Cot mattresses

[2labs]

I never imagined there would be so many types at such varying prices... Am expecting my first baby in August and just wondering where are good places to get one, and what am I looking for? We are borrowing a cot which seems to be 'continental' size.

Always had mine from mothercare with breathable cover ,the last one we bought was £80 i think.

measure the cot carefully first - may limit your range of suppliers not just for mattresses but for fitted sheets etc too (though if it's a truly weird size you could use flat ones).

i bought a continental size foam mattress from mothercare (£30), think it's great. got the same from toysrus first but had to return it as the cover was torn!

Forgot to add that ours was for a cot bed.

I bought mine from John Lewis and went for their basic type cos the others weren't good with a history of allergies. They went through in detail all their different types of matresses with us. Ours is a foam matress with a waterproof cover which goes well in the washing machine (the cover). Also they charge about the same price to get one made to order if you can't get one to fit (which we couldn't).

The other problem we had was finding sheets to fit. All the cot ones were too small and I couldn't find any adult flannel ones. But I found some on sale in Sainsbury's in the end (though horrible design). It might be a problem if you have an odd sized matress but if you can get some material you could make your own.

Basically, from Mothercare you have the following types of mattress in continental size.

Pocket sprung with coolmax (£109-99)
Spring interior with coolmax (£79-99)
Coolmax is a panel made up of 3 layers. Top layer is soft and breathable which lets air circulate and reduces chaffing and overheating. middle layer takes the moisture away from baby and then spreads it across the bottom layer which allows the moisture to disperse and evaporate. The cover is machine washable at 60 degrees c and you can get spare covers.

Spring interior with Amicor (£49-99)
Amicor is an anti-fungal and anti-bacterial fibre that is part of the mattress fabric. It prevents dust mites living in the mattress by removing the food source.

Foam with coolmax (£64-99)
One piece foam (£29-99)

If this isn't the right size, your local mothercare may be able to find it for you on their website or you could have a look. mothercare

Sorry, forgot to add: these are the prices from the spring/summer 2006 catalogue.
Hope it helps and makes some sense.

Thanks everyone! Very helpful , will ponder...