Need advice on bedding for newborns

Graham

Graham

Registered User
I'd like to ask what sort of bedding does everybody recommend using for newborns in Hong Kong during summertime? It's only a couple of weeks until my son is due to be born and the more I read on this subject the more confused I get.

In the baby book I bought (The Complete Book of Mother and Baby Care: A Parents' Practical Handbook from Conception to Three Years by Elizabeth Fenwick), the author recommends cotton-cell blankets for newborns and not to use quilts until the baby is older. Is this good advice for Hong Kong, bearing in mind that we would probably have the airconditioning on during the night in summer?

Also, most of my Chinese friends and collegues seem to use quilts for their babies and the local department stores such as Jusco, Seiyu etc seem to only sell quilts. In fact the only place I have found so far that sells cotton-cell blankets is Mothercare.

I've read that the ideal room temperature for a baby is around 18-20 degrees, but how do you tell if a baby is too cold or over-heating? (sorry if this sounds like a stupid question). I've read that babies are not very good at regulating their body heat, so this subject has me quite worried.

Maybe I'm worrying too much, but as this is my first time to be a parent, I'm pretty nervous about the whole thing (excited though) and want everything to be perfect for the baby.

Also, we're considering trying the Grobag, but I've read this is not suitable until the baby is 6-7 weeks old or 10lbs. can I have some feedback on this product for those that have tried it?

Lastly, on a related subject, what are everybody's feelings on the use of bumpers in cots? The above-mention book recommends not using them for newborns, but doesn't exlpain why. All my wife's collegues that have babies use bumpers.

Sorry for the long and rambling nature of this post and the multiple questions, but I'm sort of in panic mode at the moment and running around like a headless chicken.

Graham
 
Baby sleeping bags are the best inventions ever! My youngest was born on the cusp of summer last year. I never worried about buying bedding as I put her to sleep in her rocker.

At first I dressed her in a short sleeved onesie for bed, then I found she slept better if her arms and legs were covered and the air con was on, so I had a long-sleeved but footless Gap sleeper.

Then when she was about three months I popped her into the sleeping bag and into her cot. I bought a 3 tog bag from Bumps 2 Babes, but with the air con set at around 20d and her in a short sleeved onesie, this was perfect.

I think a lot is trial and error, but definitely err on the side of being slightly cold rather than overheated.

If you feel your baby's chest under their clothing, it should be nice and warm, not sweaty.
 
My daugther started using Grobag when she's 2 months old; weighing about 12 lbs. My daughter moves around a lot when she sleeps, so it'd be save with a Grobag, instead of quilt. With quilt, even if you have clips attaching it to the cot, there are chances that it might cover your baby face. I liked the Grobag quality, it's very soft and durable.

I had cot bumper and found it useful when my daughter was small. As she moved around so much during her sleep, her hands/feet got caught between the wooden strips a lot. I removed the bumper a couple of months ago (when she was 8 months), because the weather was getting warm and the fan breeze couldn't get to her. She seems to be ok without a bumper. What I find very useful is to have a small bolster at the end of the cot. It prevented her head from hitting the cot edge (this happens as baby tends to move up quite a bit).
Hope you find this helpful!
 
I also like the Grobag style, but I think it might be better to get a 1 tog one for Hong Kong and not have the aircon so cold. Grobag is new to Hong Kong and I don't know if they sell the 1 tog ones yet. I bought a French brand from BtoB. 18-20 degs feels very cold in Hong Kong, and if you have a thermometer in aircon I think there is a "wind chill factor" that needs to be taken into account too, so the ideal temperature is probably a few degrees higher. I think the midwife at our antenatal classes recommended 22-24 degs. But I know some people who just use a fan and have their baby in a short sleeved outfit and no blankets and they are just fine, so lots of ways will work!

As for newborns, we used a thin swaddle blanket (a folded sheet might do in summer), plus a cellular blanket on top which we tucked into the sides of the mattress to stop baby kicking off her swaddle, and we folded the cellular blanket over more (to make it thicker) when it was colder in winter.

I think the Chinese really overheat their babies; you can see some with mother/amah regularly using a cloth to mop the sweat off their baby's brow! Maybe there's a traditional fear of hypothermia or something, which is slow to react to latest cot death research. I was also really worried about getting the baby's temperature right at first, but rest assured that your baby will need picking up a LOT in the early weeks so you will get plenty of opportunity to get used to how much clothing or bedding he/she needs!
 
Thanks everybody for your replies. I'm not quite as worried now after reading all the comments.

Rani, I'm definitely interested in buying some Grobags, but I'll wait until after the baby is born and is a few weeks old.

Graham
 
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