Mattress Recommendation - Daly City,CA

I'm an interior designer (when I have a job);) and I sold furniture and linens as I worked my way through college - so here's my 2cents.
Don't get a little kid a pillow top - the kiddie sheets with their favorite characters won't fit - also the pillowtop tends to get saggy and lumpy and they are usually too tall for a little kid to get in and out of bed easily and they usually look goofy on a kids bed - cover up too much of the headboard.
Buy a known brand mattress and box spring with a warranty and medium firmness - no pillowtop. Mattresses last longer when used with the manufacturer's box spring - don't mix -n-match.
Then invest in a waterproof/allergen proof cover that zips over the entire mattress and a good quality 100% cotton mattress pad (maybe 2 if kiddo still has accidents). You can often get really good quality Twin size stuff cheap at Marshall's or Ross because it's a less popular size.
I would leave the mattresses unwrapped and uncovered for at least a few days with the window open or a fan blowing to air them out before anyone sleeps on them - bedding sold in CA is treated with flame retardant that can be a bit stinky and fumes can make you sneeze or itch. Wash all sheets and bedding before use to remove sizing and other chemicals and soften the fabrics and make them smell familiar to your child.
Finally - go ahead and cut off the Do Not Remove tags and enjoy!

You'll likely not be able to find a lot of advice on which mattress to select. We went through this a few years ago when a mattress we purchased had a warranty issue that we didn't want to repeat.

Basically, all you'll find from "experts" is to find one that fits your needs best. The rest is completely subjective.

As far as plush vs. firm, there really isn't any rhyme or reason to what you should purchase for a child. For infants, they recommend a firm mattress, but my understanding is that has more to do with possible suffocating issues than physical development.

My advice against pillow tops (we have 2, had one that had a major issue) is that they develop body impressions and have to be turned repeatedly. You can not flip them over to distribute the body weight throughout all sides of the mattress.

We have our son on a pillowtop that we used to have in our room. He started using it at age 2.5. He just turned 4. He does well when he can actually sleep through the night in it. But, he prefers to sleep on top of the blankets instead of under them.

Good luck!

Perhaps a call to the pediatrician could give you some advice. I couldn't find recommendations or advice on the parenting site for the American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org.

With my son, we first bought the cheapest mattress. Big mistake for us, since we spent so much time laying in his bed reading books, coaxing him to sleep, etc. We never could have imagined how much WE would use his mattress. After dealing with achy backs, we went to sleep train and bought a twin size that is the same model/version as ours. With money being tight, we said we only have so much to spend, could they give us this price. Shockingly, they said yes, which was over 1/2 off the listed price. 1 year later we went back and bought the exact same one for our daughters big girl bed. So, my advice would be how much do you and husband lay with your son and do you have any back issues or preferences for yourselves.

We just got my son a mattress (he is almost 18 months old) and we got a the cheapest one. The salesman told us because children's body weight is so low they doesn't really need expensive mattresses because they hardly make a dent in it. He told us the mattress we got (w/box spring it was under $200) would last for 10 years or so. At that time he will probably be so tall (based on our families) that we will need to upgrade him to a full. Hope that helps!

Also -- we have gotten Ikea mattresses in the past and loved them.

Both my daughter and I have bought wonderfully comfortable and toxin-free, all natural latex mattresses from Mulligan Mattress in Portland, http://www.mulliganmattress.com/OR. I'm fairly sure the proprietor, Gary Kramer, will ship mattresses anywhere. And he'll custom-build mattresses to your specifications of firmness.

They are somewhat more expensive than commercial mattresses, which contain toxic fire-retardants and other processing chemicals. Since our precious children spend more than a third of their lives in their beds, toxicity is an important consideration. For grownups, too.

I'd like to mention that these mattresses are well-made, don't have to be flipped, and have a minimum 20-year life span. My 5 year old mattress is still like new, and I'm about to order a second one for a guest bed. I have chemical sensitivities, and just don't want any nasties off-gassing into my home environment.