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I have a pack and play but no sheets for it. I bought it last year when a guest was planning to fly in. They were going to bring me sheets to leave behind…and told me not to worry about buying any. Well…they ended up canceling so I never got the sheets.
Fast forward to this year. I have never advertised the pack and play. Anyway, a recent guest must have spotted the box (in storage) and asked if I had one. I said he was welcome to put it together but there were no sheets. He said he had his own anyway.
So now current guests asked if there were sheets for it. They were told the only spare bed sheets were for the floor mattresses. Grandma said that would work. If I do begin to advertise the pack and play, these are my questions:
Will parents make do with twin or full bed size sheets for the pack and play? I have plenty of those laying around.
If I really need to be purchasing the correct size sheets for the pack and play (for safety/comfort reasons):
** Is baby going to be spitting/throwing up on it, leaky diapers, etc. and then parents likely to wash this daily…AND
** If they do wash the sheets (and set stains in through the dryer) - are the next parents going to expect stain free sheets?
I know guests expect stain free bedding for themselves…but they seeem to have no issues staining them with pizza, red wine, makeup, etc. But don’t you dare charge them to replace…they are on vacation after all…ha!
If I need to order baby sheets, then I will be ordering this online…not going to a thrift store. My guests are not allowed to do laundry belonging to the rental, and that’s why I am able to get my own stains out. But of course I would have no problem with them washing baby sheets.
I just know many of my young parents don’t seem to understand that a dish towel is used for drying dishes, and a dish cloth/sponge are used for cleaning up spills. So…sometimes even after bleaching/woolite, I still need to wash the dish towels again before putting them in the dryer. I do not think I can rely on this age group to not stain the baby bedding. Thoughts?? As a parent would you care if baby beddding was stained but clean?
Are these things easy to break? The one set of guests to use it put it back in the box. So this is not something I want to be checking to see if it works in between rentals. I don’t want this turning into my previous experience with air beds - guests busting a hole in it…not saying a word, then the next guests tell me there is a leak. Then I need to go out and buy one that day, etc.
Yes. Babies spit up, and leak, and vomit, and drool. And you would need a mattress pad to ensure that your mattress was not stained as well. I also expect that parents would expect that baby’s sheets are just as clean as theirs. In some ways, they might care more.
I will venture to guess that if you start offering this amenity, then you have to do it “right”, the same way you do the rest of your home “right.”
As to breakage, I don’t think that is common. Tons of them are gifted from new parent to new parent for them to be too delicate.
Thanks for the info. Yes, that does make sense that there are many hand me downs - so not likely to break.
OK…since you say parents might be inclined to not want (stained but clean sheets) - what is your opinion on how often parents might wash them…or not at all?
Example: Current guests are staying for one week - is it likely they will wash them?
Amongst the young parents that I know, they all generally have four to five set of sheets which they wash quite frequently, depending on their kid. A big spit-up baby will need clean sheets more frequently than a tidier baby. My cousin was a projectile vomiter, and they sometimes had to clean his room two or three times in one day. If you tell parents that they may not wash your linens, then they won’t of course. It gets complicated when you have one set of rules for one set of sheets than another. I mean, people can’t figure out how to use the door lock. How will they differentiate which cabin-things may be laundered and which can’t?
There is a middle ground. You provide two waterproof mattress pads, and parents need to bring their own sheets for the pack n’ play. The mattress pads should not be laundered; same rules as the other bed linens.
Glad you brought that up…as that was my next question:
Do the sheets take up a lot of space when packing for the plane?
Really this is all just a courtesy of people flying in. I’m pretty certain my drive to guests bring all of their baby stuff from home. It seems much simpler to let them bring/wash their own bedding…instead of me providing 5 sets of baby sheets so that guests don’t permanently stain them.
I bought pretty and affordable sets at Ikea, they were only a few euros.
They make small duvets and duvet covers as well, we have not talked about duvets for a while
Regarding waterproof covers, I am not a specialist, but there was signage at my Ikea that you should not put a waterproof cover under a baby’s head, waterproof covers they sell cover only two-thirds of the mattress.
No duvets for babies in this country. We are supposed to lay the child down on their backs, no coverings at all! Pediatricians are quite adamant about this. There are plenty of waterproof mattress covers which pose no health hazard. The problem with partial covers is, children are not fixed and will wiggle so that the uncovered portion of the mattress is vulnerable.
Now that’s a duvet I could handle. I washed a king and queen duvet the other day. I put them out in the winter for extra covers. And I still couldn’t figure out how to put them on by myself. It doesn’t matter how many youtube videos I watch…it’s hopeless. Maybe I should practice with baby duvets first…lol. Then upgrade to a twin!
OK…so before when you suggested to possibly have parents bring their own sheets…you were referring to “fitted” sheet only? Not baby blankets or anything like that?
If it is their kid… they would bring what they want. You don’t want the liability of providing bed coverings that might be considered lethal. CYA approach to hosting.
Yeah…that’s the confusing part of it all if you have never dealt with baby stuff. I was reading an article today saying that 4 out of 5 cribs/playpens that hotels provide are not safe for the baby. And then it was saying to be sure to check this and that blah blah blah before using.
That article is making me rethink everything. It makes me wonder if I am expected to check for the operation of the pack and play…when I don’t know what I am checking for.
I guess I am going to have to wait until these guests leave and pull it out of the box and look at it with my own eyes. I haven’t even seen it yet…so maybe once I open it up, it won’t be so scary…Sigh…
