WWYD?-used crib (toddler) mattress or new organic?

[Holiztic]

So DS is 3 and just moved out of our bed part of the night--to a toddler bed in our room. It was given to us (with mattress and pad) by a neighbor. It is a standard (chemical) innerspring mattress, but it is 3 years old, so I assume its pretty well offgassed.

He likely will only fit in it for 6-12 more months. He's also only sleeping on it 4 or 5 hours a night, then moving into our organic natural latex and wool bed.

If money was an issue, but not a huge one--would you stick with the free mattress for 612 months would you buy a new organic mattress?

What about a good organic mattress pad and sheets?

(beyond the chemical issue, I am also not a fan of metal innersprings and their potential affect on the body's electromagnetic field)

Can't decide what to do!! Help!!!

[OkiMom]

Personally I wouldn't have the money to replace a matress unless it wasn't useable. It wouldn't be in my budget to do it. Id probably go with new sheets/blanket instead, especially for such a short period of time.

[haurelia]

I thought a lot about this, as we were also given a traditional innerspring crib mattress when DS was born, used from a friend. When we started using it as a sidecar for our big bed 8 months ago, I just got an organic mattress pad and organic sheets for it. I figured that after 4 years, it had offgassed all it was going to, and budgeting for a new organic one just wasn't in the cards.

I guess I just have to usually go with "use what you have, do what you can" as a philosophy, since we're so broke!

[just_lily]

I can't imagine buying a new crib mattress for a three year old, regardless of how much money I have.

If it were a newborn, I would consider it depending on how well used the mattress was. When we bought our crib the mattresses were rated as to how many babies could use them - 2 uses, 3 uses, etc. But that is more of an upfront safety issue.

As long as it is comfortable for the kid, no way would I shell out for a new crib mattress, organic or not.

If you are really concerned about it being organic, I would purchase a single mattress instead and put that on the floor. That way you will get more use out of it longterm as opposed to just a year.