Do you have any great mysteries plaguing you? Yes, you could take those questions to Google. But in my experience, I’ve found that one concern voiced in a hair salon will typically generate an imbalanced buzz of advice.
Today I’d like to pass along two of the most unusual, unexpected and helpful bits of advice I’ve received from random clients regarding pregnancy and babyhood. (For those of you who 1) are men or 2) are women who get anxious at baby showers when the time comes to pass along advice to the soon to be mother – you know who you are – even if you might never be a mother yourself, trust me, these suggestions will wow any crowd!)
Suggestion #1) Buy a cheap shower curtain liner and cover your mattress with it.
No woman knows if and when her water will break. What she does know, however, is how much she’d love not to have to invest hundreds of dollars into buying a new mattress. On Monday, I purchased a clear shower curtain liner at WalMart for under $3.00. Compared to the cost of purchasing a king size, waterproof mattress liner, I think I scored big time… especially if my water breaks at home while in bed. If it doesn’t, then I’ll just have a spare shower curtain liner for the next time I need one.
I imagine that if you’re inspired enough, you could potentially cut shower curtain liners to the size of a crib mattress and have a little extra protection under those sheets as well.
Suggestion #2) Speaking of cribs, our next bit of advice is for once the baby has already arrived:
Layers.
As I understand it, all baby mattresses are waterproof because everyone expects babies to have accidents and diaper blowouts. So technically, if you’re very clean and on top of every mess at any hour of the day, you could live without a mattress liner under your crib sheet.
But who wants to deal with mess that at 3:00 A.M.?
One of my clients made her baby’s crib in layers. First mattress, then sheet, then waterproof sheet, then regular sheet, then waterproof sheet, then regular sheet, then waterproof sheet, then regular sheet…
In the middle of the night, if there was a messy accident, she simply peeled off the messy layer (the sheet and the waterproof sheet beneath it) to reveal a brand-spanking-new, clean layer. This way she and her baby were able to go back to sleep and manage the mess in the morning.
BRILLIANT.
If you’re struggling for a baby shower gift idea, get one of both types of sheets and, when the preggo lady is opening the gift, explain why you purchased both and offer the advice about the layers. So many women have never thought to do this that each time I’ve mentioned it to a veteran mother, they’re quite impressed.
Moral of the story?
Hairstylists by default are walking encyclopedias of practical advice. Take advantage of this at your next hair appointment!
LOVE IT! I can’t believe we got those tidbits, free of charge! Thanks!
AWESOME IDEAS!!!
old shower curtain liners are the best–when my daughter was young, i cut one in the shape of our kitchen table, sewed an elastic around the edges and basically made what looked like a giant shower cap for the table so my daughter and her friends were able to play with messy things (paint, finger paint, glue, etc) with impunity and I didn’t have to spend a lot of time cleaning up immediately after if play time ran into dinner time–i just removed the ‘shower cap’ and cleaned it when i had time
Love this idea!
GREAT idea!
and if any of you throwing baby showers want some really, ummm, interesting advice for a new mom, ask kids who have younger siblings–I did this for my daughter’s second grade teacher (polled the children in the class who had younger sibs) and it was hilarious
That’s awesome about the shower curtain liner for if you water breaks! Will be doing that for baby #3!
Here’s your book idea: “Snippets from a Stylist”
Great idea!
Another tidbit: Since having a shower curtain right under your fitted sheet is like sleeping on a ….well, a shower curtain, I put a blanket or two between the curtain and the sheet. Much cozier that way and I used old blankets that didn’t matter if they got ruined.
I’ve morphed the crib cover idea for Ross now that he’s in a twin bed. I got a few of the hospital pads that are water proof and absorbent and i (i- meaning my mom) sewed flaps of fabric on the sides so it tucks under the edges of the mattress and then put on a sheet, then a pad, then a sheet. He likes it a lot more than a loud, crinkly plastic cover.
Good ideas!
Brilliant!
even easier is to just lay a waterproof diaper pad under baby (they don’t move much for the first few months, then you don’t have to change the sheet when they wet…just the pad