Tip Tuesday: Changing Sheets at Night

Just recently I was at a baby shower for a friend. On the table the hostesses had little advice cards to jot down some words of wisdom to the new mom-to-be. I thought and thought, thinking I can share some of the many things I have learned over the last few years with Judah. My mind unfortunately was blank until I remembered one piece of advice a friend passed onto to me in my early days of motherhood.

This friend in fact sent me a note book of journal entries from each day starting the day she knew I was going to have a baby until Judah's birth date. She provided, in her humorous words, stories of wisdom from her own experiences with two children. And these stories along with much needed advice helped me in my first few months.

So I thought today I would pass on the same advice I gave at the shower regarding avoiding changing sheets during the night. This is just one of the many cool tips my own friend passed onto me.

In my case, if I can minimize the time limit I am up during the night with Judah, then I am more likely to fall back to sleep right away. Will if the kid is sick, you get up, calm them down, check their temperature, become a slop mop for throwing up, change their clothes and sheets, give them some medicine if needed, and perhaps a drink of water before you can lay them back down. The minutes tick by and you realize you still need to clean up yourself. I still have yet to mention that you are already exhausted and may or may not be awake enough to actually get those sheets on right.

So my friend came up with this trick to keep these tasks to a minimum by alternating wet pads and sheets on the mattress before night time when the child is sick. Layering wet pads and sheets allows for you to just take off the top, dirty layer and throw into the laundry. The next clean layer is already to go without having to take the time to put clean sheets on. And you can get back to bed mush sooner without worrying where the next clean sheet is in the drawer.

Be sure to also keep all the dirty items close to the washer for immediate washing, limiting the passing of germs. And try using old towels draped over the pillow as a substitute for vomit buckets for smaller children who throw up anywhere.

Wishing you pleasant slumbers!