I received a fabulous Premium Mattress Protector from Protect-A-Bed about 6 or 8 weeks ago and have had plenty of time to use it and report back!  When Protect-A-Bed reached out to me as a baby planner, I'm sure they were thinking of the obvious connection between new parents equiping their nursery and their own breathable, waterproof mattress protectors for cribs.  (Think:  leaky diapers, bottle dribbles, and other "mishaps.").  And they are right!  All parents, new and seasoned, want to do what they can to prevent allergies and stain-proof their stuff!  I however, had my own visions of a dry full size mattress beneath my newly potty trained three year old! 

Protect-A-Bed offers a full line of bedding protection products for every size mattress and pillow.  All are waterproof, but breathable, so are comfortable to sleep on (nice and cool!).  Some fit like a fitted sheet; while the AllerZip line of protectors has added bed bug (yuck!) protection, and these completely encase the mattress or pillow.  All are machine washable and able to be tumble dried.  This is key!  They must be easy to get on and off and throw in the laundry whether you are dealing with regular crib changes or middle of the night accidents. 

It's a great idea to have a spare, so that you're always protected against bacteria, dustmites, and spills each time you change the bedsheets, but an even better idea, was a suggestion from Rose at Protect-A-Bed:  Go ahead and layer the two so that when you do have a middle of the night mishap, just remove one layer and it's that much less work in the dark!  We've had great success with our Protect-A-Bed so far.  Unfortunately we have repeatedly tested it's water-proofing protection (smiles!), but are happy to report a stain-free mattress!  Also worth noting is that all of their products have a 10 year guarantee.

One of the great items we featured on the 10! Show this week was this beach tent.  Just pop-up, use the stakes, and add a little sand in the side pockets to further secure,  and it offers protection from the sun, a little privacy on a crowded beach, and a great shady spot to take a nap!  Now to be honest, I have a little trouble packing it back up (picture yourself folding one of those automobile dashboard sun visor things) to leave the beach, but I have an earlier version so they may have addressed this, and nevertheless, it's still worth the effort!  Here's what it looks like collapsed:  
Parent Tip:  If your beach, like mine, doesn't have public restrooms nearby (or even if it does- yuck!) and a sudden potty trip means high-tailing if off the beach and racing three blocks to home, pack this amazing little on-the-go potty (an essential for the trunk of any car carrying potty-trainers!), too, and avoid the whole scenario!  Close your tent vents for privacy and your little once can take care of business, get a spritz of foaming hand sanitizer and be back to building sand castles in no time flat.  When I've been alone with kids on the beach, this has saved me!  It's unthinkable to take everyone home at a moment's notice, especially when the need to pee often arises nearly as soon as our feet have hit sand!