Everyone needs somewhere to sleep, and today’s bedding industry is a robust one. It can be roughly divided into two arenas: furniture, and bedding. Buying the frame for a bed or buying a wooden crib is one endeavor, while buying the sheets, blankets, and pillows is another. After someone has bought a bed they like, they will bet the right sheets and blankets for it all, with both style and practicality in mind. Some people may buy hypoallergenic bedsheets in particular, or sheets for sensitive skin. Store associates can help a customer find these specialized models. But what about fitted sheets for baby beds, or baby bedding in general? Babies can’t choose their own bedding, so new parents will find fitted sheets for baby beds and more. This also involves knowing how babies sleep, and maintaining safety the entire time.
Baby Crib Sheets and Bedding
A baby will sleep in a wooden or plastic crib, and that crib will also feature a baby-sized mattress. But a crib is not just a small bed with bars on the sides; human babies are fairly helpless compared to youngsters of other animal species, so safety will be factored in, too. While a napping baby is being monitored during the day, a baby will be left alone while asleep at night. Napping babies may have pillows and blankets, but this is not such a good idea for nighttime. Why not? Pillows and blankets may in fact be a suffocation hazard for babies if they are left unattended, so a baby crib will not have them. Instead, the crib will have a mattress covered with a fitted sheets for baby beds.
These fitted sheets for baby beds are rather like the fitted sheets found on adult sized beds. Such sheets are not used as blankets; instead, they are held in place on a mattress with an elastic band, and fit tightly onto the mattress (hence the name). All mattresses have fitted sheets like these, and that includes babies. In fact, for a good night’s sleep, a baby’s crib will only have that fitted sheet and mattress, minus blankets or pillows. Instead, the baby will wear warm pajamas that cover most of its body, and the baby might even wear a hat. These pajamas act as a safe blanket that the baby can wear, and the baby will sleep right on the mattress and fitted sheet. This may look pretty bare-bones, but the baby should be comfortable, and it will be safe, too.
Some fitted sheets for baby beds might be a specialized model. Babies are sensitive to airborne particles or fumes such as VOCs, and some babies are especially so. If this is the case, the parents may find hypoallergenic crib sheets in particular, and the parents may also use low-VOC paint for the crib. That, and the nursery’s carpet and rugs (if any) should be carefully vacuumed and otherwise cleaned to minimize VOCs in the air. Meanwhile, parents may also consider thread count. A higher thread count in baby fitted sheets may lead to a more comfortable crib, and for those unaware, thread count describes how many threads a square inch of fabric has, either vertical or horizontal (but counting both at once). A higher thread count makes a sheet softer and warmer.
Finally, babies and small children are known to wet the bed, so if need be, waterproof sheets or mattress covers can be used to prevent the mattress from getting soiled like this. These may be used while a toddler is going through potty training, for example.
Adult Bedding
What about the parents’ own bedding? This means having a proper mattress and a fitted sheet, and a higher thread count may be desired. And children, adolescents, and adults may also have hypoallergenic sheets on their bed, if they suffer from asthma or similar allergies. It may also be noted that sheets or blankets with a higher thread count are soft and warm, ideal for cool weather. But they may be too warm for summer, where lower thread count sheets that breathe easily will be used. The same may be done for the pillowcase, too, and pillowcases will have their thread count marked on their packaging in a store.
