Crib Mattress Recommendation Needed

Organic cotton is the way to go. Babies spend half their day sleeping and most conventional mattresses have fire retardants and other chemicals that are known carcinagens. The one we bought has some inner coils but is not too heavy. I spent alot of time researching them online and finally found one for around $240- its alot more than some mattresses but I felt like this was important.

good luck and many blessings

My son didn't like the foam mattress, but really didn't like his crib, so I am not sure if it really was the mattress or not. When we moved him to a toddler bed we purchased a coil mattress for him and he seemed to like that better. My daughter on the other hand loved the foam mattress from day one. I'd get the foam again, just for ease of changing. Goore's in Sacramento a large baby store in the area recommended the foam mattress to me. The foam mattress was not soft, so I wouldn't worry about the baby's face being pressed into the mattress. Hope this helps.

Go with the coil mattress for sure. Yeah, it's hard to change the sheets - but your child is safest with that mattress. I always sweetly ask my hubby to change the sheet since he is taller than I, its' easier for him! Babies R Us has a wonderful selection. Good luck!

Jen

A basic innerspring crib mattress from a trusted Ameican brand like Sealy or Simmons is fine. Make sure the mattress is new so that it meets current fire retardent requirements. I bought a $40 - $50 mattress - it's a basic Sealy and I like it because the cover is vinyl and I can wipe it down with a disinfectant for those 3am diaper failures or tummy flu accidents. I have a 100% cotton mattress pad with extras in the closet for comfort & washability to put under the crib sheet. (lots of extra crib sheets are a good idea too)
Soft mattresses are a cause of SIDS, so no feather beds or fluffy sheepskin mattress toppers. Cotton or wool filled mattresses attract dust mites and eventually matt down and get lumpy and hard(remember the old futons?)
You don't need to get the top of the line - Baby will outgrow it way before it wears out.
I bought a cheap crib because it was the right size for a tiny room and it fell apart, so economize on the mattress - not the crib.

We went with the Colgate brand of foam mattress, and it was great. I think we got ours at USA Baby. It was recommended in one of the baby books I read (I forgot the title). Good luck!

A.:

We went with a reasonably-priced coil mattress (the Sealy for $90 at Babies R Us). There are several available out there that are of good quality in this price range. But to avoid the sheet changing headache, which is a headache no matter what mattress you go with, we opted to use the QuickZip sheets (http://cloudsandstars.com/). These fit around the entire mattress with only the top part that zips on and off. You can swap out the tops in less than a minute and they're also great for safety since there are no corners to pop off. Good luck.

Hi A. I'm L.. I wanted to let you know about something that I use that helps greatly with either kind of mattress it is called the ultimate crib sheet, they have them at Babies are us. They go on top of the mattress and sheet and snap on to the crib. When it gets wet or messy you just snap it off and through it in the wash, no need to change the sheets because it is water proof. I had two of them and just rotated them when I needed to wash one. I Changed the crib sheet every so often just cause I felt I should, but it was always clean. I still use it on my 16 month old's bed. over a year and they are still in good shape and I have not needed to replace them. Just an idea I know it saved me time and it worked great. Good luck with finding a mattress.

I have no opinion on the matress itself but there are two products that provide both peace of mind and ease of use with regards to the crib. One is the ultimate crib sheet:

http://www.babyride.com/bc-43002.html

It's a flat sheet with elastic bands that snap around the crib rails to keep it in place. When it's time to change the sheet you just unsnap it and put another on. It was great when a diaper leaked or the baby spitup because it's fast/easy to remove and the decorative fitted sheet you'll have is protected from wetness and staining. I found having three was the best bet. One on the crib, one for the quick-change and then a third just in case another change is needed before you have the laundry done. So you can go with the heavier mattress if you wish and not worry about how much it weighs :)

The other thing we had is a sound & movement monitor:

http://www.parentbaby.com/products.php?pid=34

Both my first and second babies had/have reflux and I am happy to be called in by the alarm to go check on them (when it senses no breathing/movement for 20sec). I've been much more confident having them in a crib in their own rooms knowing this product would alert us to any potential problems.

How much do I like these products? I have Mar'04 and Nov'06 boys and up until a month ago they were both in cribs with 3 ultimate crib sheets each as well as their own AngelCare montiors. I really liked that with the A/B switch on the monitor and receiver I was able to have one boy's set to A, the other to B and use any of the receivers to listen for either one.

You will find SO many choices of baby mattresses at baby stores - some as little as $30 as some as expensive as $300! My husband and I went for a mid priced coil mattress - and really, its not heavy at all because a crib mattress is so small. I have never had any trouble changing the sheets - in fact, I just take the whole mattress out of the crib and throw the sheets on outside of the crib because I am so short and it is hard for me to reach all the way down around the mattress while its in the crib. Im a small woman, and the mattress is not hard to deal with at all - its the Sealy brand, the company that also makes adult mattresses. Try not to get a material covered mattress but one covered with a waterproof plastic so that the mattress will not be ruined or stinky by any spit up or diaper leakage that may occur - and the firmer the mattress the better - its the firmness that helps prevent SIDS

Not a pro by any stretch, but when we researched it a firm matress was important. I think that makes sense. I would stay away from foam. We registered for a Sealy it was about $139.00. I feel just like it is important for us as adults to have a nice matress, babies should too. I would go for the mid price, not the cheapies, and make sure it is firm.

Dear A.,

No, it is not hard to change the sheets, just be sure to get the ones that hug the corners. They probably do not make the other kind now anyway.

I do remember lots of hard things that I have had to do, but changing baby crib sheets is not one of them.

C. N.

What mattress you get should have NOTHING to do with the ease of changing sheets. a regular mattress is always better due to the firmness needed for m=small bones and such. I recommend anything from Simmons. Their Beautirest is what I got for both my kids and they sleep like angels. It wasn't the cheapest but it wasn't the most expensive.

Check out this site.

http://moonlightslumber.com/starlight_support.cfm

I have one for my son. They're probably the best mattresses out there. All foam, flame retardent, antimicrobial, hypoallergenic and has a lifetime warranty. I purchased the starlight support supreme which is the top of the line mattress for $230. I think it's well worth it.

Because regular mattresses can be so toxic I recommend going to www.lifekind.com and getting a natural latex organic mattress. Mold, mildew and dust mite resistant. Its a great company and the natural materials are awesome. Plus they dont have the toxic PBSDs(fire retardent)- they use melted silica as a natural retardant.
We got our mattress from them as well...soooooo great.

To prevent SIDS you need to buy a chemical free mattress. I'd recommend going to http://ecobaby.com/ for more info. There is an Australian research study that shows the correlation between chemicals in mattresses and SIDS.