How much bedding to use

Babies are not able to regulate their own temperature. They need to have airflow around their head and face to ensure they don’t overheat.

Knowing the right amount of bedding is key to the safety and well-being and protect your child from overheating and bed covers covering their face during the night.

Getting the mix right can be a tricky thing. Too much bedding can result in your baby overheating (which is a risk factor of SIDS) and too little bedding can affect their sleep because they are not warm enough.

A good suggestion is to use a sleeping bag as this can alleviate the worry of overheating and suffocation while ensuring they don’t get cold in the night.

Often parents will use the traditional sheet and blanket for the first few weeks/months. This is generally considered easier to layer and monitor your baby’s temperature. It is easier to just take off or put on a blanket as needed with out disturbing your baby.

The amount of bedding you use depends on the overall room/air temperature, however, a general idea is to dress the child more rather than add more bedding. It is advised for the colder months to be careful not to overheat. Dress them something like: a vest, a bodysuit, plus one sheet and up to three thin blankets.

24°C/75°F = 1 sheet only
21°C/70°F = 1 sheet plus 1 layer of blanket
18°C/65°F = 1 sheet plus 2 layers of blanket
15°C/60°F = 1 sheet plus 3 layers of blanket

• A blanket doubled over counts as two layers. It is important not to fold up bigger sheets and blankets to adapt to the bed, or for that matter a pram. This can be dangerous as it increases the risk of your baby overheating or getting caught up in their bedding.
• It is recommended to not cover a child’s head. They need to have air circulating around them and could over heat them or they could get caught up in it or it cover their face in the night.
• Be aware of the labels/warning to ensure they are low fire danger materials.
• It is also important not to add padding under the mattress at all.
• To help ensure that your baby sleeps safely, the right size bedding is important. This is regardless of what you use such as a Moses basket, cot or cosy crib, etc.
• We recommend using natural fibre bedding on your baby’s bed.
• There is no need to use a doona/duvet for a child in a bassinette or cot. Save the doona/duvet until they move into a ‘big’ bed.
• Don’t use a bumper on your baby’s bed. It affects the air flow and is part of the SIDS recommended don’ts.
• If you use swaddling wraps they should also be 100% natural fibre.

Of course this is a personal decision.

Parents tend to either swaddle or use a sleeping bag. This is a particular common during the newborn to 8 month age.

The great things about a sleeping bag is that a child can’t kick them off like a sheet or a blanket and therefore they stay covered all night.

This means that your baby may wake less often due to being cold.

When using a sleeping bag the bottom sheet usually is all that is needed unless it is really cold and a blanket can be added. It’s advised to never use a doona (duvet or quilt) when using a sleeping bag as the child is at a greater risk of overheating.

It is recommended to use a sleeping bag without a hood to reduce the risk of suffocation.

You can purchase sleeping bags applicable for the season. There are lightweight ones for summer and heavier ones for winter.

Red and sweaty looking is obviously too hot just as cold to touch or with a tinged of blue is too cold, but we all would have established this.

So how do we determine if our baby is too hot or cold otherwise?

Once you remove the tell tale signs it still possible to establish your baby’s temperature.

Ways to tell a baby’s body temperature:

• Feeling your baby’s chest or ears is the easiest way to see if your baby is the right temperature.
• It may be the cause of their constant waking.
• Babies that are too hot may be grizzly and unsettled.
• Hot babies skin may look mottled.
• If your baby has become a bit dehydrated from being too hot their fontanelle will have a more evident dent in it.
• Just because a baby’s feet and hands are cold does not indicate they are cold. A baby has immature circulation and the hands and feet are the last points of the baby to warm up.
• Use yourself as a guide. If you have a few layers on or are cold/hot then dress the baby accordingly too.

All that a heater is needed for is to take the chill out of the air.

Be mindful that it is highly recommended that a baby should not sleep in a hot room. Ideally, you would have the appropriate bedding and clothing on to not require a heater in the long term. If the heating is via air conditioner then setting it to a constant temperature is easier than a alternative type of heater such as a blow heater.

The recommended ideal temperature for a baby’s room should be 18 degrees but the ideal temperature range can be from 16- 20 degrees.

You can purchase a room temperature monitor which will display the room temperature at all times to help you gauge.

• The washability.
• Practicality.
• Try to have enough bedding that you don’t have to wash immediately. Having a few sets allows for a quick change in the night should it be required.
• Aim for 100% cotton and natural materials where you can.
• There is no need for additions to the bed such as pillows, teddies, bumper, etc. Not only are they not necessary they are not recommended for your baby’s safety according to the SIDS guidelines.
• Layering is the secret to warmth and provides easy access to adjust should it be required.
• Make the bed so that your baby is at the bottom end of the cot. That way they can’t slip down and get covered by the bedding.