It is inevitible - your baby's crib sheets are going to be used and abused. The crib sheet will both become the victim of the mischievious leaky diaper and the recipient of a christening of baby spit up. Because of the hammering crib sheets take and because sleep safety is of the utmost importance, you are going to want to purchase sheets made with quality.
Elastic Bands on Crib Sheets
One of the biggest headaches with traditional crib sheets can be getting them to stay in place without popping off the corners. You know how it is, get one corner in place and the adjacent corner flies off. You swear you can hear its evil laughter as you grumble at its naughtiness. Not only does the mocking nature of the sheet make you want to pull your hair out during middle of the night changes, it becomes a sleeping safety hazard for your precious baby.
To help prevent that from happening when using your run-of-the-mill crib sheet, purchase sheets that have the elastic band around the edge of the entire sheet. Those that only locate elastic on or between the corners are more apt to slip.
Some reliable brands that you can consider include:
- Amy Coe
- Circo
- Baby Basics
- Baby Gap
- Cotton Tale
- Fleece Baby
- Gerber
- Hoohobbers
- Lands End
- Patch Kraft
- Sweet Kyla
Thread Counts
If you want your baby to be comforted by the feel of the sheet next to his chubby skin, go for 200-400 thread counts. Problem: most crib sheets don't mark the thread counts on them. If that is the case, a good rule of thumb is to use the transparency test. Hold the sheet up to the light, if you can count the individual threads, it's way too thin.
Go for the Cotton Crib Sheet
Crib sheets made of 100% cotton hold up so much better after the many, many washings they must endure. So they may be a bit more wrinkly, your baby likely won't mind one bit. However, if you border on obessive and the wrinkles drive you bonkers, you could opt for a cotton-blend sheet instead.
Stocking the Linen Closet
When you first begin collecting items for your baby's nursery, you want to have at least 3-4 crib sheets on hand. Once your baby arrives, you may find that you need more because he spits up excessively or tends to be a heavy wetter. Regardless of your baby's personal habits, you'll be ahead of the game if you have a few well-made crib sheets that meet this specifcations rather than poorly made sheets.
