WANTED -- info on cosleeping on memory foam

[tribalmax]

Hi there,

I know there have been lots of studies about of gassing with memory foam. I am not interested in that information right now -- but the actual safety of sleeping with an infant on memory foam.

A while back I swear I read some actual studies about this -- does anyone know where they are?

I have done searches all over the place and can't seem to find what I am looking for.

Thanks!

[ameliasmama]

I don't know of any studies on co-sleeping on memory foam, but we have a memory foam mattress and we've never had any trouble with it. It never sags, so you don't have to worry about a "hole" that baby will roll into.

[nighten]

We used a memory foam topper on our bed for a while, but we'd had it for a long while and it didn't smell anymore. Though I did end up taking it off after a little bit because the notion of potential gassing still bothered me. I feel better now that we don't sleep on it anymore.

But it wasn't problematic in terms of the baby sinking into it or anything, if that's what your looking for.

[Erin M]

Um, we've had a non-problem problem
We had a foam topper for dd's first year, she was (still is) in bed with us. Moving her to the sidecarred crib was difficult because the crib mattress is so firm. She would sleep on the very edge of the big bed with an arm and a leg in the crib. I ended up piling blankets under her sheet to soften her bed and get her to stay in it. We have a new memory foam mattress (yes I stress over the off-gassing but man is it comfy!) I plan to cut the old top into a piece to fit the crib.

I agree with pp about baby not rolling into an adult's gravitational hole, I wish we'd bought the new bed a year ago.

[mommytomahmoud]

i have a memory foam matress noo problems here

when we buy our son his toddle bed we are getting him the same type of mattress

[SpiralWoman]

Aren't you guys afraid of the baby being face down & the foam conforming snuggly or something? That's what I always picture! My sis has a memory foam bed, it feels so odd to me. They say it is a love it/hate it thing, so I am biased against them I think. But just wondering, not trying to stir the pot.
~Maria

[nighten]

Well the memory foam we have doesn't depress that easily/quickly. Honestly I didn't like it very much as I'm really small and never felt like I sunk into it fully. My husband's pretty big though and there was always an indention where he was when he'd get up. The baby definitely doesn't cause an impression in it -- it's not like a fat feather bed where she could get smushed in it. But maybe that's just our memory foam was more firm?

I don't know. Once she got older (around 16 months), I put a feather comforter underneath the fitted sheet on our side of the bed. I've got fibromyalgia and it helps me enormously to have something with give under me. And it also helped her not to roll around quite as much, as she would sink into it slightly -- the comforter's not as thick as the feather bed we have on our guest bed (I wouldn't feel comfy letting the baby sleep on that until she's a LOT older). But having a little bit of give underneath has been good for us bother. She's a back sleeper though, but even if she rolls on her tummy she still turns her head to the side.

It's different for every baby though -- it took a while for ours to have the mobility and control to be able to know she'd turn her head if she was on her tummy. So no way would I have used something as soft as the comforter (even though it's thin) until I felt comfortable with her ability to manuver on it.

We've got a small feather comforter that's crib sized and will put it snugly on the crib mattress (with fitted sheet over it) to go in her toddler bed once we're ready to make the transition for naps. Hopefully that way it will feel the same as our bed so she'll be able to nap on it comfortably.

[Eliseatthebeach]

I don't know about the studies, but we have a memory foam topper....4 inches (I think). My DD has been cosleeping since she was an infant with no problems, she even likes to sleep on her tummy. I think most of the memory foam is pretty firm to a lightweight, like a baby.

[GinaNY]

I have a tempurpedic mattress and I HATE it. We have had it for approx 4 years and I cannot wait to get rid of it. I have gotten used to getting up with a sore back. Mattresses are pricey and this one one is no exception. Ever since I heard about the off gassing, I have been trying to convince my DH to get a king size bed, so we will HAVE to get a new one.

My DS sleeps on it fine in terms of physical safety. I don't worry about him not being able to breathe or what have you. I worry more about his health. For this reason, I really would not recommend it for his own bed as a pp mentioned.