baby bedding

[shellbabe]

I need some help deciding on a theme for our baby's nursery. I'm driving myself crazy over this. The highest rated bedding in the Baby Bargains book is so expensive (Laura Ashley for example). The cute character sets (Looney Tunes, Suzy's Zoo, etc.) seem to not be the best quality. I'm really searching for a cute bedding set at an affordable price that is of good quality. I thought maybe the Carter's John Lennon set was the answer until I read reviews of the bedding. The bumper pads are said to shrink from washing and drying to the point that they don't fit around the crib anymore. Can anyone offer any suggestions? Thank you so much for your help.

[alandenisefields]

Thanks for reading our book, BABY BARGAINS. Actually, we recommend quite a few affordable bedding lines---Eddie Bauer, Lands End, Company Store. If you want something more "baby-ish", Cotton Tale got a top rating and is very affordable!

Hope that helps,
Alan & Denise Fields, Authors
BABY BARGAINS

[jwright98]

Check bedding outlets (adult bedding). I went to a Westpoint Stevens outlet, and they sold Baby Martex crib sets for about $75 for 3 pieces. Very nice quality, 200 thread count, 100% cotton. They had two or three themes, with accessaries like lamps, borders, etc. Very very reasonable. Only reason I did not get it was my husband had his heart set on some type of fish theme.

[nicole]

Don't know if you've already ordered your bedding or not but I just bought the Cottontale 4 piece set "Adirondack" for $89.99 from BabyCenter.com. Plus there was a 25% off coupon that I used from www.dealofday. It was a great deal and it will work for a boy or girl.

[Wendi]

I had the same problem with deciding on a theme. I bought solid color sheets ($16 each) and bedskirt ($26) from the Company Store (which I thought had reasonably priced items that are excellent quality) and just buying accessories (lamps and other decorations) for the theme that we want. It seems to be cheaper because I didn't have to buy all the "extra" stuff they include in bedding sets and you can choose from as many themes as you can think of.

[alexsharp]

I don't know where you live - but if you live near Washington DC - Laura Ashley has an outlet at Potomac Mills Mall in Woodbridge VA - which is 20 minutes south of DC(I believe 'Baby Bargains' mentions it). I was able to find my crib ensemble for a great deal! We bought a bumper, crib sheet, and skirt for under $50. They had everything to go with the pattern I chose - even wallpaper border and bolts of fabric in coordinating colors and patterns.
My sister in law made her son's crib set - and just did a generic plaid for the skirt and a blue chambray for other stuff. She did a Winnie the Pooh room and bought the large wall removable 'stickers' and other Pooh decorations. It came out really cute and my 3yr old nephew still loves his room.

[Kvacha]

I am ordering yellow sheets and blue bumper & dust ruffle from Land's End. We are decorating with Sesame Street, different items we have been collecting over time. I don't want to use a packaged set, b/c I want the room to look unique.

[xacerb8]

Hi,
I saw a really nice pattern at Babies R Us. It's Huntington by Sumersault. A four piece set is $229. I did not buy it, because I'm not really a "theme" person, but what I liked about it is that it's kind of sophisticated. Muted red, chambray blue and a sage. Kind of country or woodsy. Very versatile. I WAS going to get it because it matched the sheets I wanted from Eddie Bauer which are also sage and chambray solids.

You can buy pieces of Huntington separately, like a lamp or crib bumper. And, I believe the eddie bauer sheets are made by sumersault, so it all kind of matches.

One note of warning: I was shocked to find that when you order online from EddieBauer.com, they charge $9.95 shipping PLUS a $3.00 handling charge. I have never seen a web site charge that much!
Dana

[JakesMom]

If you have a Costco or Sam's Club nearby, I'd check their stock. I actually joined Costco because they had Nick & Nora crib sets for $50!!!! (And three months later, dropped the price to $29.) The set includes a quilt (which we didn't use right away, obviously), a bumper, a sheet and a dust ruffle. The sheet is a good-quality cotton jersey knit (T-shirt material) that gets softer as we wash it. Everything has washed well (in terms of shrinkage and colorfastness), stays soft and is easy to clean.

They had a few patterns, one of which was blue with yellow and white (Their famous "Clouds" background with yellow accents). Since I had been planning to do a celestial theme, I just adjusted my blue shade from periwinkle to the more sky blue of the linens, and everything looks nice.

I wouldn't get too hung up on everything matching -- it seems like fun to pick out, but now I'm glad I have a few different things, because you will get sick of the pattern or character if it's overkill. I have been able to find lots of solids to match my crib linens, and added patterned curtains (the stars embroidered panels from Spiegel -- a good substitute for Pottern Barn). I also used interesting baby wrapping paper leftovers to fill nice picture frames and add interest to the walls.

Pick colors you really like that will be pleasant for your child, and go from there. Remember -- they're not babies for long!!

Enjoy decorating -- we really did!
- Jodi

[cabote]

Have you looked in the Pottery Barn catalogue? They have
some of the cutest designs out there. And believe me, I have
looked! The quality is good, and the thing that made me go
ahead and buy was the fact that you can return it/exchange it
if you are unhappy. You can't do this with many bedding suppliers. The pottery barn kids website is not running for shopping yet. To get a catalogue call 800-430-7373.

The one downside is that shipping is high. I did not have my ducks in a row and had to place two separate orders rather than doing it all at once. I ended up having to pay a ridiculous amount in shipping charges.
Good Luck!

[mchopin]

First of all, let me suggest you not drive yourself crazy of this. You have plenty of other things that will as a new parent. Beleive me. We happened to move from our one bedroom apt when our daughter was 3 months old. Until then, she acutally slept in her car seat! Yes, didnt want anything to do with the expensive Bellini crib, but anyway, it wasnt by choice, but it worked out great that we decorated after she was born. The Belinda Barton crib set we bought IS beautiful, however, now that she is 8 months old, we really should remove the bumper and the dust ruffle hits the floor and the baby sitter suggested we take it off so it doesnt collect dust. Ugh. I was like hey do you know how much we spent on that!!!! Anyway, my suggestion follows along the lines of the other savvy shoppers that made the best investment, in the baby bargains book, and buy a few sheets and consider the all in one bumper pad that Lands End sells (it goes under the mattress). I would suggest not matching everything because it gets boring and they arent babies forever, I have had soooooo much fun with the accessories. Her area rug is really fun with lots of colors and animals and I added a net to hold her stuffed animals which also adds that whimsical look a childs room needs. Oh! And dont forget the glow in the dark stars, I put them on the ceiling, but not over her crib, in case one falls off the plaster ceiling...good luck. Post if you have any questions, I would love to help you! Michele

[Maureen]

My mother is helping me make our own crib bedding. It was fun to choose the fabric for the bumpers and crib skirts. My sister-in-law is making a quilt to coordinate. Many patterns are avilable. Even a novice can try!

[Deana]

We're having a Peter Rabbit theme, but not buying the Peter Rabbit bedding. Instead, I'm going to make some curtains (with Peter Rabbit fabric), use a wallpaper border and other accessories. Then, we'll buy high quality sheets (from Company Store for example) in coordinating colors. Even if you decide on the John Lennon set (which I think is adorable), you could do something similar. Most of the popular themes have so many matching pieces and are in colors that are easy to coordinate, I don't think it'd be hard to do this with almost anything.

[HOBSON725]

I purchased my baby's bedding from THE COMPANY STORE catalog(www.companykids.com). I was able to find the needed items on sale too! I bought a crib bumper and ruffle in apple gigham print and then bought a crib sheet in watermelon and a crib sheet in lemon. These colors will go great with my "semi-themed" nursery of butterflies,dragonflies,ladybugs, and bumblebees! Hope it helps out! :)