Baby girl bedding: flowers and butterflies. Baby bedding for boys: the wild, wild west. Just hold on a second! Baby bedding is cute, but there is much more to consider than just appearances.
As adults, we are already aware of any sensitivities we might have, but with a new baby you can’t be sure if he/she will have any allergies. Everyone wants a cute nursery, but it’s important to pick the right bedding material first. Quality baby bedding should have some information for you: fill power, fill material, cover fabric, and thread count. The bedding needs to be warm, breathable, and lightweight. Doing research online is easy, so if you’re interested in a bedding set, make sure you find out what material it’s made of first.
Crib bedding should be made of the fabrics that are least likely to cause allergies. This includes wool (alpaca, llama, or sheep), organic cotton, non-organic cotton, and down. You need to be very careful about synthetic materials as there are concerns about them. As they age, they might break down and emit fumes, and many of them do not breathe. If you are considering a bedding set like the Max baby bedding, which does have some polyester but is mostly cotton, then the potential risks may not be so high.
Some people may disagree with me, but I think wool blankets are softer and more comfortable than any other blanket. You will probably want a blanket that is backed with cotton flannel. Smaller blankets are perfect for swaddling; larger ones are just right for car trips and naptime.
Down is the perfect filler for a baby’s comforter - it is warm and breathable, with very little weight. It is important to look for one that is machine washable because babies will be babies. In order to be sure that your down comforter has the least chance of causing allergies, you want one that has the highest cleanliness rating. The oxygen and turbidity tests are used to measure the cleanliness of down filler. A lower number is preferred for the oxygen test, and it should go no higher than 10 (the government standard). For the turbidity test, on the other hand, a higher number is better, going up to around 550 at the top of the scale.
