Grandma Looking for Recommendations for Crib Mattress for New Grandson Due Soon.

My mom just bought the Colgate Classica I mattress for her crib .. I have the same one and it has been great so far (my son is 6 months old). It retails for $100 + $10 UPS Ground shipping at www.babycatalog.com. It is the recommended mattress from Baby Bargains (a leading consumer review book), and it only weighs 7 pounds vs. the much heavier spring mattresses, yet it is very firm and safe for SIDS, etc.

http://www.windsorpeak.com/babybargains/default.html
http://www.babycatalog.com/cgi-bin/WebStore/indexNZ.cgi/m...

Hi-
I researched a bit when pregnant 2 years ago. The primary recommendation made to prevent SIDS by most organizations is that the infant sleep on a firm mattress. I am very health conscious and on my research learned that SIDS was increased after the flame retardant and other processing chemicals were added in the production of mattresses which are known (but not readily disclosed) to interfere w/ breathing. Much of this info is available on natural healthcare websites. I opted to spend a bit more to purchase an organic mattress made of natural rubber which is quite firm & a natural flame retardant & more comfortable than a cotton mattress. Natural rubber (from the rubber tree & not processed as rubber we commonly know of on the market) is something like a temperpedic firmness. It is now on my son's toddler bed.
The european countries in particular the scandanavian countries have conducted much of the research in this area re: the PBDE's (flame retardants) etc used in the production of mattresses & pajamas. I figured that the liklihood was greater that the PBDE's etc. could affect my son's health by his breathing this in when sleeping daily than a potential fire occurring. The possibility was more of a guarantee w/ the first event as he would have certainly been breathing the chemicals in.
The websites w/ the info can be found at EWG.org & mercola.com

Best of luck!
C.

Hi Grandma,
Word of advise on crib mattresses is you get what you pretty much pay for. Quality mattresses go for about the $90-$100 range. My son is 23 months and loves to jump. The cheaper mattresses were destroyed to where springs were popping thru after only 6 months. We replaced it fast, I was scared he would cut his little feet. And whats funny still is that the mattress came with a 10-year warranty, it didn't matter.

We bought a firm Simmons from Burlington Coat Factory for a little over $100 which our daughter used for 3 years. Now she is 6 and it is still in our basement. It still looks as good and feels as firm as the day we bought it.

I do not have a recommendation on an exact brand, but I can share with you what I learned while buying mine.

The first one I bought 6 years ago was a Sealy through JC Penney catalog. Decent enough mattress but there was a teeny tiny microscopic flaw in the top material. Well that teeny tiny flaw is now so big that that the tear spans almost the entire width of the mattress. The lesson I learned was that I should have returned it immediately for a replacement. At the time, being pregnant with my first i was just too excited to get the nursery set up that I didn't feel it necessary to return. Big mistake.

The second crib mattress we bought was for the toddler bed.At the time we didn't have a lot of money to spend on one so I bought one for $25 at Toys R Us, along with the toddler bed. Waht a piece of junk! Noisy, flimsy, hard. I got what I paid for that's for sure. Lesson learned was not to skimp on mattress!

My advice would be to go to Babies R Us where you can touch and feel a variety of mattresses in a range of prices. Good luck!

A.

Baby Sealy from Babies r Us, holds up great, very comfy!

Do not get Kolcraft 800. My daughters grandparents bought us a crib and a mattress when we had my little one. Well as soon as she started standing up in her crib I found her stuck between the crib and mattress. VERY SCARY!!! I pulled her out and called the company they sent me another mattress. This one is fine. Kolcraft 1000 is what I am using. Just don't get the 800. Good luck.

Sealy mattress from babies r us.

I'm not sure of a good one to buy, but I can tell you not to buy the $30 one from Walmart. I got that for my youngest, and didn't realize how soft it was until it was too late to exchange it. A good, firm crib mattress is probably going to cost you about $80 or more. I recommend going somewhere you can put one on the floor, and stand on it. If it doesn't give much with an adult on it then it's great for a baby! Good luck.

If you can afford it, the natural organic "Naturepedic" mattresses are extremely comfy and don't have all sorts of odd and volatile chemicals in them. I'm going to be writing a review of one soon, and have been loving using it. It's $399, has a waterproof cover, organic cotton filling and orthopedic interspring. There's a less expensive model for $259.

A little pricey, I know. But the costs are on par with some of the more expensive traditional mattresses, and they really are lovely.

The one that I have is very firm but still comfortable. Most "firm" mattresses I've felt have been similar to a slab of wood wrapped in a sheet.

Definitely go to the store and feel mattresses if you can.

We bought a Sealy at Babies R Us, FOUR years ago and we are still using it and its still as good now as the day we bought it. Its very firm. And it has lasted through two kids.
It was right around $100. And well worth it.
My son got a hand-me-down when we bought his toddler bed. Its horrible. It sags and not near the quality of the sealy.
Hope that helped. :)

Hi C.,
Colgate makes a great mattress that will grow with your grandchild--it is extra firm on one side, and firm on the other. It's a highly rated & recommended mattress by a number of the buying guide-type resources, and we just bought a second one for our about-to-be-born-any-minute second child.

It retails for about $120 and is well worth the $$--it has springs, not foam, is waterproof, and wears very well. Sometimes with these types of things you're better off paying a little more for quality.

Enjoy grandparenthood! Mazeltov to you & yours,
K.

Any firm mattress is fine. Newborns should sleep on a firm mattress. Any brand that they have in Babies r us is fine.