Holly has now been potty trained during the day for nearly 5 months, so much earlier than we had bargained on! At bedtime, she has been wearing a pull up nappy but a couple of weeks ago, we forgot to buy any and so had to risk a night nappy-free. We lifted Holly when we went to bed and successfully managed an entire dry night. Of course, since then, Holly has been keen to keep trying to go nappy free at night, even though I don't think we are really quite ready. This means we are in need of very reliable mattress protectors to help keep Holly's cotbed dry even when accidents do happen.
Online4Baby sent us a cot bed mattress protector for Holly to try out. It is a Clair De Lune fitted mattress protector sheet which is 140cm by 70cm so is suitable for both a cot mattress and a cotbed mattress. The sheet is elasticated to stretch over the mattress and is designed for use underneath your normal fitted sheet to add a protective waterproof layer.
The Claire De Lune mattress protector isn't heavy or thick, it feels much like any other fitted sheet just with a slight sheen to the base of the fabric. It isn't really shiny and it doesn't crinkle and make a noise when you lie on it (unlike other waterproof sheets we have used in the past for Lara). This mattress protector is just as easy to fit as a regular cot sheet.
For me, a cotbed sheet needs to be capable of dealing with a baby's leaky nappy but should also be up to the greater challenge of a toddler or preschooler's middle-of-the-night accident which is a far greater challenge to deal with. We've had one accident when using the sheet and this was first thing in the morning when Holly woke up so we knew about it and could act within minutes to take the bedding off the cot bed and get everything in the wash quickly - the bed was nice and dry underneath the sheet. I don't know yet how it would cope if the accident were to happen late at night when the mattress protector would have to protect the bed for several hours.
I've successfully put this sheet through the wash but you have to be careful not to use fabric softener so that it retains its waterproof properties.
The Clair De Lune fitted mattress protector sheet currently costs £10.95 at Online4Baby.
