• New Sleep Measures for Infants have been issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics aimed at reducing sleep-related deaths in infants. We have heard the rumors for years that  bumper pads that were puffy were not recommended for cribs. Now the AAP has definitely ruled agains all types of bumper pads.”There is a potential risk of suffocation, strangulation or entrampment.” To comply with this, We have decided to remove all crib bedding from our website since most sets come with bumpers.

Since 1992, the pediatricians’ group has suggested that parents place babies to sleep on their backcs as a way to reduce the risk of SIDS.  Since June of 2011, federal standards for cribs make it illegal for traditional drop -sided cribs to be sold or resold. We caution all Mothers to check their old cribs for this feature and replace the crib if it has a drop side. Avoid hand me down cribs. Be careful when borrowing cribs from friends to check this feature. As a Grandmother, my friends and I have always shared old cribs for the vacation sleepover.  Now , we will have to look elsewhere for the vacation crib.

About 2,500 babies die annually from SIDS.  The number has declined from over 4,000 in the early 90′s ; hopefully because of new precautions. This is a matter to be taken seriously.

With all this said, new Mom’s still want to decorate their nursery. What will replace the baby bedding as the focus of the nursery

Baby bedding was always the most important decorative element in a nursery.

Mothers who want to be extra cautious will now have to look to other key elements to accent their nursery.

Here are our suggestions;

• Pretty sheets and dust ruffles are still a great way to introduce color and design.
• An area rug is another excellent choice , especially if it is placed beside the dressing table  to provide extra protection in case a rambuctious toddler rolls off the changing table.
• Wall paper and paint will have to be the primary decorating tools for the twenty-first century.
• Beautiful stuffed toys
• Stepstools
• Play tables
• Drapes and Shades
• Baby Quilts Can be Hung on the Wall
• Nursery Wipe Box in beautiful fabrics

Baby Quilts Can be a Feature in the Modern Nursery

Organic nurseries provide the perfect safe nesting environment for newborns.  But the commitment to an organic nursery is not an easy one. Many organic bedding sets are white or natural.  You may have limitations in color and products, but that doesn’t meant you have limitiations in quality and style. Once you have decided that you must have an organic nursery, here are our tips to jazz up your nursery.

Pure White Organic Bedding by Dwell Studio

Most  organic bedding is white or natural like this Dwell Bedding set . So in order to make your room a jewel here are our tips.

l. Paint the room a deep jewel tone color like emerald green, hot pink,or cobalt blue.

2. Divide the walls in half with a molding and paint the upper portion a lighter tone of the same color as the lower portion. If you want to be really dramatic, choose two colors like pink and green , or aqua and brown, lavender and sage, or navy and red.

3. Accent with bright white baseboards and molding.

4. Include an organic blanket in bright colors to accent your crib.  Custom the blanket in colors that repeat the wall colors.

5.Personalize everything with bright colored embroidery. Keep repeating the same accent colors on everything you can find.

6. Look for organic towels and clothing. These can be hung on dowels on your wall to punch out color in your room. 

Organic Baby Blanket Handcrafted for Namely Newborns

8. Add a bright wall organizer from 3 Sprouts. They come in hippo, monkey and alligator designs. These wonderfully characters will  decorate your walls, and organize your clutter and will still be safe and organic.

Organic 3 Sprout organizer

Every new Mom wants the most beautiful nursery. Beautiful baby bedding like our Little Giraffe  bedding is essential for a comfy nursery. But your job doesn’t stop here. You have to make sure that no only is your nursery beautiful, but that it is safe. You need to make sure that your baby sleeps in a safe crib.

Even the most beautiful bedding doesn’t compensate for an unsafe crib.Beware of Cribs Sold at Steep Discounts. Be very careful if you reuse a crib or buy an old crib that your crib meets safety standards.

The  Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued new regulations for cribs that are are the toughest inthe world. “Our standards are so rigourouss that a new , compliant crib has to go through more than 75,000 cycles of testing ( shake test, mattress support tests, slat tests) to get certified ” said Scott Wolfson, the safety commision spokesman.

Stores that are stuck with old cribs that are being discontinued because they do not meet the new safety standards have donated these cribs or sold them at deep discounts before the June 28th date. Be careful if you have bought a crib before that date that was deeply discounted.

“After dozens of babies had tragically been entrapped and died, and millions of defective cribs have been recalled” these stringent tests are justified. You as a consumer cannot tell the safety of a crib just by looking at it. As parents and grandparents we assume that a crib is the one place that you can leave a baby unattended. We have to trust safety regulations.

It will now be illegal to sell used cribs, too, at least until the cribs meet the new market tests. Be wary of used and new  cribs sold on Craigslist and eBay as well as those sold privately on newsletters and newspapers. These may not have met the new market tests.

New crib rules are a major victory for the consumer. New cribs are tested for metal levels. Machines simulate a child jumping up and down ina crib by dropping a 45 pound weight on the each part of the mattress to test the strength of the mattress. Machines pull back and forth on the the crib railing, 7,000 times a day to test the strength of the screws and bolts. Even the slats are tested by dangling an 80 pound weight from each one to make sure it does not come loose or snap.

It’s now your responsibility as a parent to make sure that your crib meets these new standards for the safety of your baby.

Yesterday, my friend came over and helped me take apart my beautiful white crib. We lovingly packed the headboard and footboard between towels and stowed it in the back of my van.  We wrapped the custom bumpers and coordinating bedskirt in plastic. and tucked it my hall closet.

 The crib was going to a new home to provide a sanctuary for another grand baby whose parents needed a weekend or a few hours on a Saturday night to take in a movie. I had put off taking the crib down for almost a year. My two youngest grandaughters were already 3 1/2 and had been in their own beds for over 10 months. I knew there would be no more grandbabies, but I still wasn’t ready  to give up my crib.

Twelve years ago, when my husband and I moved to an  apartment, I made sure there was a room for a crib.  Eleven years ago when my daughter announced that she and her husband were going to have a baby, my whole face lit up and all I could think of was how was I going to decorate my nursery. what kind of baby bedding would I use. When she went shopping for a crib, I bought one for her and one for me. The crib became my favorite piece of furniture.

I remembered that my own mother 41 years earlier had bought me a simple white crib with a red and blue clown for $100.00 for my gender neutral nursery.  Then she went to an inexpensive baby store and bought the least expensive lightest weight crib that she could find and tucked it in her storage closet. I remembering protesting slightly and teasing her about what did she think she was doing with a crib.

But Mother knew best. Soon after my daughter was born, I was begging for a place to leave her for a few hours or a  few nights . She and my dad would go downstairs to the storage closet; put the crib on a luggage cart and ensemble it in the bedroom of their tiny apartment. My daughter spent many happy nights in that inexpensive crib that probably wasn’t up to  today’s safety standards. I never worried, because my mother was right there beside her watching through the night.

My crib , however ,was going to be different. It was not going to relegated to a storage closet: it was the featured piece of furniture in my guest room.I decorated the entire room around the crib.When  I had a custom quilted sea green and pink floral bedspread made for the antique double bed. I bought an extra six yards of this outrageously expensive fabric  from Brunschwig and Fils for the crib bumpers. I bought coordinating  stripe green and floral striped fabric for the  Antique double bed’s dust rufflefrom Scalamandre . I bought another extra six yards for my  custom crib’s dust ruffle. I didn’t care what sex the first grandchld was going to be. I knew there would eventually be a grand daughter and in the meantime, this was my room to enjoy. I had such fun painting the walls a pale green and finding a  12 inch wall paper border to put near the ceiling.

Five grandchildren slept in that crib with custom green and pink floral crib bumpers with extra long ties  over the course of nine years. And in the beginning I slept next to them covered by my matching custom quilted spread. I listened to them breathe and wandered at their tiny hands and fit. After I founded Namelynewborns, I added sheets from Caden Lane to my crib and bought one of the beautiful Tyler baby bedding sets in pink and brown . I rationalized that the crib was now a place to shoot my baby bedding and my personalized stuffed animals. But my children kept reminding me that the crib was taking up valuable space in the room that the grandchildren liked to gather in  and that I needed to find another home for my crib.

It was hard to give that crib up; Once the crib was gone it was  final;  I had to admit to myself that I would  never have  another tiny grandchild to hold and to marvel at their smallness. But now the room has space for the play kitchen and the plush stuffed animals and books that I can read  to older grandchildren  as they drift off to  sleep in the antique double bed with the pink and green quilted bedspread  that once matched a beautiful white crib.

A newborn baby cannot enter into the world without being bombarded by gifts. There are plush blankets, wipes, toys, bouncers and a myriad of other things that baby simply can’t do without. Fortunately, no one is object to spoiling a newborn. The downside is that some people are a little fresh out of unique ideas. Sure, there are always the essentials such as diapers, a car seat, etc. but there is never any fun in that.

Personalized Baby Pillow Cases – Although a newborn doesn’t stay small for long, this is a gift that everyone in the family will cherish. You can choose to create this particular gift yourself or have it professionally made. There are even places online that will allow you to pick out a pillow case and design.

Blankets – We’re not talking about just any ordinary blanket, but plush blankets. Plush blankets are comfy and cozy. These particular blankets aren’t made with harsh fibers, nor are they thin. You can count on these comfy fabrics to keep your little one warm and snug.

Car Seat Covers – Whether you’re purchasing this gift for your own baby or perhaps the baby of a close friend or relative, it will definitely come in handy, especially when the original car seat cover is in the wash. Besides, everyone could use a change from time to time. All in all, this is an inexpensive and very useful gift.

Carrier – A carrier is convenient for both baby and mother. It’s convenient for baby because obviously, some like to be held more than others. Carriers also prevent parents from having to hold their babies while out in public. In addition, their also considered highly fashionable – an excellent gift!

Bedding – Newborn babies need much more than just plush blankets and pillow cases. There are tons of options for both baby boys and girls. You can also choose from a variety of fabrics and designs. Not to mention, find a killer deal, especially when opting to shop online.

Personalized Wipe Cases – A newborn child is likely to go through at least 10 boxes of wipes within their first two months – if not more. Why not help to save some money by purchasing a personalized wipe case? Most of the time, if you only have to purchase wipes in packs, you can save at least .75 cents to a buck. Over time, this adds up, as well as gives baby something to cherish when they get older. After all, how many kids do you know with their own personalized wipe box?

Baby Quilts – There are minky blankets, and then there are quilts. In addition to baby’s beautiful set of plush blankets, quilts are an absolute necessity. You’ll find quilts with animal designs, as well as quilts containing numbers and the alphabet. You may even decide to make one yourself. Whatever you decide, this gift is a keeper.

These are just a few of the unique newborn gift ideas to consider. As long as there are newborn babies, there will always be plush blankets, teddy bears, pillow cases, strollers, and car seats to consider. These gifts are just the tip of the ice burg. For more ideas, it’s best to ponder all your choices, which can be conveniently done online.

When a new mother is told she is going to have twins, the first reaction is usually panic. Our celebrities are no exception. Brooke Burke , however, made a speedy mental recovery and decided to make sure everything was done before the babies were born. She painted and carpeted her nursery and purchased both cribs and bedding sets as well as designing her window treatments well before the babies were born.

She took advantage of modern science to take the guess work out of waiting to find out the sex of her twins. Once, she realized she was having a boy and a girl , she set to work to design a unisex room which would still allow her to individualize the crib bedding for each twin.

Rather than be neutral, she decided to mix pink, brown and blue in a dashing geometric design on her walls. She kept her flooring a neutral beige ;then she was ready for the finishing touch . She was ready to add Caden Lanes 4 piece crib bedding in the Ryan and Dylan styles . Each baby bedding set retails for $450 and includes reversible bumpers with extra long ties,a blanket, crib sheet and dust ruffle. Each baby bedding set has a brown theme running through its beautiful pink and blue patterns. The pink and brown baby bedding set and the blue and brown bedding set are arranged side by side in her beautiful new nursery. Each set is highlighted with drapes in matching pink/brown or blue/brown cotton fabric for the finishing touch.

This years most popular color scheme remains pink and brown for girls and blue and brown for boys. You don’t have to have twins to enjoy this fabulous color scheme in either pink or blue with brown highlights by Caden Lane.

Keeping a nursery neutral is a great way of saving money and utilizing the room for every baby in the family. Once again, we suggest you start with today’s favorite neutral color – green. 

 The most important piece of furniture in your room is the baby’s crib.  Rich wood tones or light wood looks great with green walls.  A crisp white painted crib is also a perfect choice for a fresh light airy nursery.

Here are our favorite color combinations to make your sage green room a great boy’s hangout which will grow with him unit he is a teen.

Here is a great 4 piece crib bedding set from Caden Lane. The bumper has extra long ties and features a soft sage green plush interior that will be cozy for the baby to snuggle up to you. The exterior is a sharp modern pattern which coordinates with the 100% cotton  crib sheets and cotton gathered bed skirt.  All for $450 plus free shipping and an extra free sheet from  www.namelynewborns.com.

Here are other great color combinations for a  baby boy nursery using sage green as a wall or carpet color.

1. green, blue andbrown
2. green and white
3. green and blue
4. green and yellow
5. green and brown
6. green and turquoise