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| |    Baby Bedding by Susan E. Davis and Laura Jana, M.D., F.A.A.P. reviewed by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. Walk into any baby supply store, or open any catalogue offering baby supplies, and you'll be hit with adorable bedding designs: bedding with tiny flowers; bedding with little animals; bedding with Disney characters, stripes, zigzags, or bugs. Bedding--in short--with everything a child could dream of. You'll also find everything a parent could dream of, including beautiful bedding sets with matching sheets, comforters, pillows, bumpers, and dust ruffles. If you've been hit by even the mildest case of nesting, you may tempted to buy the fanciest set of luxury baby bedding you can find. But what does your baby really need? Beyond the most important consideration--safety--read on to learn what's useful and what's just horsefeathers. Bumpers: These long strips of padded cloth often have pretty bows and ruffles, but they're not simply decoration; they're meant to keep the baby from banging his head on the crib bars. However, there is some debate about bumper safety; theoretically a baby could suffocate if his face ended up pressed against the cloth. To minimize suffocation dangers, make sure the bumper is tight, not loose, when you thread it through the crib bars. And be sure all ties are cut short and tied on the outside so the baby doesn't get his fingers or toes tangled in them in a few months. For more on bumper safety recommendations, see our article on crib safety. Fitted sheets: Also called bottom sheets, these crib-size sheets with elasticized corners (some have elastic all the way around) are designed to fit snugly against the mattress and lessen the likelihood of suffocation or entanglement. Don't bother with flat (or top) sheets yet; your baby can get by with just a well-fitted bottom sheet and a light baby blanket. Better yet, invest in a few sleeping sacks or slightly heavier pajamas so that baby can stay warm without your having to worry about his kicking covers off or getting them on his face. Three or four outfits is usually a good start--any more than that will just sit in the closet, and fewer will have you too frequently doing laundry. And despite the lovely look of white cotton sheets, consider buying colored ones until your baby is potty trained. That way, any stains won't be so obvious. Sheet protectors: Baby diapers leak a lot, especially at night, when most parents don't change the diapers as often as they do during the daytime. And crib sheets, you'll soon find, are really annoying to change, because the mattresses fit so tightly into the crib frame. A sheet protector, available in most baby supply stores, is a square piece of cloth with cotton on one side and a waterproof backing on the other, to protect the sheet beneath. When there's an accident, you just pull one sheet protector off and put another one on, which saves you hassle and laundry. Some parents find it particularly handy to put one between two fitted sheets--if the first sheet gets wet or soiled in the middle of the night, it can simply be removed, leaving the clean fitted sheet that was protected below. Pillows: Bottom line: Don't use them for babies, even if pillows come with a nursery set. Babies can suffocate if their faces become pressed against soft surfaces and they can't lift their heads high enough to free up their noses. Blankets: Some nursery sets include quaint comforters or quilts, but those sets are expensive, and the heavier or fluffier types of blankets can be dangerous, as they might lead to overheating or suffocation. Instead, consider getting a simple cotton baby blanket for warmish nights plus a polyester fleece blanket (yes, they come in baby sizes) for cooler nights. And remember, babies don't need any more blankets than grown-ups do.
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