[arkansas parent]

A few weeks ago my SIL gave us a crib for Baby A. I am concerned the mattress is too soft. I want to get him a firmer mattress before he starts rolling over onto his stomach. Here are my questions. How can I tell if his mattress is too soft? If I get a new one, which one should I get?

[Fran27]

I'm not sure... I know when we got our first mattress we just picked one at Babies'r Us, and later I got another one in a local store, and it's much firmer than the first one we had. I honestly don't think they had mattress that firm in babies'r us. It's pretty easy to tell when you touch them.

Honestly though, if I was to buy a new mattress now, I'd buy an organic one. They're very expensive, which is what stopped me from replacing ours, and the fact the our kids were over 6 months at the time so there is less risk anyway... But they conducted a survey in New Zealand and managed to totally prevent SIDS by wrapping up mattresses... and according to them the cause of SIDS is the chemicals they use in mattresses (Link).

Just something to consider, if you can afford it... Otherwise I'd go to a smaller baby store and check the mattresses there.

[reetoreet]

We got this mattress for DD Bed Bath & Beyond - Baby Furniture Mattresses . It's very firm and easy to clean. We like it a lot.

[aclee]

Fran-
I didn't know that about the organic mattresses. I've wanted one because of the chemicals, but I had no idea there was a study on it relating to SIDS. Ty is in our room till darn close to a year anyway. I just like him closer. Studies also show that the pack and play mattress (nice and firm!) is a great safe guard against SIDS

As far as a firm matress...are their guidelines? Is it a new mattress? I woud worry that if it's already soft, as it gets broken in, it might get even squishier!

Edit to add: That study makes a lot of sense...esp when you combine it with the findings about a fan in babies room. If SIDS is caused by chemicals, a fan would disperse them, also causing fewer deaths. Moving babies mouth away from mattress (back to sleep) would also help.

Very interesting. Seals the deal for us. Organic Mattress it is

[KIC1975]

What great info! I think I might just go with a cover instead of buying a whole new mattress.
Order a Cover

[aclee]

Originally Posted by KIC1975

What great info! I think I might just go with a cover instead of buying a whole new mattress.
Order a Cover

I thought about this, but how does the cover hold the chemicals in? Does it work like that?

[KIC1975]

Supposedly it is gas impermeable (doesn't let gas through). From what the study says, in New Zealand they used just the covers and had 100% success.

[Fran27]

I almost bought a cover, but there restrictions are a pain. Basically you have to cover it with a cotton blanket, then put two sheets on top and another cotton blanket on top, and let the baby sleep between the sheets... I can't see that happening in my house as both the babies are all over their cribs, and would probably end up under the sheet and the blanket.

Plus you can't use sleep sacks and polyester, so I can't even do with just the blanket on the bottom and a sheet. And most of their PJs being in polyester, it wouldn't work either.

I don't know how other people do it... But at least with mine being 9 months I'm not too worried about SIDS anymore.

[aclee]

Originally Posted by Fran27

I almost bought a cover, but there restrictions are a pain. Basically you have to cover it with a cotton blanket, then put two sheets on top and another cotton blanket on top, and let the baby sleep between the sheets... I can't see that happening in my house as both the babies are all over their cribs, and would probably end up under the sheet and the blanket.

Plus you can't use sleep sacks and polyester, so I can't even do with just the blanket on the bottom and a sheet. And most of their PJs being in polyester, it wouldn't work either.

I don't know how other people do it... But at least with mine being 9 months I'm not too worried about SIDS anymore.

I don't understand all this...can you send me the link where it explains it?

I also just want to say that in my mothers group on another site where all the Mom's have babies born in January 08, there are TWO mother's who lost their 1st babies to SIDS over a year old. The chances are reduced, but not gone. I think one or both of those babies were preemies though...

[Fran27]

Instructions.

If it wasn't for that, I would have ordered some... I just don't see it as practical at all If it was Summer, I'd probably get them though... but our house is too cold at night to make do without any cover. So it's that or the very tiny chance they might die of SIDS... I wanted to get organic mattresses but dh said it's too expensive... which it is We have a mattress pad so I'm hoping the gas can't go through it as easily...

That's horrible for the two moms of your group

[aclee]

That is bizzare...I understand the lower levels because they are trying to protect the matress pad if the baby wets through, but why the top layers? What if your kid can't sleep with a blanket yet? Why on earth would it matter what the kid was wearing to sleep...why would that impact how the matress cover worked?

I don't get it

[Fran27]

Bizarre indeed... Makes you wonder what they put in that cover if you can only use cotton on top of it?

[mrskt]

I did some research on this while we were waiting for DD and decided against it. There is only one "group" pushing this, and absolutely no other information out there about it. They are conveniently the only place you can get the covers as well. Maybe I'm a skeptic, but I have a hard time believing that if the results were THAT fabulous, that all of the other industrialized nations of the world wouldn't have jumped on the bandwagon and be screaming it from the rooftops!

[mrskt]

Oh, and for those curious - google mattress wrapping

[smcd_fmr_attorney]

This sounds like a quick and easy way to get piece of mind BUT I wonder about the cotton sheets on top as well. Could I just place cotton sheets on top of the mattress and then skip over the overlay sheet? Because I am very insistent that there be no blankets. My son (8 mos) is very mobile and stands, jumps, crawls all over his crib and he would get very entangled in any sheet (not to mention that he's used to no blankets so he'd get upset if he was enclosed in between two sheets). Does that matter?

And, am I crazy, but my sheets barely fit my mattress as it is! There is NO WAY I could put two on there on TOP of the wrap cover thing! They are just too tight! Anyone else have this problem?