Unless you’ve scheduled a Cesarian, there’s no way to know when baby will arrive. Many times the onset of labor occurs at the most unexpected moments, which means we mamas need to be prepared for anything. Before the birth of Summer Elizabeth, my midwife gave me this helpful tip to prepare for an unexpected birth.
Cover your mattress.
Should your water break in the middle of the night, you’ll be insanely grateful to have that mattress protected and covered up well. Purchase a plastic shower curtain or waterproof mattress cover and layer up as follows:
- comforter/bedspread
- top sheet
- fitted sheet
- COVER
- fitted sheet
- mattress
You may be wondering why you’ve got a fitted sheet between your mattress and the waterproof cover, but trust me, when you’re in a hurry to make up the bed & rush to the hospital, you’ll be mighty glad you’ve already got another fitted sheet clean & ready to go for when you get home. I know I was when I got back home earlier this month with my newborn bundle of baby boy joy.
Happy birth planning!
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Great idea ~ luckily I’ve already done this! I did it before having my first daughter and was SO glad that I did…my water broke half in bed and half on the floor. This time, who knows when it will happen, so I’m glad to be prepared once again! Still waiting on baby #2 to make her appearance!
Glad to know that many a mom must already know this handy tip. My water never broke until the last minutes of both births. Sadly, the nurse insisted upon breaking my water with Elijah, something I definitely didn’t want to do, but was hospital procedure I guess since I was almost completely dilated with the bag still intact. Keep your chin up, Kera! That baby will be in your arms in no time!
I did this with my kids crib mattresses. It is such a life saver!
Kelley, it works great, doesn’t it? When my toddler wet her sheets and mattress cover, we used urinary incontinence pads (for adults) underneath a clean sheet to save the day. How is it that I’d never even thought to cut up a sheet for the crib? Thanks for the idea and for stopping by tonight.
wonderful time saver! hoping Leah sees this.
Thanks, Carol! I’m happy you stopped by and hoping Leah has a great last trimester & birthing experience..
I really like this idea! I’m currently almost 20 weeks pregnant, so almost to the halfway point… I just found a plastic mattress cover in a box of stuff I was unpacking the other day and I almost got rid of it! So glad I didn’t!!
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Helen
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Great! So happy to help. Birth is the perfect time to use a mattress cover, even if you’ll never need it again. Better safe than sorry, right?!
I would say that the arrangement works well for me if this will lessen the hassle especially in preparations. I am in need of an easy-fix and hassle-free preps. Thanks for sharing this, Jelli.
You betcha, Kaye! It was definitely helpful for me during my daughter’s homebirth, and though I did use it with my son’s birth too, thankfully I didn’t really need it much. Hope you have a gorgeous birth experience.
I’ve done this to my baby daughter’s crib and it is a hassle-free preparation. I will recommend this to my sister who is 7months pregnant. Thank you for sharing this idea Jelli!
I tried this before when I’m having my first child.. I’m glad that I read this before that time came, I did it and it is a life saver for my son. Thank you Jelli for sharing this to us.
Thank you for your suggestion about mattress. Hope you and your family enjoy it!
Wow! I really need this post. Thanks for sharing.
thanks for giving me tips about mattress.