Cot Bed mattresses, how did you choose which one?

[TheScenicRoute]

I'm finding choosing a mattress so boring to research and blummin difficult. You just lye on a mattress to choose! How on earth do you choose whats comfy for a teeny tiny human being?

Are there any that help prevent flat head syndrome? I wouldn't mind paying for those, otherwise why do I feel mean and guilty for even considering the cheapest type?

Help!

I wanted a sprung mattress because i hated our memory foam one and one with a removable washable cover.

I managed to get one (kit 4 kids) for £25 from preciouslittleone as part of a bounty offer, I'm glad I did tbh as its virtually the same as the £100 one my DS had from Mother care.

Narrow it down according to what's important to you, as they are all going to be appropriate for your baby. So the choice is really down to your own preferences rather than any of them being better/worse.

e.g. do you mind if it's made out of man-made fibres/materials, or do you want something made of natural fibres? Do you want a mattress that will last for several years, or are you happy to replace after a while? Do you want an integral mattress protector or not?

Also, I wouldn't worry about flat-head syndrome, as none of the actual mattresses themselves can address this. Also, it's not a certainty that it will happen and it can be prevented/greatly reduced by not leaving your baby lying down on its back when awake. Don't leave them in car seats/bouncers/etc too often, change which way their head lies when you put them in their cot, do lots of tummy time, use a sling instead of a pram etc. If bottle feeding, swap the side you hold them each time like you would if breastfeeding.

Thanks EP.

I've found a reasonably priced hypoallergenic sprung one in argos. My thoughts being sprung might be cooler and hypoallergenic so I can wash the cover as necessary.

However the washable cover is 'water resistant'... Will that be enough to fend off wee/ poo/ vomit? I'd like to add a waterproof cover (under the hypoallergenic cover which is quilted, but do you think this would prevent the airflow I'm trying to achieve by choosing a sprung mattress?

My instinct would be that the water resistant wouldn't be enough to prevent a fair sized leak/vomit. I guess all mattress protectors impact on airflow but it's better than the mattress becoming home to wee/poo/vom!

I bought a cocoonababy for the first few months. It is supposed to be good for stopping flat head syndrome and everyone I know who has one raves about it.

I was wondering second time round do you buy a new mattress or not? I have my previous cotbed/mattress which my now 3 year old didn't stay in very long despite costing about £150 for a mattress & didn't stay in cotbed very long either & now in a full sized single bed but just wondered what people thought re using the same mattress again?

We looked at John Lewis as that's where our cot came from, but found a sprung one at Mothercare for the same price as a foam JL one. I thought a sprung one might do better for a toddler (if it lasts that long) so we went for that one, and MC luckily had an extra 10% off this past weekend.

As far as buying new for a second child is concerned, I think it depends on where you've stored it while it hasn't been in use, as that's the main danger with using second-hand mattresses. If it's been anywhere damp, I'd be inclined to buy a new one; but if you're happy that it's dry and clean, use it again.

Well we were given the cot bed from a friend but bought probably the most expensive mattress (as you do first time round) also from MC but as we haven't used it much (has a zip off cover) so has been clean apart from a couple of accidents/sick it's been fine. We have kept it in a bedroom with a cover over it but have moved house since but again been in a bedroom so not damp at all/not stored in a garage or loft. Will obviously give it a clean/Hoover it etc but do health visitors/midwives scare you re cot death so that's why they recommend a new mattress on each new child? It's hard financially if they expect that and also how do you get rid of/sell a 2nd hand mattress if they scare people etc?

We did a fair amount of hand wringing before ds was born about this (feeling that buying the cheapest was being a bit mean) but really all of the mattresses will be perfectly safe. In fact a cheap one might be best because if you get a sicky baby even with the best protectors etc you might want to replace it after a while.

About the flat head- no mattress will effect it. My ds has quite a flat head and there's nothing whatsoever we could've done about it except not put him to sleep on his back. We had to see a consultant about his head size and she said that if your baby has a big head (and ds's is very big!!) it's just much more common.

We bought a memory foam mattress for dd1 and it was useless, it had a great memory and remembered where her head was and formed a permanent dip after a couple of months.

We then bought a sprung one with a washable top and it is so much better, dd is now 20 months, weighs 2 stone and there are no dips.

The cover is plenty for accidents, if there's a wee leak the majority is in her sleepsuit/growbag anyway so hardly any on the mattress and the sick incident we had didn't go through the washable bit, the actual mattress has a plasticky waterproof feel to it so I don't think it could get wet anyway.
I think we paid arond £80 for it from Mothercare.