Ikea cot and mattress - safety

[user1465934907]

I just purchased the new Ikea Flitig cot. My 12 week old baby has outgrown his crib, and is quite mobile. I thought this cot seemed a good interim as it has a mesh surround, avoiding problems about bumpers etc. I have, however, been too wary to put him down in it as the mesh and Vyssa Snosa mattress both seem to be giving off a toxic smell. Does anyone have any comment on this or any similar experience? I had been warned to avoid Ikea cots, but they'd also been recommended. My instinct is telling me not to put my child to sleep in this cot.

You are right to be concerned about this Flitig cot, but not for the reason you mention. I consider this cot to be fundamentally flawed. At the joint of each wood post with the bottom wood rails, two holes are drilled through each post close to each other at right angles. These holes remove a lot of wood from the posts just at their most highly stressed points, weakening them. There are other problems with this design, notably the misalignment of the corner holes in the mattress slats with their counterparts in the bottom rails that, in the cot I assembled and despite stretching the slats as hard as I could, required my to get my drill out to widen the holes to get the bolts through. This Flitig cot is a poor design and should be avoided.

Think you'll find all mattresses apart from wool
Or explicitly stated organic and natural mattresses give off a smell. All stars mattresses are treated with flame retardants which is what gives the smell. Leave it to air out for s while and it should be fine, or if very concerned get an all natural mattress like a wool or coconut mattress, they cost around £100-250 though just for a cot mattress. I had the same concern with my baby who sleeps on an IKEA mattress and considered getting a natural mattress but then realised it would be kind of pointless given that her cot is in a room with a carpet which (as all carpets) have been treated with the same chemicals, she lives in London etc etc, I try to use green products as much as I can but sometimes I just think they're too expensive, but if you can afford it, go for it!