Would this be a safe mattress for Bedsharing?

[kellyrenee]

Hi, I"ve been a longtime lurker, but I've never posted here before.  I currently bedshare with my 11 month old daughter, and my husband, and the dog, and rarely with the cat.  We have a Queen size bed, and I feel like I am suffocating at night, though my husband insists I'm hogging the bed.  Basically we need more space, and I've finally convinced him of this.

I found these King mattresses http://www.foambymail.com/LatexMKing.html here, and I read on some old threads on mothering from people recommending them.  Does anyone know if these are safe?  They don't have the memory foam, it doesn't look like, which I know would be unsafe.  My husband thinks we can get a king mattress for like $400-$500 though, and I know he's being unrealistic, but I figured I'd post and see if anyone had suggestions.  (used mattress is not an option for us)

[nukuspot]

It's not natural latex, it's synthetic...Natural latex would be much, much more expensive (trust me, we have one) but as far as offgassing is concerned in my research synthetic latex is still much much preferred to conventional mattresses and especially memory foam.  SO even though you might not have the most pure sleep surface out there, I think if this is what you can afford you are still doing a good thing,  Your husband does have an unrealistic estimate, and I think you found a pretty affordable option there.  Just make sure with buying a bed through the mail that they can let you return it if you pick the wrong softness.  Latex is really comfy but feels much different than conventional mattresses.  We had to return our original one because it was too hard for me (though DH loved it) for a softer latex.

King beds are LOVELY by the way.  I can't believe the difference to a Queen.  We switched about 1.5 years ago.

[nukuspot]

PS...A 6 inch mattress which is what you are looking at is quite thin, so be prepared it might look different to what you are expecting.  Unless you or your DH are heavy people it *should* be an OK thickness though, but it is on the thin side for latex mattresses.  Ours is a 9 inch and I think it's perfect.  DD sleeps on a 5 inch crib mattress and it's good for her but wouldn't be great for an adult.  6 inch is probably the minimum for an adult.

[kellyrenee]

Thank you so much for your response, I hadn't even thought to be concerned about the thinness.  I'm thinking maybe we can get their cheap http://www.foambymail.com/BasicKingFirm.html for a base, and then stack the nicer 6 inch foam on top to actually sleep on.  The offgassing that you found agrees with what I have found, it is ridiculous the amount of chemicals they put into everything!

In terms of safeness, I was worried too about when we eventually have another LO if the mattress will be safe if they roll onto their belly, that they won't get their face pushed into it.  I have never seen a latex mattress, and I'm not sure where I could find one to try out, but they sound wonderful, and I'm just glad I finally found something that wasn't a couple thousand dollars that seems like it will be safe for us all to sleep on.

[nukuspot]

Latex is pretty firm so I don't think it would be an issue for a young cosleeper.  It's nothing like a pillowtop or memory foam, don't worry!

[kellyrenee]

Thanks for your replies, we ordered one, and it should be here on Monday!   I am so excited to finally have some space!!!!!!!!!  We ended up adding some more foam to the bottom of it to make it 11 inches total :)

[kellyrenee]

Just to finish this topic up, we ordered it, it got here and it was amazing!!!!!  There is no smell that I've noticed at all from the top layer, the bottom layer, which isn't the latex may have had a slight odor, but nothing that bothered me in the slightest.  We are all sleeping much better!!!!!!!!  The bed is extremely comfortable, and we can roll over without instantly waking Alice up.  She is a very light sleeper and this never happened with our spring mattress.  My husband has noticed the mattress makes a slight sound if he stands up on it, so he has to roll off the bed when he puts her to sleep, but he is pretty happy with it as well.  (I don't know why he needed to stand up on the mattress anyways)

We actually have the room to spread out, and if the baby would participate we actually have room to sleep not touching anyone.  Her preferred method is sleeping on my face though.  So, if you are considering getting a king sized bed, I say you should do it yesterday.  Especially if you plan on having more children soon.  With this bed the dog and cat can even fit (at the end of the bed, and they are mostly safe from the baby trying to pull their tails and ears.)