Do we really need all this waterproof stuff?

[emschwar]

DH and I went to BRU today to start our registry. According to their "must haves" checklist, we need:
- a vinyl mattress cover
- a mattress pad (the elasticized kind that goes on above the vinyl cover)
- waterproof pads (the kind that are like blankets - completely flat, no elastic)
- sheet savers

Is 4 layers of waterproofing really necessary? It seems like we could dump 8 gallons of water on the mattress and it would still be dry with all that stuff. Any opinions? Thanks!

[momofboys]

I used a waterproof mattress pad a coupla times. It was a pain to take off & wash whenever it got wet. Our crib mattress is vinylized so all I use now is a crib sheet!!!!!!!!!! If it gets spit up on, wet or soiled we only have one layer to change.

[luvbeinmama]

I have all of the above except the sheet savers. The waterproof pads are useful for when they are drooling/spitting up all the time so you don't have to change the sheets every day. My mattress pad is NOT waterproof, that's what the vinyl mattress cover is for! So, I have/had 1-2 layers of waterproofing. That is fine. BTW, I bought a waterproof mattress pad (padding on top, vinyl under) and the stupid thing had little tears in it after washing it ONCE!!! I don't recommend that one to anybody. HTH!

[vikivoly]

I spent waaay too much money on this crap. I don't know if I'm just lucky, but I've only ever had to change the sheets 2x because of leaks, spit up, etc.. She has never had a blowout in her crib. I would say buy 1 waterproof pad or sheet saver and if you need more, you can always pick up a back up.

[hellokitty1]

I bought all this stuff but for me personally, it has been excessive as DD has never had a diaper accident in her crib (knock on wood). And she is an excessive drooler but she sleeps in the crib which is about the only itme she's not drooling so that's not really an issue. Besides, if she does drool in there, it must be dry by the time I get in there bc I don't think it's a problem.

So what I do have is a waterproof matress pad. I got it mainly just for the sake of having a pad like I have on my own bed. The fact that it was waterproof was an afterthought. Then I have a crib sheet over it. I do have sheet savers but don't find them that useful bc DD moves all around the crib at night so the one strip of sheet savers is a hit or miss. I do have an Ultimate Crib Sheet that I got as a gift but have only used it once - the night we gave DD solids for the first time, just in case she had a bad reaction and threw up or something.

So IMHO, I'd get the mattress pad, at least for some softness. And you could get an UCS. Worst case scenario, if you never need the UCS for accidents, it still works fine as a crib sheet. Just put it over a fitted sheet and when it's itme to change it, just take it off and you have a sheet already underneath - kind of like only having to go through sheet changing once for two sheets.

HTH.

[momma_boo]

The mattress we use is covered in vinyl, so a mattress cover wasn't needed for us. The only thing we have been using are the sheet savers (and I only have two of them). I found the sheet savers to be really useful during the first 3 months when DD was spitting up A LOT. She doesn't really spit up so much anymore and she moves around the crib so much that the sheet savers don't provide any protection. BUT I still use them b/c it gives me a softer and less cold spot to place her head when I put her down at night (especially if she's already asleep, I don't want to put her down on the cold sheets).

I haven't had any major diaper accidents so far in the crib (knock on wood) but the few times when she leaked out, her nightgown and sleep sack absorbed most of it.

[amp]

We use a fitted waterproof matress pad under our crib sheet, so we do not have 2 layers (the cover and pad) like BRU told you. We use this pad as much for the waterproofing as for the extra padding. The mattress is waterproof, so the pad just soaks up any fluid (drool, spitup, diaper leaks and adds a little softness under the sheet. On top of the crib sheet we use a sheet saver. We consistently use all of these, and I am pleased with this setup. When DS spits up or drools like crazy, the sheet saver does keep me from changing the sheet right away...I just switch sheet savers. When he was first born, we put him the long way on the sheet saver so his whole body fit on it and this helped when he had some diaper leaks early on. Now just his head lays on it (when he's not scooting around the crib!)

[lmariana]

After having multiple middle of the night spit-up sheet changes, we decided on the "Ultimate Crib Sheet" from BRU. It's a waterproof backed sheet that isn't elasticised. It has 8 elastic snap-on straps. You just lay it on top of your normal crib sheet and snap the straps around your crib's railings.

So, when we put Gabe down to bed at night, he's just on the normal crib sheet. Then after his first inevitable spit-up, we just strap the ultimate crib sheet over the mess and all go back to bed quickly. This was our solution because I was having to change crib sheets in the middle of the night, and that stunk!

As far as it's durability, I've put the ultimate crib sheet through the normal wash and dry cycles countless times, and it's still as good as new. I haven't had any cracking.

Just a thought! They go for about $18 each at BRU, and we get by fine with 2.

Mariana
Mother of Gabe, 10 weeks old

[jubilee]

All we use is a sheet on the already waterproof mattress! I've rarely had to change sheets in the middle of the night either

[emschwar]

Thanks for the help. I guess to be sure, we'll register for 1 of each, just in case we need them, and get more if/when we do. (BRU seems to think we'll need 4-6 of everything!) I figured some of that had to be overkill.

[jennifer13]

We have the Ultrasoft Quilted Mattress Pad by Continental (at BRU). I like it because it is really soft and padded and makes the mattress much cozier (it's not "too" soft for safety, of course). That goes on top of the mattress and under the regular sheet. Then we use either sheet savers or a pad by Carters- I forget what they're called. There are smaller ones called bassinet/changing table pads, and then they make crib size ones. They are flannel but are waterproof, or at least water resistant. Changing crib sheets is a nightmare, so some kind of layer is very helpful. And we've never had to change/wash the mattress pad. Even if there are few diaper accidents, the drool and spit up is considerable!

And while we're talking waterproofing, those changing table/bassinet pads by Carters are great on the changing table. So there you have layers too: the vinyl pad, the terricloth cover, and then a pad over that. The pads are cheaper then the terricloth covers, and you will find that baby loves to pee and poop during the moment in the between removing the dirty diaper and putting on the clean one. Voila, slip out pad and you have a dry surface. Just passing that along, it was a valuable tip I received from a mom-friend and it was very helpful to me! You'll find the system that works for you.

Jennifer
Mom to Norah 5/23/03