Which Mattress to Buy

Hi! My bun is still in the oven but I got great advice from my sister-in-law for when I starting looking at baby mattresses. She's very good about researching products to make sure they are safe for the baby and environmentally friendly. Here is what she sent me:
--for a crib mattress, refer to http://www.watoxics.org/safer-products ...there’s a good deal of info about flame retardants and other chemicals in beds and bedding, and this site is a great reference for choosing a safe mattress.

1 mom found this helpful

I highly recommend that if you can't afford one of the organic, chemical-free mattresses recommended below that you buy a Babe-Safe Mattress Cover. They were developed by a New Zealand scientist who theorized that "cot death", what we call SIDS, is caused by babies breathing the fire-retardent chemicals routinely put into baby mattresses. Antimony, phosphorus, and arsenic are in most crib mattresses, and they start to break down when they get damp (think diaper leaks, drooly baby mouths, runny noses, you get the picture). These chemicals are heavier than air, so they hover a few inches above the mattress surface, right where baby breathes. The scientist (don't remember his name, but you can find all this info on the web) thinks that when babies' immune systems and respiration are suppressed by illness, recent vaccination, etc, they are susceptible to this poinsoning - think of how many SIDS deaths there are at 2 months of age in this country - right when we give a huge number of vaccinations. His data seems to be holding up - no baby sleeping on a properly wrapped mattress has ever died from SIDS, and it is virtually eliminated from the non-aboriginal population of New Zealand.

1 mom found this helpful

We are getting our daughters crib together too and we bought a seley mattress. If there is a Wal-Mart near you, you can get one for about $56.00. It's well worth the money. We bought the seley only because her crib turns into a toddle bed and she will be using it for a long time. I was told that the seley mattresses last alot longer. Hope this helps!

I got my baby's mattress at Bellini and LOVE it. Worked out great. On the pricey end but worth it. A solid & comfy mattress.

Just about any mattress will do just as long as its specific for a baby and not a toddler.

You should get the baby bargin book. It has tons of great info. It will tell you what kind of matress to buy. You might also want to go to consumers report. Thats what I did for everything I got.

If you can afford it, a natural chemical free matress is best. You can find a lot of info on the internet.Just type in natural chemical free matress.

I don't know any brand names, but make sure it's firm. A soft mattress can entrap a child. It should be firm enough to support the weight of a normal sized adult. Definately don't get the $30 ones at Walmart.

Don't do what I did and buy a mattress without seeing how heavy it is. We bought ours from Bellini and I can not pick up the mattress to change the sheets. My big strong husband has trouble getting it out of the crib too. I wish someone told me to check to see if it was heavy first.

I think any brand is OK just so long as you get a FIRM one - it may seem hard to you, but get a FIRM one - safer for baby.

Get a good firm mattress, which will be better for your baby's back. Don't buy the cheap mattresses from Wal-Mart or Target. Babies R Us has a good selection. We have the Simmons Super Maxi-Pedic from there and are happy with it.