Buying Your First Cot

Buying your first cot for a new baby can raise issues surrounding cots that you should be aware of before you start shopping. Buying your first cot should be an enjoyable experience. It is always advisable to plan shopping for a cot carefully and take into consideration before purchasing a cot important factors like child safety, distance of bars, matress types and even the paintwork of the cot itself.All cots sold here in the United Kingdom should adhere to the British Safety Standards and a logo with numbers stating BSEN716 should be visible on the cot before you purchase. This safety standard shows that the cot has been fully tested according
to British safety standards and meets the full requirements of this standard. In lamens terms the cot should be

• The depth of the cot has been designed safely for the baby – You wouldn’t want your baby rolling or climbing out of the cot and onto the floor.
• A distance of 45mm – 65mm are between each bar of the cot – So that baby cant trap his/her head between the bars.
• No cut outs or steps are part of the cot – Although pretty and decorative cutouts can be sharp and trap limbs, steps are obviously not a good idea for baby to explore just yet.

The matress

The matress should also adhere to the British safety standards and again should be checked carefully before you purchase any matress for your cot. The matress should have a clearly displayed kitemarked logo ensuring that it has passed the safety tests carried out by the British safety standards and also it should display clearly that it its flame retardant.

To ensure maximum safety whilst the baby is in the cot, the matress should fit snuggly, to test this when you are making up the bedding at home you should be barely able to slide your hand between the matress and the cot itself. Making the bed can be tricky this way , but the safety of your baby whilst in the cot is always paramount.

Cot Bumpers

Cot bumpers, although decorative and pleasing on the eye have to be considered to be dangerous for babies! This information was brought to my attention recently after connecting with parents via Facebook who have suffered this terrible ordeal. Justice for Preston (on Facebook) is one example of these parents who continue to fight for awareness of death caused by cot bumpers and I would strongly recommend that you visit their page for their heart breaking story. Babies have been known to choke and suffocate because of cot bumpers. These cot bumpers do not offer any protection when babies are sleeping or unattended in their cots. The death of one child is one death too many and one that can be avoided, so please consider the safety of your baby before you put them to sleep in a cot with cot bumpers fitted. I would strongly recommend that you remove any cot bumpers that you have in place in your cots and provide a safe environment for your babies to sleep in.

General Cot Safety

Now that you have your cot at home and have a snug fitting matress just run your hand around the inside of the cot and check for any roughness that you may not have noticed. The best time to do this again is when making up the bedding for your baby.

If all is safe and well the before you put baby in the cot make sure to remove any pillows. The pillows look beautiful and decorative, but they can be harmfull as babies tend to roll over and move during sleep. pillows can cause a baby to suffocate so this is quite important to remember.

Always put your baby at the very bottom of the cot so that the feet are just touching the board at the bottom. This will prevent your baby from sliding down under the covers during the night.

Different versions of how to lay baby on the matress will have caught your eye in previous weeks, but the very latest research shows that babies who are laid on matresses on their backs are less likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or cotdeath. Lots of older family members will hand down their knowlege of child raising to you, but use your own judgement when it comes to laying baby on the matress in the cot to sleep.

A babies bedroom should remain free from clutter as any obstacles near to the cot can be used as a climbing tool to escape the cot as your child grows, also note that when baby can sit unaided that a good idea would be to remove the cot bumper and mobiles for similar reasons.

Make sure that your baby has warm coverings for the night time, but do be careful not to overheat your baby. To check babies temperature you can feel the nape of the neck with the rear of your hand as a quick guide. If baby is damp and sweaty the remove one or two of the blankets until you are satisfied that baby will be warm through the evening.

lots of parents feel ashamed in some cases as money can be scarce , but believe me there is nothing wrong with accepting a second hand cot as long as you do the same safety checks that you would do if you were purchasing a brand new cot.