Help me choose a mattress
May 31, 2014 12:11 AM   Subscribe

We need to buy a single mattress for our infant daughter's bed. I have no idea what is reasonable in terms of price or what we should look for. Please help.

While obviously our daughter will not need her bed mattress for a while yet, we have the bed frame (from a friend) and we would like to purchase a mattress for it to serve as her first bed when she is ready. We don't want to be lavish but we don't want our daughter to end up with a bad back. I imagine, on the other hand, that children don't need very fancy mattresses as they tend not to weigh much? We just had ours thrown in with the bed and it's very comfortable.

So-- Australians-- what is a reasonable price range? They seem to go from about $100 to $5000.....

What should we look for? Particularly given that this is a bed for a child?

Thanks.
posted by jojobobo to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)
 
Weight is indeed a big factor, I think. Both of our kids have slept on the same cheap Ikea foam mattress, and it shows no sign of sagging or any other wear or tear, despite six years of daily use. Both boys managed between 10 and 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep when sleeping on it, so it can't be uncomfortable. A cheap sprung mattress, on the other hand, is always a bad investment.
posted by pipeski at 12:26 AM on May 31, 2014


Get an ikea sprung one. All mattresses need to de-gas and ikea's really do. Do it in another room. Choice magazine said good things about them a few years ago and we've got two. They're under 200 dollars and great quality.
posted by taff at 12:46 AM on May 31, 2014


I meant to add, sorry...get Ikea mattresses on sale. There's always one in the nearish future. They reduce them in a big mattress sale at least once a year and often by 1/2 to 2/3 of their rrp.
posted by taff at 12:50 AM on May 31, 2014


We got a foam mattress from IKEA because they're affordable and I don't have to deal with the emotional fallout of ruining an expensive mattress. Kids are funny that way.

They're perfectly good, and especially so for the price!
posted by Violet Femme at 5:21 AM on May 31, 2014


When choosing your mattress, here are some things to consider:

1) It will get peed on, repeatedly, even with a cover. Do not buy the most expensive one. It will only make you sad.

2) Anything too fluffy and bouncy will make it difficult to convince your child to not jump on the bed.

3) Anything to firm will make your child want to crawl in your bed and stay forever.

My solution- A firm, inexpensive mattress with a super great fluffy, removable, padding.
posted by myselfasme at 7:16 AM on May 31, 2014


You're right about the quality of the mattress not being a big deal, although consider that you may wish to sit on the bed on occasion. What I found to be more important than the quality of the mattress is what's covering it: you should buy several rubberised covers. You must have at least two, but three is better. If your child gets gastro and starts throwing up you will be very glad to have them. They come in flat and fitted versions; flat ones are very portable and great for infants (and older kids who are throwing up) but fitted ones are easier to keep on the bed. Maybe get two of one sort, one of the other?
posted by Joe in Australia at 11:00 PM on June 2, 2014


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