A Sleepyhead Grand Hack

A couple of weeks ago we made the decision to upgrade Amelia’s Sleepyhead Deluxe to the Grand as she was starting to out grow the smaller version. She’s so much stronger now and a couple of nights in a row we caught her trying to turn on to her tummy inside the Deluxe. She was able to turn over but there wasn’t really enough space for her to sleep like that safely without her face being very close to the sides.

For those couple of nights we didn’t sleep well, constantly checking the monitor and going in to turn her over, only for her to turn back again. When it became obvious this wasn’t a one off thing we decided it was time for the upgrade to the much larger Grand. If she’s determined to roll in her sleep I would rather she did so safely.

If you have previously transitioned from the Deluxe to the Grand you will know that the Grande is bloody massive. I was shocked by it’s size when I collected it from John Lewis, with our pram frame and seat it just about fit in the boot of our family car. It’s size is great if your baby is getting bigger or they want to roll over and it will definitely last a long time (Sleepyhead claim it should last up to 36 months).

The most common Sleepyhead is the plain white one and whilst there are protective covers available in some really lovely colours and patterns I’ve already spent £180 on the Grand, I’m certainly not forking out another £85 on a cover. This was the case back when we bought the Deluxe too, instead of buying a cover for it we used extra large muslin blankets. Tucking them under at the sides, top and bottom to prevent Amelia from pulling them off. The muslin meant that if she was sick or dribbly or you just wanted to change the cover as you would your own bed sheets you could just pop the muslin in the wash and replace it. Keeping your white Sleepyhead clean and the pillow intact ready for the next sleep.

Whilst the extra large muslins were perfect for the Deluxe, unfortunately they’re no match for the mahoosive Grand. In the end I made the judgement call that I would rather have the cover at the top where her face is and leave the bottom uncovered, however this didn’t stop her from pulling it off and I would often find it shoved down around her tummy somewhere and her face would be on the white pillow. I’m not overly precious about the whiteness of the cover, I know it’s going to get dirty and can be washed but I don’t like the idea of her pulling the muslin off in her sleep, what she covers her face with it or gets tangled up in it when she rolls over.

So here’s my hack, well actually it was my husband’s idea so I can’t even take credit for it. A cot bed mattress fitted sheet. It’s bloody brilliant, it covers the whole of the Grand pillow and because it’s elasticated around the edges, Amelia can’t (yet) pull it off. In fact it fits so snug to the pillow that she didn’t even try to pull it off last night.

A really simple solution, it helps to protect the original Sleeyhead cover, it fits over the whole pillow and so far it can’t be removed by little tugging hands. Most importantly, it won’t cost you £85.

Rachel xx