Outfitting your baby’s crib safely is easy, especially when you’re a member of the “bare is best” club. When you’re shopping for crib bedding, all you need is a tight-fitting crib sheet (think drum) and you’re good to go.

But changing a crib sheet? Not so much. First, you gotta hoist up the crib mattress completely out of the crib (cue: grunting sound), take off the old sheet, stretch on a new one, then plunker down the mattress in the crib again–often in the middle of the night, which is prime time for diaper blow-outs.  There’s gotta be a better way.

There is now. The latest crib sheets (below) help save the day and the night since babies sleep practically ’round the clock. Go ahead and call them what they are: crib sheets on steroids.

AM/PM Problem: Changing a crib sheet is like lifting a boulder

Sheet solution: Quick Zip Crib sheet

The QuickZip is a crib sheet that short-circuits the crib-sheet-changing process to make it a non-workout. It features a fitted base sheet that completely encases the mattress and a removable top panel. When your baby has a diaper that overfloweth, you’ll just unzip the top panel and zip in a new one. Viola!

If you go the QuickZip route, opt for a starter pack of which you have three options: Basic (1 Drop-in Base + 1 Zip-On Sheet), Premium (1 Drop-in Base + 3 Zip-On Sheets) or Deluxe (1 Drop-in Base + 3 Zip-On Sheets + 1 Flat Mattress Pad).  Zip-On Sheets are also sold separately. Feel free to mix and match tops and bottoms.

Note: The QuickZip is too big for one crib mattress, Moonlight Slumber Little Dreamer. Although crib mattresses must be a standard size, “the Moonlight Slumber Little Dreamer crib mattress is completely flat across the top,” a QuickZip representative told me by phone. Because the mattress is so flat, it doesn’t fill out the sheet enough. If you have a Moonlight Slumber Little Dreamer crib mattress, skip the QuickZip.

AM/PM Problem: Your baby monitor could use an assistant

Sheet solution: Mimo Smart Baby Movement Monitor

This 100 percent cotton machine washable crib sheet multitasks as a baby monitor. The sheet has built-in sensors that monitor your baby’s movement in real time and sends the information to a free iOS or Android app on your smartphone or tablet. The sheet fits most standard crib mattresses.

Before selecting this “smart” crib sheet or any “smart” device that will be next to your baby, get the buzz on wireless Bluetooth technology. It gives off some electromagnetic radiation (“electrosmog”) may babies absorb. To put electrosmog on your radar, start by reading this post. For more info on the Mimo Smart Baby Monitor, visit mimobaby.

AM/PM Problem: You’ve got a climber

Sheet solution: Swanling Slumber Sleeper

One of the most innovative crib sheets yet, the Swanling Slumber Sleeper is a fitted crib sheet with an attached Slumber Swaddle or sleep sack. The gist: The swaddle sack or sleep sack snaps into the sheet at the waist band. It’s designed to keep your baby sleeping on her back and from leaping out of the crib, which becomes a pastime for some babies at around age 2. (I can still hear the “thud” of my own daughter’s then crib escape.)

Two things to keep in mind before investing in this crib sheet concept:

1) You know to put your baby to sleep on his back but at some point, he’ll turn over to his tummy on his own. “Flipping for the first time is scary,” says Laura Reno, the program director of Family Support for First Candle. “But it’s a necessary part of normal development.” First Candle recommends that once babies can roll in both directions, or can flip to their tummy for sleep, it’s okay to let them. No need to flip out.

2) What if there’s a fire? That’s not such a weird thought considering that “each year more than 2,500 people die and 12,600 are injured in home fires in the United States,” according to the Department of Homeland Security. What if you need to get your baby out of the crib really fast? With the Swanling Slumber Sleeper, it might not be so easy (and that’s the point).

AM/PM Problem: You worried about accidents ruining the mattress

Sheet solution:  BSensible waterproof crib sheet

The BSensible crib sheet is made from super soft and sustainable fiber (Tensil), so it’s eco-friendly. But the real selling point? It’s waterproof, which is a new concept in crib bedding. The underside of the crib sheet is essentially laminated. It’s coated with a polyurethane plastic that physically stops water droplets from passing through. So you have natural fabric on one side and a waterproof membrane on the other. There’s more: Zinc oxide is also woven into the fabric to make the sheet antibacterial. If your baby has an accident, there’s less likely to be odor.

AM/PM Problem: The crib sheet doesn’t exactly fit?!

Sheet solution: Don’t skimp

All crib mattresses sold in the U.S. must come in a standard size: 28 x 52, plus or minus 5/8ths inches in width and 3/8ths inches in length, and is no more than 6 inches thick. But oddly, there’s no standard size for crib sheets. Some crib sheets can look like they’re stretched too thin–completely covering the crib mattress on one end but not fully on the other, especially after the first washing. Uh oh!

For a tight fit that won’t come off no matter what, look for high-quality fitted crib sheets. Liz and Roo crib sheets, for example, have deep pockets and an elastic band that goes around the entire perimeter of the sheet, not just on the ends, so the fitted sheet hugs the mattress. To get such a high-quality sheet, be prepared to spend a little more ($28 to $40 or so) and check the store’s return policy before buying a crib sheet. A crib sheet isn’t a super expensive purchase, but hey, it all adds up.

Your Crib Sheet Shopping List

Overall, BPM is a fan of high quality crib sheets, such as…

QuickZip Crib Sheets because they really do make changing a crib sheet easier.

BSensible crib sheets because they’re waterproof and stink-free.

Liz and Roo crib sheets because they’ve got elastic all the way around.

Buy two or three fitted crib sheets.

No matter which crib sheet you buy or list on your baby registry, get a waterproof crib mattress pad anyway, even if you buy a waterproof crib sheet (such as the BSensible). A mattress pad helps make your baby’s crib mattress cozier and extend the life of your mattress. It helps keep your baby from feeling the coolness of the mattress, which can seep through.

Go ahead and get a crib skirt if you want to. It makes a fun style statement without violating the cardinal rule of crib safety: “Bare is best.”

Skip the bumper, blankets, pillows, stuffed animals and sleep positioner.

Wondering which crib mattress to buy along with your crib sheet and mattress pad? BPM suggests any crib mattress by Colgate Kids, but especially their value options, such as the Colgate Foam Supreme II, Colgate Classica 1 and the Colgate 2-N-1 Innerspring crib and toddler mattress because, well–they get the job done just fine. The company has been manufacturing quality crib mattresses at all price levels since 1955.

All Colgate Kids mattresses are Greenguard certified, which means they meet strict emissions limits. They don’t emit pollutants for your baby to breathe in, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Here are the sheets that Colgate recommends for their crib mattresses, just fyi.

Which type of crib sheet will you buy? Let us know by leaving a comment on Babyproducts Mom Facebook page.

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