Do lots of research and get totally prepared for anything and everything. Here is a website that is very helpful when I first decided to become a breeder. Very informative and has a list of everything yo will need for a successful whelp.
http://www.debbiejensen.com/table.html Whelping box: something that will allow mamma to get out of but not the pups. You could build your own, I found instructions for one below that is simular to the one that I built and work perfectly.
Whelping Box, Build Dog Litter Whelping Box, Whelping Box Plan Puppy
Other options:
child's swimming pool
spare closet
spare bathroom
utility closet
Whatever you use or put them you will want to be sure to get something to protect your floors. (table cloth, thick sheet of plastic that you can get from Hobby Lobby typically use as table clothes found in the fabric section.
Soft bedding: you'll want to use thing that are washable and reusable like old baby blanket, quilts, linin, towels or rugs (these can be found at garage sales and Good Will stores) Dont use anything that you wont want ruined since they wont be good for much else afterwards.
Start saving your news papers now, your going to need them to line the whelping box with and change out a couple of times a day.
I can see you can handle yourself very well....good for you! There really are people on here like myself who want to help. Tension run high and we all just have different ways of expressing what is to be considers helpful. As you can see.