Daycare Crib Mattress

[wimama2b]

I am concerned about the mattress my baby sleeps on. I do not want my baby sleeping on a mattress with fire retardant chemicals and a vinyl cover on it.

For my crib mattress at home I am planning on getting a Moonlight Slumber Mattress. It is not organic, but is not treated with fire retardant chemicals and has a waterproof knit cover. I looked into organic, but the cost is much higher especially once you add in an organic wool puddle pad and mattress cover.

http://www.moonlightslumber.com/index.cfm

My baby will have to go to daycare at 6 weeks old. The daycare we have chosen uses portable cribs. Most of these mattresses should have out gassed most of the chemicals since they are used mattresses. But I am still concerned. Besides that the fact that they have been used by several babies before my child, kind of grosses me out. I was thinking of buying on of these mattress covers:

http://www.babysake.com/BabeSafeUSA.htm

What do you think? Do you think this is warranted or is it going overboard?

Thanks,

Amy

[wimama2b]

Does anybody have any ideas?

My other option is to see if the center would allow me to replace the mattress with a custom Moonlight Slumber mattress. This is my first child so I may get enough use out of the mattress if we have more kids.

Amy

[RiverSky]

Originally Posted by wimama2b

Does anybody have any ideas?

I don't have any experience in this area but I see that you are really hoping for some replies.

What type of daycare center is it? How many infants are there?

If you supply a mattress, will other children be using it?

Many portable cribs are not the right size for standard crib mattresses but there are some (rare) portable cribs that are the same size as standard cribs, they just easily fold down for storage or transport...which kind do they use?

Would you be able to supply some type of water-proof mattress cover and sheet for them to use on their own crib exclusively for your child? I know there are fitted water-proof mattress covers, which I would like to think would help to reduce emissions somewhat. (assuming and perhaps erroneously, that the mattress covers themselves are not emitting toxic stuff...I don't really know)

If you do decide to buy that mattress and have it at the daycare center for your child...do you feel confident that the daycare would follow your wishes and use it only for your child? Or would you mind if they put another child in that crib at some point? I would think that with infants, they might not have one crib per child, but I'm not sure how it usually works.

Is there any kind of port-a-crib that you could supply to the center exclusively for your child that you would feel confident about?

It's a tricky question, from my point of view. Lots to think about.

[wimama2b]

I haven't talked to the daycare about about any my mattress concerns yet. I want to figure out what my best options are.

This day care has up to 8 infants in they young infant room. Each infant has their own crib. There is a small chance that our baby might have to share a crib since our baby will only go to daycare 4 days, maybe 3 days per week. They take the sheets off and spray down the mattresses between different kids and I believe once per week regardless.

I just visited the daycare again with my husband. The daycare is great, but I also noticed many of the unused mattresses vinyl is cracked in the corners. Yuk!

The cribs are the portable crib size. I have found sources to buy portable crib sheets from. But not many for mattress pads etc. Most waterproof pads that I know of are made of vinyl. Unless there is a more green alternative.

I know that Moonlight Slumber company custom makes mattress in various sizes, and doesn't use chemical flame retardants and no vinyl cover. So that is why I am considering it as an option. But it would be alot more expensive than a mattress cover.

I would really love a mattress cover that would cut down on emmissions and is removable, so they can still spay down the mattresses as that is their current protocol.

Thanks for your reply,

Amy

[bri276]

I don't mean to second guess your choice as their are some great daycares out there, but have you considered hiring a nanny? I used to be a nanny and sleeping in their own (organic!) bed is one of the advantages kids have when they have someone come to their house to watch them, it can work out really well especially with a very young infant, and is often cheaper than daycare....just a thought...of course it's whatever makes you most comfortable.

[RiverSky]

Originally Posted by wimama2b

They take the sheets off and spray down the mattresses between different kids and I believe once per week regardless.

What are they spraying down the mattresses with? Lysol spray? That stuff's pretty toxic. What would you like them to spray the mattresses with? Perhaps white vinegar?

Just a few months ago, I posted asking if there was a cover available to put on a new king size bed that would block harmful emissions from coming from the new mattress and no one posted to tell me that they knew of something like that. One poster did write to say that she had done a similar search and found nothing. If the Moonlight slumber company offers a mattress the exact size that you would need, perhaps that is a good option. Then again, there will be at least 7 other cribs & mattresses in the same room emitting those same noxious gases.

Of course, a nanny in your own home would be a wonderful option but chances are, a much more expensive one, possibly prohibitively expensive. Au Pairs can be much less expensive than nannies and if you are careful, you might get a fantastic one.

I hope some other posters can give you better ideas and options than I have. Good luck!

[wimama2b]

We haven't investigated nannies much, because I assume that it will be more than the 50 dollars a day that I would pay for daycare. We also anticipate our schedules changing and going up to 4 or 5 days of daycare per day. I would hate to be without a nanny for those days, once we add them into our schedules. Also, our jobs are not very flexible. We both work in healthcare and calling in because our daycare provider is sick or on vacation, would really put us in a bind.

I would love to know if someone has a reasonably priced nanny, though. Our finances will be tight for a while. I check out home daycare and they were either full or didn't call back. This didn't really didn't impress me towards going toward home day care.

My sister-in-law went to this daycare and have found other local mom's had a favorable review of the daycare center we selected. The other parents probally are not as concerned and/or informed about chemical in their babies mattresses and products though.

Amy

[RiverSky]

Originally Posted by wimama2b

We haven't investigated nannies much, because I assume that it will be more than the 50 dollars a day that I would pay for daycare. We also anticipate our schedules changing and going up to 4 or 5 days of daycare per day. I would hate to be without a nanny for those days, once we add them into our schedules. Also, our jobs are not very flexible. We both work in healthcare and calling in because our daycare provider is sick or on vacation, would really put us in a bind.

I would love to know if someone has a reasonably priced nanny, though. Our finances will be tight for a while. I check out home daycare and they were either full or didn't call back. This didn't really didn't impress me towards going toward home day care.

My sister-in-law went to this daycare and have found other local mom's had a favorable review of the daycare center we selected. The other parents probally are not as concerned and/or informed about chemical in their babies mattresses and products though.

Amy

I suppose you could ask the daycare how old their mattresses really are. You are probably right that if they are older, there should be less toxins emitted to the air. Or perhaps you can find out what the ventilation in the room is like? Are windows open? I don't know what part of the country you are in or what kind of climate it has. I don't know...would a Sharper Image Sonic Breeze (is that what it's called?) clean the air?

Just so you know, if you have an extra bedroom in your home, then an au pair might well be somewhat affordable and perhaps relatively flexible. Check out this link to see the prices through this agency. $277 per week for up to $45 hours...not bad, perhaps?

http://www.aupairinamerica.com/aupprg.htm

[bri276]

well, when I nannyed an infant from 2-10 months, I got $8/hour about 20 hrs/wk. when I nannyed two girls, 5 and 7, also 20 hrs/wk, I got $130/wk. so it can definitely be cheaper than daycare, in fact I think that's the biggest misconception about nannies is that they are all expensive. it is worth looking into I think if you like the idea, you can try craigslist.org, just click on your city and look in the "child care" section, you can even post an ad for free.

[RiverSky]

Originally Posted by bri276

well, when I nannyed an infant from 2-10 months, I got $8/hour about 20 hrs/wk. when I nannyed two girls, 5 and 7, also 20 hrs/wk, I got $130/wk. so it can definitely be cheaper than daycare, in fact I think that's the biggest misconception about nannies is that they are all expensive. it is worth looking into I think if you like the idea, you can try craigslist.org, just click on your city and look in the "child care" section, you can even post an ad for free.

Wow, that's pretty inexpensive. What a great idea.

[Sherra]

Check this out and see what you think:


http://www.cotlife2000.com/ Can order stuff from here I think.

http://www.cure-guide.com/Natural_He...ng___sids.html

http://www.babymattresscovers.com/FAQs.html

http://www.healthychild.com/cribdeathcause.htm

http://www.preventcribdeath.com/site/452285/page/189438 (order from here too..pretty cheap I think)


you can also do a google on mattress wrapping and sids and you will come up with many websites talking about this. If you read the above, used mattresses can be just as bad as new ones in terms of chemicals and sids rate.

Atleast you wouldn't have to worry about chemicals with these mattress wrappings and it's cost effective..under 50 bucks. You can ask them to put the mattress cover on one of the beds when it's time for your baby to sleep.

[RiverSky]

Originally Posted by Sherra

Atleast you wouldn't have to worry about chemicals with these mattress wrappings and it's cost effective..under 50 bucks. You can ask them to put the mattress cover on one of the beds when it's time for your baby to sleep.

Wow, what great info, Sherra. I think I'm going to buy one of those covers as a baby shower gift! I don't have any babies right now but I had no idea about this theory on crib death (SIDS etc.). Scary stuff.

[wimama2b]

Those are the same covers I was talking about from Babysake. I am not sure if they would work, since bedding must be removed weekly and the plastic cover can not be sprayed down with any chemical cleaners.

I found these mattress covers. I am thinking of getting the mattress encasement and perhaps the cotton mattress cover as well. They will make a custom size for me.

http://www.janices.com/index.cfm/act...9-a9ac7efc95ea

http://www.janices.com/index.cfm/id_...6-7368ae5df879

I was doing additional research online last night and there are several other websites that contradict Dr. Jim Sprott, OBE research. One article I believe was published the Britsh Medical Journal. No other scientist as far as I am aware of has been able to recreate his findings.

I was reading on the Green Guide. They suggested that if you must use a non-organic mattress that older mattresses are better because they have off-gassed most of the fumes already. So that makes me feel a bit better.

Besides if I use their mattress they will not think I am a wierdo. I definately need the encasement to protect against allergans and to prevent the cracked vinyl from wrecking the netting on the bottom of the sheets I want to order. I don't know if the cotton pad is overkill, but I feel it is one extra layer between the mattress and my baby.

Here is the sheets I plan on getting. They are not organic but supposed to fit portable mattresses and are really soft.

http://www.fleecebaby.com/AB2432000e...pexd.asp?id=31

What do you all think of this plan?

Amy

[memory maker]

Originally Posted by RiverSky

What are they spraying down the mattresses with? Lysol spray? That stuff's pretty toxic. What would you like them to spray the mattresses with? Perhaps white vinegar?

you may want to ask this because the daycare I used to work at sprayed everything down with bleach. They even sprayed the toys. So the kids chewed on toys that had soaked in bleach over night. YUCK! You may want to ask what their practice about this is too.

[Sherra]

They suggested that if you must use a non-organic mattress that older mattresses are better because they have off-gassed most of the fumes already. So that makes me feel a bit better.

Amy,

I often see in this forum (and have even said it myself in past posts..yikes) that an older mattress is better. Actually I learned something new with the links above that I posted...it is also old mattresses that contribute to sids...even more so. The previous links I mentioned mentions something in there that as a mattress ages, it grows molds and other things in them..that react with the chemicals (that don't necessarily go away with age) and that can contribute to sids because it creates harmful gasses. This is why a family that has a baby with sids..often have statistically higher incidences of sids with babies that are born after the first sids death..ie. their mattress is aging.


Just thought I'd offer that up. I didn't want us to become complacent just because we think old mattresses are safer when Dr. Sprott's researched showed not necessarily so. To each his own I guess if you don't believe Dr. Sprott's theories. They make complete sense to me and he's got a fairly cheap solution /shrug .

[srain]

You could ask the day care to wrap the mattress in polyethylene and use a mattress pad on top of that; the plastic could stay on the mattress permanently.

[bluets]

at our daycare, ds actually sleeps in a bouncy chair that is placed in the crib. only a few of the babies actually sleep on the mattress.