The sheet on the hospital bed fit because someone bought it for that bed. The sheet at home was bought for a different mattress, a different height, and a parent who did not need to get up in the night. Check it before the first night home.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

Measure the mattress where it will sit

Measure the depth of the mattress with a tape, from the top surface down to the bottom edge of the frame. Do it on the bed you will actually use, and raise it to the height you will use it at. If the bed goes up and down, take the number at the top height and again at the lowest height. Write both numbers on the back of the discharge paperwork or in your phone.

Then read the pocket depth on the fitted sheet package. The pocket has to cover the full depth you measured, with a little room to spare. A shallow pocket lets the corner pop loose the first time someone sits on the edge of the bed, and that is usually when you are standing there holding a pile of sheets.

Check the rail and the frame before the sheet goes on

If a bed rail clamps to the frame, the sheet and the rail both need room. Put the rail on first, then the sheet, and check that the fitted corners do not wrap around the rail hardware or the clamp. Read the rail's own instructions for which side it mounts on before you buy linens for that side. Measure the space between the mattress top and the rail top, because that gap decides whether a top sheet can be tucked without pulling against the rail.

Pick the top sheet and blanket for getting in and out

Check the length of the top sheet and the blanket from the head of the bed to the foot. If the fabric hangs to the floor on the side your parent uses to get out, a walker wheel or a foot can catch it. Choose a length that stops a few inches above the floor on the exit side, or tuck the foot end so it lies flat.

Choose a lighter blanket that one hand can pull back. A heavy comforter is hard to move during a trip to the bathroom at night, and it tends to end up on the floor.

Size the pillows to the sit-up, not only the sleep

Your parent may sit up in bed for meals, for visitors, or for the transfer to a chair. Check that the pillow fits a pillowcase you already own, and that it stays behind the back when the head of the bed is raised. A pillow that slides down behind the back is a nuisance you will see on the first night, so test it with the bed at the height you will use.

Count the sets you need for the week

Plan for one set on the bed, one clean set in the closet, and one in the wash. That is enough for a week of nights without a scramble. Keep matching fitted and flat sheets together, and keep the sizes labeled on the shelf so nobody pairs a wrong fitted sheet with a new mattress. Name who does the washing on the family list, the same way you name who picks up the mail.

When you compare sets, compare pocket depth, fabric weight, and the length of the top sheet. Thread count and color do not change how the sheet fits the bed.

Check the fit on the first night home

Before the first night, get the parent in and out on the side they will use, and watch the sheet. If the corner lifts, the pocket is short. If the hem catches on a walker, the top sheet is too long on that side. Fix it that night, not the next one. The week-by-week list on the Day 0 to Day 14 After Discharge page has the rest of the first-week checks.

The Sheet Has to Reach the Mattress You Have Now: Size the Bed Linens for a Raised Frame and a Rail