What is safe to put in a newborn's crib?

They stay warm and cozy by being properly dressed (either a onesie, sleeper, or both depending on the temperature) and swaddled (while little enough to stay swaddled). At least, that’s what the newest recommendations are. No blankets, bumpers, stuffed animals, or anything else in the crib other than the fitted sheet they are sleeping on.

That being said, my two month old has a breathable bumper on his crib and I put a receiving blanket over his legs to be sure he stays warm because he won’t stay swaddled and he sweats if I have him in a sleeper at night.

You can swaddle them in a baby blanket (wrap them up kind of like a little burrito). Some babies are really comforted by this. My firstborn slept happily in a cozy little bundle, turned on his side.

My second son started fighting his way out of swaddling almost from the beginning. He couldn’t stand to have his hands tucked in. We learned pretty fast. Parents do.

I swaddled my kids in receiving blankets up until about 3–4 months. Then a light blanket over the legs while wearing an appropriate sleeper to keep them warm. And they always had a little cap to keep the head warm.

Believe me, you can’t have too many receiving blankets. There were times we went through three or four in a day.

Are receiving blankets the safest bet? Should I stay away from those fluffy soft blankets?

Receiving blankets are the most versatile in my opinion. They can be used for so many things and are easy to clean. I’d stay away from fluffy blankets for the first few months because of suffocation hazards. Once your little one has good control of his neck and can move his head from side to side on his own, it’s a bit safer. In the beginning, since they have little control of their head (because of weak neck muscles) there is a possibility of them getting into a position they can’t easily move out of and suffocating.

Dr Lee discovered that crib mattresses have stuffing that emit toxic gasses (that’s because stuffing for crib mattresses is unregulated), and these gasses are very possibly the cause of SIDS. A mattress cover that is not air permeable will prevent the baby from breathing in toxins while he sleeps.

I suggest a mattress cover from this site. http://www.johnleemd.com/store/main_products.html

They don’t stay tiny for long. My sons adored their fluffy soft blankets.

When they were about a year old, each in turn, I bought a twin-size cotton thermal blanket in a nice color, cut it in half, and stitched satin blanket binding along the raw edge. This gave us two identical “blankies.” They became very attached to their special blankets, snuggled with them, carried them around, used them in various kinds of play, and so on.

It was nice that they were big, lightweight, and soft, but the best thing was that there was always one available and I could wash the other without triggering a crisis. And if anything ever did happen to one, we had a backup. (Let’s hear it for redundant systems!)

My 27-year-old son, now a lawyer, still has the tattered remains of one of his pair of blankets rolled up in his bureau at our house even though he no longer lives with us. I think the other one fell apart after he tried to make a tent out of it when he was in middle school.