as a $200 set. So here are a few suggestions for things your baby will need:

- You may think bumper pads are a given, but there is a growing concern that they are actually harmful. The idea behind a crib bumper is to protect baby from the hard bars of the crib, but if the bumper comes loose it may cause suffocation. If you decide to put crib bumpers in, be sure that they are properly secured and that any ties are on the outside of the railings. But the far better option is to just remove the pads completely, at least until the end of year one.

- The term “crib sheet” refers only to the fitted sheet, because flat sheets are unnecessary (and potentially dangerous) for newborns. When buying crib sheets, make sure they fit your mattress properly. If they are too big or too small, they may come free from the mattress and pose a suffocation risk. White sheets are a definite no - babies are messy and your white sheets won’t stay white for long. A waterproof mattress cover is a good idea, too.

- Don’t overheat your baby with too many clothes and blankets. She only needs as much bundling as you do. If it’s winter and she really needs extra coverage, use a wearable blanket instead of a loose one. One other thing that you need to keep out of the crib is pillows and stuffed animals - they’re a suffocation hazard.

When you’re looking at baby crib bedding, safety comes first. Cute bedding is nice, but it’s of no use at all if it’s not safe.

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