Crib Sets, Mattresses, Bedding Guidance and Reviews

Baby Simplicity Cribs, Mattresses and Bedding

You are in the process of preparing for your new baby. Congratulations! Over the next period of time, baby simplicity cribs are where new babies will be spending the most time. Make buying this baby crib an informed and careful decision.

In your decisions, your primary emphasis will be on safety. Next, but not necessarily in order, you most likely will be thinking about comfort, convenience, functionality, value, durability for future use, visual appeal, and matching the theme of the baby crib to the rest of the nursery including the changing table.

First, let’s talk about your first concern – safety. Let’s list some baby crib safety items for review:

   - Construction materials should be stained or painted hardwoods like maple, ash, beech or oak. Many prefer the pecan crib for its unusual look. The use of inferior woods can potentially weaken or warp the slats. Some metal cribs are also very sturdy and secure. All finish materials must be lead free and non-toxic. Some excellent cribs come to mind:
   - The standard Forever Mine crib
   - Forever Mine convertible crib
   - Pottery Barn sleigh crib
   - Boyd’s Bear crib set
   - Cinderella Carriage baby crib and
   - simplicity cribs
The mattress should fit snugly into the crib. If you can fit two fingers between the side of the mattress and the crib, it is too small. Keep an eye on foam mattresses; over time, they may break down at the edges and leave gaps. Check the mattress support to make sure there are safety clips that lock the hangers into their notches.
   - Use nonflammable and hypoallergenic bumper padding attached to the inside railings of the crib to cushion all four sides and prevent your baby from sticking an arm or leg through the railings. Securely fasten the bumper pads to the sides of the crib in at least six places. Be sure to remove bumper pads when your baby becomes more active. (more on the baby crib bumper later)
   - The drop-sides must be at least 9 inches above the mattress support when lowered. When the side is raised, the top must be at least 26" above the support at its lowest position. You should have no trouble quietly raising and lowering the side rail easily with one hand, since chances are you’ll have a sleeping baby in your arms.
   - Cribs with cutout designs along the rail may look pretty, but your baby’s arm or neck could get stuck in them. The boyd’s bear crib set meets this criteria.
   - The crib must be sturdy. Your child will sleep in a crib until it’s time to move into a regular bed between the ages of 2 and 3. When shopping for the crib, give it a good shake to see if it wobbles or rattles.
   - The baby crib bars or slats of the railing should be no more than 2-3/8 inches apart, close enough together to prevent your baby’s head from slipping through or getting stuck. That crib in the attic may be a beautiful antique, but it probably does not meet this safety standard. Secondhand older cribs may also have splinters or lead paint as well as slats that are too far apart.
   - Cribs with cutout designs along the rail may look pretty, but your baby’s arm or neck could get stuck in them.
   - Check the hardware on the crib for sharp edges or points or anything else that could hurt your baby.
   - Follow assembly instructions carefully. Periodically tighten all nuts, bolts, and screws and check teething rails for cracks. Check the mattress support hooks regularly.

So now you have a secure and safe baby crib. Let us outfit it slightly with crib rail cover, mattress and bedding.

Crib Rail Cover:
Teething is a real important time for children. All children react and respond differently to the teething period, but teething is something that all teething babies enjoy doing. What is right in front of their faces is the crib rail and it furnishes teething tots with the perfect chewing opportunity. When you decide to purchase a crib rail cover it is very important that you make sure that it is made of a soft safe fabric. You will notice that some are made of a pliant plastic. This may cover the wooden part of the crib rail, however it may be too tough and it could still traumatize your child’s new chompers.

It is affordable and you may even want a backup. During the teething stage you may notice that teething infants will stand in the baby crib and chew on the sides of the teething rail. The baby crib rail cover will protect the tot from splintering wood and harmful varnish.

Mattress:
Choosing the proper bedding for your baby will be one of the critical decisions you have to make. Common sense and experts both agree that the primary factor in choosing the bedding needs to be safety as we discussed above. Proper bedding is absolutely critical for the safety and comfort of your baby.

To provide both comfort and safety it is imperative that the bedding not be too hard or too soft. Improper bedding has been suspected as a possible cause in many cases of sudden infant death syndrome. This has normally been attributed to a very soft mattress. If the futon crib mattress is too soft it can cause the infant’s mouth and nose to be covered. If this happens then the baby is inhaling the same air they exhale. This can cause a rapid build of carbon dioxide in the babies system. Excessive carbon dioxide can cause drowsiness, coma and even death.

For additional protection, baby crib mattresses should be covered with an impermeable mattress encasement. These covers act as a barrier between your baby and allergy-causing dust mites. It is also important to vacuum and dust weekly; a vacuum cleaner with a high efficiency particulate arresting (HEPA) filter helps trap particles normal dusting and vacuuming can miss. It is also important to clean or replace heating ducts, furnace and air conditioning filters whenever they’re in use.

It is important to understand what respiratory allergens are if you expect to protect your child from them. An allergy is an immune reaction to an irritable substance in the child’s environment. The child’s body views these irritants as dangerous and releases chemicals, such as histamines, that cause uncomfortable and potentially harmful symptoms. While a child may eventually develop immunity to these irritants, untreated or ignored allergic symptoms can lead to such respiratory problems as asthma and emphysema.

The most common allergens are dust mites, animal dander and molds. Dust mites are microscopic organisms that live in carpets and fabrics and feed on dead flakes of human and animal skin. Children can develop respiratory allergies from inhaling accumulated mites in areas that aren’t cleaned properly or regularly. Bedding, clothing and comforters should be washed in hot water at least once a week.

Bedding:
Caution should be used not to fill the crib with too many pillows or the baby can stand on them and fall and hurt themselves. Any of the styles of beds can be safely used to keep your child save and comfortable. Additionally, crib toys need to be removed from the crib when baby is sleeping. Also remove mobiles when baby is able to grab at objects.

Some of the more popular bedding choices lately include:
   - John Deere and baby bedding
   - Carter baby crib sheets
   - Tintin crib bedding
   - Lime green and navy baby bedding
   - Patchkraft crib bedding
   - Black and white crib bedding and
   - Discontinued crib bedding (as long as it is quality bedding)

Once you have determined what type of bedding will correctly fit the equipment you have the only other consideration is the pattern and style that you find pleasing. A real popular type right now is the john deere and baby bedding mix however do not overlook the superior carter baby crib sheets and others.

Now that we have covered safety and outfitting the baby crib, let’s move on to the other considerations.

A convenience tip for you: Make things a little easier on your back by choosing a crib with an adjustable height mattress. A newborn can rest higher in the crib, while a baby who can sit up needs a lower mattress so he can’t climb out. You can change the height of most mattresses by simply raising or lowering the mattress support. All of your caution may be wasted if you place a baby crib against a window, near curtains or drapery cords, or near furniture that could help your baby climb out.

Another consideration is the changing table. You can pick a crib with changing table or go upscale and get a jenny lind pink changing table. Used baby changing tables are certainly an option.

How about a treat? Let’s envision luxury! How about a designer baby crib?? Baby furniture in luxury styles can be found in many different places. Brand name and big designers can make you feel good about your choices. Knowing you are getting the best and most comfortable furniture for your baby is important. Many baby furniture designers realize this and want you to have the best for your baby whether it is your first baby or your fifth.

You can buy durable baby furniture in luxury quality. There are many fine brands available to choose from. Well known brands make your shopping easy when you know what brand you are looking for. Your furniture will be beautiful and last for years to come when you choose a brand that is well known and of high quality. A complete matching nursery furniture set will give you everything you want in your infant room. Changing tables and bookcases, rockers and hampers, baby crib; what more could you want to complete your sweet baby nursery?

There are many shapes to consider when purchasing a crib. Round baby cribs are so luxurious and make your little one feel like a prince or princess! When choosing cribs, consider one that has a drawer in the bottom to store baby bedding and blankets. Your baby furniture luxury items will be the delight of your newborn. Do not forget the bedding and linens. The soft luxurious linens available for you to purchase will bring such a softness to their tender skin. Fine Egyptian cottons are excellent for surrounding your baby in luxury.

Baby furniture in luxury styles is one that is easily affordable these days. There are many stores that carry luxury furniture for babies. Finding one will not be much of a problem. Know that you are getting the best you can for your baby, and feel good about it. Set the nursery up so that it is a comfortable space for you and your baby to come home from the hospital to.