Nature Baby : creating a safe sleep space for baby
featuring henley pyjama suit in nightfall stripe, cotton + merino sleeping bag in northern sky and organic cotton cot sheet set
Tonight I dressed Percy in his cream cotton pyjama suit, the very same one worn by Che and Poet. It’s a simple design, humble even, and yet it’s eight-years-old, still in perfect nick and tells the story of many nighttime snuggles and early morning breastfeeds. It was one of the very first things I bought from Nature Baby, the New Zealand brand that has been a mainstay in my motherhood journey and continues to impress with its beautiful fabrics, classic designs and soft, muted palette.
In keeping with my minimalist wardrobe intentions, I always build the children’s seasonal outfits on a range of essentials – singlets, t-shirts, undies and socks – and Nature Baby is my go-to. I know it might seem far-fetched but I just really like knowing that natural, organic fibres are brushing softly against their skin all day. I care about what food they eat and I feel exactly the same way about the clothes they wear.
Percy is my first (sometimes) cot sleeper and so buying cot-appropriate sleepwear has all-of-a-sudden become a priority. The nights are cooling down and for the first time in many months, I’m dressing him in layers. A typical night outfit includes a singlet and an all-in-one but as true autumn creeps in I’ll also be reaching for a sleeping bag.
I recently spoke with the team at Nature Baby about how they choose their organic cotton, why natural fibres are a healthy choice for baby and the best layering pieces for a comfortable, contented sleep.
PS : tell me a bit about your organic cotton. Where do you source it from and what boxes does it have to tick before you use it?
NB : Nature Baby uses 100% certified organic cotton sourced from India, which means no toxic chemicals, dyes or bleaches are used at any stage. Our organic cotton is grown by farmers who saw the damage that conventional cotton farming methods were causing their land and community, so they chose to return to traditional methods of organic farming. All our cotton has to be organically grown and in an environment which cares for the welfare of famers, workers, community and families.
Our organic cotton is certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), which is a high international standard that covers the production, processing, manufacturing, packaging and labelling of goods. Every year we visit India to follow this process and oversee the production first-hand.
All our products are soft on the skin and the world; they’re best for the earth, for baby and for mum.
PS : why are organic, natural fibres so good for the body?
NB : As the organic fibres have not been subjected to any harsh chemicals, they are in their most natural state, ensuring the fabric is fine, durable, and silky soft against baby’s skin. The organic fibres are less likely to cause irritation, which is great for little ones’ sensitive skin, or those with eczema or allergies. The organic nature of the fabrics make them super breathable, unlike synthetics, allowing baby’s skin to cool in response to changing conditions.
Grown and processed without the use of harmful chemicals, means there are no nasties on your baby’s clothes and skin, just pure goodness.
PS : how can organic cotton create a safe sleeping space for baby?
NB : In the first few weeks and months, baby will spend most of their new life sleeping. Bedding and sleepwear that’s breathable and free from synthetics and chemical residues is important for a healthy beginning. Natural fibres are soft and breathable, and will draw away any body moisture, helping little one maintain an even body temperature while sleeping.
PS : what are 3 products you recommend for a new baby?
NB : baby swaddle wrap (muslin, cotton or merino), natural mattress and mattress protector and a sleeping gown.
Nature Baby is kindly giving away an organic cotton sheet set in white (cot size) valued at $84.95. To enter, simply leave a comment explaining your bedtime routine with your little one (I’d love to hear about your favourite bath products, books and lullabies!). The comment that resonates most, wins.Competition open to international readers and closes Mon 18th April @ 5pm and winner will be announced shortly afterward. Good luck!
Comments closed. Congratulations to Isobel! Email me – jodiclairewilson @ yahoo.com.au and I’ll get your sheet set in the post.
This is a sponsored post. Thanks so much for supporting the brands that support PS. All photos by me for Nature Baby.
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Mmmmm…babies and bedtime. A wonderful part of the day with plenty of cuddles and kisses, smiles and yawns. Our bedtime routine begins with a nice warm bath, lots of splashing and playing hide-and-seek with 'quack quack' (the rubber ducky). A few suds through the hair ( I use Arbonne baby) and then a quick dry off and into some soft fresh pjs. Next comes some warm milk,a few books on mummy's knee and into bed with a kiss on the forehead and some whispered 'goodnights'.
Gosh, how lovely to win new cot sheets for our second boy. We've barely bought him anything – he wears and uses his brother's things.
Our routine for our littlest love who begins in his cot and always ends up in our bed is simple – bath with Gaia products, a mini massage with L'Occitane Mom and Baby Lotion, into a singlet, Muumi nappy (we use cloth during the day, disposable at night) and his pyjamas (I made him pyjamas from the flannellette wraps my aunt made him). Then he has a long breastfeed, a story (about animals tonight), he turns for a big cuddle, I pop him into his sleeping bag and say, "Goodnight, I love you." Inevitably, a few minutes later I return to sit beside his cot to hold his tiny hand and after a bit of wriggling he finally goes to sleep.
My baby is only two weeks old and as a first time mom I'm still in a haze of trying to figure out what I'm doing with this tiny human. However, I started a night time routine almost immediately because I felt it was important-for both of us. We read a story while I'm nursing…love Madeline books especially, then say prayers, listen to two songs that daddy recorded for her, turn on the sound machine and kiss goodnight before putting her in her bassinet next to our bed. Feels so sweet and special to share these intimate moments with my sweet baby!
She brushes her teeth and washes intimates, changes underwear and clothing and that starts our night routine. We then put on mosquito repellant lotion and often carry her to boost her up the stairs (in her loft bed) and I go up along with her. I read a book of her choosing although at times I choose for us.. And she always ends our reading with "My World", a book she knows by heart. Then we start saying our good night:
"I love you, Good night.
I love you with all my heart.
I love you with all my soul.
I love you, I love you, I love you.
I love you forever.
I love you to the moon and back!"
I usually go down and turn off the lights after and she says her prayers (though at times we pray together). 🙂
(Oh and I always go back up in the middle of the night for more cuddles as she is sound asleep. I can't help it. ❤️)
I'm entering on behalf of my sister and brother-in-law who are expecting their first baby. We're very excited for those warm cuddles and for them to start their own traditions and bedtime routine – I'm sure including some of the lullabies our mum sang to us. I am one of seven and my parents had a different specific lullaby they sang for each of us, our own special song.
We have a boisterous two year old (Mabel) and a quiet wee 4 month old (Amelie), so our routine tries to meet both girls needs…
We start with a shared bath, Amelie watches her sister splash and Mabel loves to play with her shells. Both girls are washed using Olive skincare. Amelie is then given a quick massage (in front of the fire lately!) and some milk while Mabel continues to play in the bath.
When both girls are dried and in pjs we read stories- Mabel LOVES stories so this can go on for a wee while! A lot of the time our stories are made up and usually involve the girls going off on magical adventures together, and Mabel helps to tell them too (last night they jumped to the top of a tree with a big pink bunny rabbit and looked at the moon and stars 🙂 ).
Mabel then goes to bed with lots of kisses and cuddles and a favourite nursery rhyme (at the moment it's Jack and Jill). Amelie goes to bed with a lullaby- one we made up using the song from 'Dumbo' that the mummy elephant sings ("Baby mine, don't you cry…")
And that's our routine!! Constantly evolving and changing, but a pleasure for all of us.
Bedtime is so special! I have a 5 month old little boy. We give him a bath with ecostore products which smell amazing and are so good on delicate skin. Then we snuggle him up in his towel, bonds wondersuit on, story ( going on a bear hunt is a fav at the moment), into his merino sleep sack, twinkle twinkle song , fairy lights on in his room and then all snuggled up in his cot ready for sleep. Most of the time it works a treat and is definitely the best time of the day.
I'm not sure that we even have a bedtime routine with our little one. She is just now 6 months old and 'bed- time' is still very much on her terms. Always involved nursing and then some more! Sometimes a bath, lots of cuddles and being carried around the house just to check on everything before she starts to doze. I love tucking her in to her little bed but we are just about to move into the big cot! Now that it's cooling off she gets to snuggle with the fluffy blanket that her 'big' nan made (my nan) and every time i see the little love heart embroidered on it I'm reminded that it's all ok and that all the rocking and cuddles and feeding is 100% totally worth it.
I am excited to start a bedtime routine when we meet our little one in a few weeks. This will be our first so I am sure it will take several weeks to settle into a routine that works for us. I can't wait to snuggle our little one, kiss those soft hands and feet, and comfort them as they fall asleep.
Now that we are expecting our first child we are considering all these sorts of things. We have so far been gifted Hubby's cot and all of his wool and cotton baby blankets. We are still working out exactly what else we will need but if we need anything it will be organic cotton especially sleepware. With a baby spending so much time in bed I want to know that they are surrounded with natural fibres not layers of woven plastic.
Bedtime here is with a toddler (2.5) and a newborn (6 weeks). Daddy and Miss O have bath/shower time together, (which I started working on when I was still pregnant, knowing that it would probably be baby's feed time – so it wouldn't be a big change for her) while Mama is couch bound cluster feeding little Miss L. After bath, Daddy snuggles Baby L while Mama brushes and plaits Miss O's hair. Then it's storytime, lullabys and bed. Storytime usually includes one or 2 each from Mama and Daddy, either on the couch so Baby L can listen, or in Mama and Daddy's bed 🙂 Lullabys are my favourite part…Miss O has her favourite nursery rhymes she requests, always followed by "Once Upon a December" (from Anastasia). It's a Mama/Miss O special – Daddy doesn't know the words to that one 😉 My favourite thing in the world is stroking her hair and listening to her sing a long with me to a song I always dreamed of singing to my babes one day. I started singing it to her the first day she was born and will always continue as long as she allows me.
We use Gaia on our littles here, love the smell. May be switching for Miss O soon though, or simply adding some breastmilk to her bath while we have access to it! She seems to have some sensitive skin issues. Miss L is still settling into a routine but we make sure she is clean, changed and set for bed before her cluster feeding block so that when her little tummy is full of milk she can drift off happily and join her sister in dreamland! I like to think her lovely evening massage helps with that. Bedtime is so lovely, particularly in the cooler months we are entering – with lovely warm blankets and soft, comforting sheets. I hope my girls have lovely memories of bedtime 🙂
My 5 month old Maxwell has a goatsmilk soap bath with Mama. Daddy dresses him then we snuggle into bed together for a tummy to tummy breastfeed. When full he rolls away onto his tummy and I sing and stroke his hair until he sleeps. I then transfer him to his cot until I return to bed myself.
Our baby girl beds early, as she typically doesn't nap. Her bedtime routine begins almost as soon as my husband arrives home from work. He sweetly takes her for a walk in the stroller to relieve me from a long day. Often he'll give her a warm-water sponge bath, leaving her with poofy porcupine hair, then administer a dose of vitamin D, which he refers to as "candy" since she loves it. He'll then pass her to me for a final feed, during which she'll lift her fingertips to my lips to be kissed. I once again hand her to my husband, who zips her into a wearable blanket, then sings her to sleep with a "sleepy baby" song he made up.
Although I cherish the nighttime snuggles as much as he does, I feel blessed to have a husband so willing to help and so eager to spend time with his little girl.
Bed time creeps in Jack gives all his friend a big kiss & cuddle. Starting with Questy, the giant crocodile we bought on the Gibb River, WA when I was 2 months pregnant, then Nelsy, a polar bear with a startling resemblance to an old family dog, and Kurt, a knitted teddy in blue & red to match the family's Newcastle Knights patriotism. He used to cry when we started the routine, but now he's just turned 1 and loves giving each one of his friends a big sloppy 'mwah' before bedtime x
What a lovely post. We love nature baby too. Our bedtime routine for our 8 week old is I start the feed, then either a bath or shower with daddy, a baby massage with coconut oil and into her pjs. She then has the rest of her feed and off to sleep. We generally do this early evening. We love using Eco store products for her shower or bath and the nappy balm -they smell lovely and are so nice on her skin and all natural too, which is important to me. I swaddle her at the moment but will be putting her in a sleeping – can't wait to get a nature baby one.
Our routine is whatever happens. But always bubble bath, clean PJs, a story ( he always picks the longest ones!)and kisses and cuddles with mum and dad. We tried a strictish routine but it never really worked for us.