Mothering Forum banner

Anyone investing in an organic crib mattress?

979 views 20 replies 13 participants last post by  ryansma 
#1 ·
This is baby #3 for us, and we pretty much co-sleep. Baby #1 was in bed with us. Baby #2 was in a co-sleeper (didn't want to make baby #1 feel unwelcome). But at some point there is the transition to the crib. We have our original crib mattress from 7 years ago (!), but I'm feeling like I should buy an new, organic one. Or maybe organic mattress cover/bedding is enough? The $300 price tag is scaring me off a bit from the mattress. Any thoughts?
 
#2 ·
As much as I love and want to buy an organic crib mattress (especially the wool one from Shepherd's Dream!), we are not going to invest in another crib mattress. We bought a conventional crib mattress 4 years ago for my DD who never slept in it, and I cannot justify the expense in our case. I do plan on getting a Snugglewool topper, though, to layer beneath the crib sheet.

Now, when baby's ready to move to a big bed and we've got enough cash saved, I'm going to get 2 twin organic mattresses for both of the kiddos at once!
 
#3 ·
This is tricky--I wish I could.

Actually, because we plan to cosleep, I wish I had known more about mattresses and chemicals when we bought our king size mattress. I love it and it's very comfortable, but it's conventional and surely filling us with nasties. But it's only a couple of years old and cost us a pretty penny, so there isn't too much I can do about it. I have covered it with a puddle pad, but other than that, I'm stuck.

For a crib mattress, I know lots of people don't like them, but I'm really considering getting an Ikea crib mattress as a compromise. I feel better about the European standards with regard to flame retardants and other chemicals. And the price is right, especially since we probably won't use the crib all that much.
 
#4 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by VeganCupcake View Post
Actually, because we plan to cosleep, I wish I had known more about mattresses and chemicals when we bought our king size mattress. I love it and it's very comfortable, but it's conventional and surely filling us with nasties. But it's only a couple of years old and cost us a pretty penny, so there isn't too much I can do about it. I have covered it with a puddle pad, but other than that, I'm stuck.
You could wrap your mattress. That's what I did to our queen mattress. It's very crinkly loud though...that's the bad part. I only have a sheet over my plastic so mabye using a couple layers? Thought I'd mention the wrapping the mattress out there as an idea though


http://www.johnleemd.com/store/more_crib_sids.html

http://www.pnc.com.au/~cafmr/sprott/success.html
 
#5 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by treehugginhippie View Post
You could wrap your mattress. That's what I did to our queen mattress. It's very crinkly loud though...that's the bad part. I only have a sheet over my plastic so mabye using a couple layers? Thought I'd mention the wrapping the mattress out there as an idea though


http://www.johnleemd.com/store/more_crib_sids.html

http://www.pnc.com.au/~cafmr/sprott/success.html
I have thought about wrapping. I've read (was it on BabySake or something like that?) that wrapping is futile, though, unless you use just the right bedding, too. Any feedback on this?

Sorry, am I hijacking this thread?
 
#6 ·
We went ahead and sucked up the cost, since this is our first baby and plan to use it for future children as well.

I purchased the Savvy Rest Crib mattress with natural latex and wool batting, which we love. Obviously, we haven't slept on the crib mattress, but hopefully baby will like it. I've got a wool puddle pad and cotton sheets to go on top.

We saved elsewhere (lots of IKEA and craigslist), and felt it was worth it. Not having a stinky mattress to air out was also nice. It arrived, we put it in the room. Done.
 
#7 ·
I'm hoping that because our mattress is so old (but not much used) that maybe a lot of the off gassing has already taken place. But i do LOVE the idea of an organic mattress. Especially after reading about all the horrible things that traditional mattresses have in them. Yikes! Think I'll do a mattress topper at the very least...
 
#9 ·
We don't do a crib..but just updated all the mattresses in our house to the latex ones...king size, double and twin. And supposedly they last forever, so I'm thinking the kids can move out with them! Not a bad investment over the years, but it would be a harder decision with a crib mattress that may only be used for a short time. Good luck figuring it out!!
 
#11 ·
this is a tough one...

this is our first baby and we plan to share our bed....

but we were given the family cradle and my husband's aunt had made a vinyl and foam mattress for it six years ago. I wanted to buy an organic mattress for it, haven't done it yet, but i did buy a snuggle wool topper and it's pretty well covered. I want to see how much use it actually gets maybe before we spend the money. I don't plan to leave the baby in it for long periods of time: more like bathroom breaks, so we'll see...

we don't have an organic mattress either, just a conventional queen purchased probably 4 years ago, however, we topped it with a pure grow wool (exact name?) and organic sheets and i feel pretty okay with it. we also have a puddle pad to slip under the sheet (not queen size)

future matttress purchases will be organic... i think ikea's a decent compromise too, that's where we've been getting our upholstered furniture...
 
#12 ·
We have never owned a crib but did invest in an organic mattress for the co-sleeper. It makes it a lot more comfy and actually makes the part where the little guy sleeps a little more flush with our bed which is nice.
 
#13 ·
I would love to get one, but $300-400 for a crib mattress is not in the budget. We didn't have a crib for #1, and we will see how much sleeping in a crib #2 does. We got a conventional one, are letting it outgas for 2 months, and topping it with an organic cotton crib pad and sheets.
That is the best we can do.

I like the IKEA mattresses. We will probably 'upgrade' to those when change beds.
 
#14 ·
we're re-using DS's crib mattress, which is not organic. I did buy a new organic mattress pad and organic bedding though. when DS moved into a toddler bed, we went the Ikea route- will do that again for this one, too.
 
#16 ·
I don't understand that comment either. The mattresses IKEA sells in the US are not the same as the ones sold here in Europe. US ones meet US standards and do have a fire-retardant interliner and EU ones meet EU standards and do not have a fire-retardant interliner. The ones sold in Canada also do not have the interliner, so if you can go north that may work for you, but otherwise I don't see how IKEA is a compromise.
 
#17 ·
http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/111/mattresses

Quote:
For more affordable options, Ikea makes PBDE-free foam mattresses with alternative chemicals that have not raised vigilant European safety concerns, for as low as $150 (www.ikea.com).
Also:
IKEA finished phasing out all PBDEs in its products in 2002 - and hasn't used PBDEs in its children's mattresses for at least 15 years. Other companies that make PBDE-free

There are tons of threads in Mindful Home Management and Green Living about Ikea mattresses.
 
#18 ·
I'm debating about getting the organic mattress for the mini cosleeper I'm about to buy. I thought using organic sheets and a wool puddle pad would be sufficient, but then I saw the "mattress" that comes with the cosleeper and it is basically a super thin piece of cardboard covered with vinyl. hardly a mattress!

anyone have advice if it is worth the $100+ to get an actual organic mattress?
 
#19 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by lcaitlin View Post
I'm debating about getting the organic mattress for the mini cosleeper I'm about to buy. I thought using organic sheets and a wool puddle pad would be sufficient, but then I saw the "mattress" that comes with the cosleeper and it is basically a super thin piece of cardboard covered with vinyl. hardly a mattress!

anyone have advice if it is worth the $100+ to get an actual organic mattress?
We got an organic mattress for the co-sleeper this time around in hopes that our little guy will sleep in it a little more than ds did. And if he doesn't that's okay too b/c it serves the purpose of making the co-sleeper a little more flush with our bed for sliding him to his own little space.
 
#20 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by ryansma View Post
We got an organic mattress for the co-sleeper this time around in hopes that our little guy will sleep in it a little more than ds did. And if he doesn't that's okay too b/c it serves the purpose of making the co-sleeper a little more flush with our bed for sliding him to his own little space.
oh, that sounds like a great side-benefit for sure! do you mind me asking where you got the mattress? I found a few online so far, but would love a rec...
 
#21 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by lcaitlin View Post
oh, that sounds like a great side-benefit for sure! do you mind me asking where you got the mattress? I found a few online so far, but would love a rec...
We got ours from tinybirdsorganics.com.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top