Baby Gear: Crib Bedding

First, I want to say that I borrowed a little bit of the info in this post from another BMB I found it helpful at the time and I have added my thoughts on a few items.

I recommend that you get a copy of Baby Bargains. It is a book with the most up to date reviews on pretty much EVERYTHING you need for your baby. Car seats, strollers, cribs, etc. It will help you navigate the overwhelming world of baby gear. It will also help you figure out what you actually need for baby. Trust me, it is very easy to have WAY too much baby stuff. Chances are very high that you will get/be given stuff that you will never ever use.

I know some of us are already starting to look for ideas for baby's room. The safety debates haven't started yet: to use bumpers or not to use bumpers, infant seat vs. convertible seat. Ultimately, you'll get what you want and use what you feel like using but I thought I'd share this little tidbit of info.

Some people will tell you that crib bedding sets are a complete waste. Some will tell you that the LOVE their set. You spend $100-200, if not more, on stuff you will use in addition to stuff you won't or shouldn't use. They are fun to browse through and are great inspiration for nursery themes. We bought one for our daughter. It was cute and I wanted cute and fun.
 
Look at this top rated set at BRU. What do you get for $181? A comforter (shouldn't have in the crib with a newborn, I think most people hang this on the wall), 4 piece sectional bumper (can be a suffocation hazard, then a climbing hazard once the baby is older.), skirt (cute but necessary?), fitted sheet (only 1), toy bag (um...ok....), decorative pillow (again not something that will be in the crib so why have it?), diaper stacker, (do people use these things?) and 2 window valances (nice if you really want those on your windows).

Eventually you can use the blanket, but by then you may want to move LO to a "big boy/girl" bed and possibly do a different theme, or move them up to a twin bed and it will be way too small. You're also going to get more blankets than you know what to do with because every other person who gives you something for the baby will probably include at least one blanket in their gift. A lot of those sets also sell a lot of accessories that aren't included in the sets (mobiles, lamps, wall decals, etc.), or you can buy the things in the sets separately (like the window valance or the fitted sheet) that you can use to keep with the theme if you want.

What you actually need for crib bedding: At least 1-2 mattress pads ($10-20$ each), at least 4-5 crib sheets ($10-$20 each), a few lightweight blankets for swaddling or swaddling blankets/SwaddleMes ($5-$25 each, square are easier to swaddle with than rectangular), sleep sacks (about $20 each, these are GREAT for little babies in the winter).

Our crib set came with a comforter, bumpers, sheet, and skirt. What we used from our crib set in the crib. Sheet, Bumpers (We used our bumpers but our daughter was never one of those that crammed her face up next to the side of the crib and they came out as soon as she started using them to pull herself up on, at about 5-6 months. Breathable bumpers are generally the recommended way to go if you choose to use bumpers and we would have gotten some had she slept with her face crammed next to it), and Skirt (until I got sick of fixing it All.The.Time). We hung the comforter on the wall. Our set didn't come with a diaper stacker, valances, or a toy bag. I bought additional sheets and sleep sacks.