Mattress, Re-use or buy new?

[Razzled]

Should i reuse my moses and cot mattress's from my first child or buy new ones.Both have pvc covers which is easy to clean,so would a good clean do them.They are only 2 years old so they are not old.

Reuse it. It's absolutely fine.

I reused for my dd2

I wasn't sure either as there is a 4 year gap between my 2 dd's so we bought new.

Definitely re-use.

reuse
,y kid slep in MY owl done at my mums
load of old crap that theroy

I used the same cot mattress for 4 kids - proper sprung mattress with proper plastic covers - none of that holey foam nonsense. (If either of yours has holey foam do get another!)

cunning disguise there, cod

reuse. i replaced dd3 cot matress after the old one got very grubby and manky looking when the PVC didnt cover it.

Asked midwife about this the other day - she said re-use too, but give a good clean and invest in new plastic covers.

If it's still sunny and hot where you are, give them a good clean outside (power cleaner would be fun) and prop them up in the sun to dry and air (sunshine wonderful germicide apparently!)

This is the official advice from the SIDS website:

What kind of mattress should I use?

It is very important that your baby?s mattress is kept clean and dry. Ideally you should buy a new mattress for each new baby. If you are not able to do this, use the one you have as long as it was made with a completely waterproof cover (eg PVC) and has no tears, cracks or holes. Clean it thoroughly and dry it. Check that the mattress is in good condition, doesn't sag, is firm, not soft and fits the cot without any gaps. 'Ventilated' mattresses (with holes) are not recommended as it is not possible to keep the inside clean

I will probably reuse the mattress I used for dd as it has a removable washable cover and the underneath is pvc.

I agonized about this for ages when DS was born. Ended up re-using DD's mattress (which was stupidly expensive as we had to get it made to order as the cot we had from SIL was an odd size).

Think it's fine as long as you clean it well.

dd slept on my old crib matress for the first 8 weeks til she moved to a cot. will have to buy a new one for this baby though as i attempted to wash it after she was done with it and it disintigrated

needless to say i'll be re-using the cot mattress though!

I buy a new mattress for each child, quite happy to use everything else from previous children but not this.
What about if you borrow from a friend, would you use the mattress they give you? (just interested as we are having a moses basket lent to us for the 1st few weeks but don't want to upset her by saying I don't want the mattress)

magnolia, I don't think your friend would be upset. We are doing the same, but going to use DS's mattress from last time (borrowed moses basket then too).

I don't really understand how the SIDS link works - can someone explain? I thought it was just that there were fears that bacteria could live in the mattress so the baby could theoretically catch a bug? Or is that totally wrong?

Thankyou for all the advice. It has put my mind at ease that i don't need to rush out and buy a new mattress now.I'll just give it a good clean as it's in good nick