How do I Choose the Best Baby Crib Bedding?

To choose the best baby crib bedding, look for the highest quality main pieces you can afford. Rather than buying a large set that includes matching items beyond the crib bedding alone, it's important to first invest in a quality, basic four-piece set. A basic four-piece baby crib bedding set consists of a fitted sheet, quilt, bumper pad and dust ruffle.

While the dust ruffle is mainly decorative as it hangs down from the mattress to create a trimmed edge, it does tend to add a lot of needed design detail to a nursery by making the crib bedding look luxurious and complete. Colors and motifs from the dust ruffle and other baby crib bedding can be used as decor accents elsewhere in the room. For example, if the bedding's colors are mainly pink and purple in a floral theme, the nursery walls could be painted in either color with a flower mural or decorated with flower wall stickers. Floral-themed curtains or a throw pillow placed on a rocking chair can tie in the colors and elements from the crib bedding.

If your budget allows, an alternative to purchasing or making other soft furnishing pieces for the baby's nursery is to buy crib bedding as part of a set with the other items. Curtains, changing table pads, laundry bags and wall hangings are common accent items made to match a basic, four-piece baby crib bedding set. Having all of these extra pieces in the same colors and pattern as the main crib bedding can really make a focused style statement in a baby's room.

Choosing a fitted sheet, quilt and other items from a well-known manufacturer of quality products is often best. Pay attention to any product recalls and always consider safety features. The bumper pads that form soft inner walls along the crib rails are especially important, because if they don't fasten adequately, a suffocating hazard may occur as they could fall on the baby and smother it. When shopping for baby crib bedding, it's important to measure the mattress as well as the inner crib walls to find properly fitting products. Having the measurements in both inches and centimeters handy can be helpful since the system used will depend on where the bedding was made and distributed.

Another consideration to make when choosing bedding for a baby's crib, as well as the overall theme and colors in the room, is whether to have a gender-specific or neutral look. Gender-specific baby crib bedding is based on the traditional pink for girls and blue for boys idea. Of course, other colors such as purple and green may accompany traditional gender-specific color schemes. Gender-neutral colors may include the purple and green with neutrals such as brown, black, gray or tan. While gender-specific infant bedding may feature themes such as cowboys for boys and flowers for girls, neutral choices might include sea life or a forest or zoo theme.