Baby Crip Bedding

Baby Crib Bedding Safety Tips

By DP Nguyen

For the last nine months, you have loved and protected your baby in the womb. Now that she is out in the world, you want to do your best to keep her safe and comfortable. You have probably already baby-proofed your home, but what about her nursery? What about her crib?

While you may think that pillows, comforters, and plush toys offer her comfort while she is in her crib, these seemingly harmless items can actually increase her risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). They increase her risk of suffocation.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome claims an estimated 2,500 babies every year. In fact, it is the leading cause of death for babies under one year old. Unfortunately, researchers do not know what causes SIDS, but they have targeted risk factors that put your baby at risk of dying from this syndrome.

As a caring parent, you will want to protect your baby from SIDS in any way that you can. You can do this by ensuring that her crib and her baby crib bedding set are safe and do not pose any risks.

Is Your Crib Installed Properly?

To check the safety of your crib, you need to make sure that the crib is correctly installed and there are no missing pieces that may cause entrapment or suffocation. Babies have died in their cribs after their heads or necks became entrapped in the gaps of the crib, as a result of broken slats and missing hardware pieces. So make sure that your crib is properly installed and safe to use.

Are There Any Missing or Broken Slats?

Before using any crib, you need to make sure that there are no missing, lose, or broken slats. There should be no more than 2 and 3/8 inches (the width of a can of soda) between the slats. You do not want to risk the chance that your baby will accidentally fall through the slats.

You should also make sure that there are no cutouts in either the headboard or the footboard of the crib. You don't want your baby's head to get trapped.

The Crib's Mattress

When choosing a mattress for your baby's crib, avoid using soft mattress. It is best for your baby to sleep on a firm mattress. You should also make sure that it is a tight-fitting mattress. This will ensure that your baby can't get trapped between the crib and the mattress.

To keep baby safe when she is sleeping, you should only use a fitted crib sheet that is specifically designed for the crib. Do not use bed sheets that are not made for a baby's crib. These are often too loose and ill fitting, and they can lead to suffocation.

Tips for Buying Baby Crib Bedding

Before you buy the baby crib bedding set for your nursery, you may want to avoid products that feature polystyrene-filled cushions, water bedding, and sheepskin baby bedding. All of these pose a suffocation risk to your child.

If the baby bedding collection that you buy comes with a bumper pad, make sure that you securely tie it to the crib. Avoid buying padded or "pillow-like" bumpers. The safest bumpers for your child are thin and firm.

To prevent suffocation, you should keep the comforter out of the crib. If the design of your crib set is pretty, you may want to hang the comforter up on the wall as decoration.

You should also avoid placing any soft objects or loose blankets in the crib, due to the risk that they can end up covering up your child's head and increase the risk of suffocation.

If you decide to use a blanket to keep your baby warm, make sure that it is tightly tucked into the mattress of the crib. The blanket should only reach your baby's chest. Do not cover any part of your baby's neck or head. You may want to consider using sleeping clothing instead of a blanket to keep baby warm.