double-sided mattress?

[Caroline99]

My husband and I ordered our crib today from The Baby's Room/USABaby. We had also planned to order a mattress as well, but once we were given the "elevator pitch" on a dual-sided mattress from the salesperson, we decided to hold off. I'm wondering how much of what the salesperson said was crap and how much of it is true. She told us that we can expect to replace a foam mattress 2-3 times throughout the 2 years that our baby will be in a crib. Is this true? I find this hard to believe. She also said that it was bad to have a mattress pad between the sheet and the mattress, but from what I've read here on the BB site that doesn't seem to be generally true. Finally, she said that having squared off corners is better than having slightly rounded ones because the sheet will stay on better and the baby is less likely to get his/her hands stuck in the small crevice -- true or false? Should I be concerned about this?

TIA,
Caroline

[Momof3Labs]

Sounds like a bunch of baloney to me!

The Colgate foam is top rated by Consumers Reports. They wouldn't rate a mattress so highly if it will only last a year or less! I personally like the foam better - it is so much easier to change the sheets!

The rounded vs. squared corners thing doesn't even make sense - which mattresses was she comparing? But for what it is worth, the Colgate's corners are pretty squared off. My mattress fits very tightly in my Sorelle crib - absolutely no wiggle room, and the corners are no exception.

As long as a mattress pad is thin and stays on well, I think that it is fine to use one.

You can get the Colgate foam mattress at www.babycatalog.com for a lot less than any mattress that the Baby's Room sells - I really don't think that you can go wrong with that one. We chose the dual-sided foam, but only because it was so inexpensive. If we don't use the dual-side option, we won't care because it was only $10-15 more than the single firmness. And if we do use it, great.

That's my .02 worth!

Lori
mommy to Colin Daniel 9/28/02

[newbelly2002]

Over here in Europe (or at least Germany) they pretty much only have the double-sided mattresses. We got one that has coconut hair on the infant side (harder) and latex foam on the other side (slightly softer). It is all then covered with a fine layer of soft lamb's wool and then the mattress itself is covered in a pure cotton covering. They told us it should last for the duration of our son's time in his crib. IF it holds up, I think the double-sided sounds like a good idea.

[JMarie]

We also had to listen to that nice sales pitch, and it didn't help that the friend I was shopping with used to work for the company and was also pressuring me to buy this mattress. She, of course, has it in her nursery. However, it's almost $200 and if you ask to see copies of any studies that have shown that this particular mattress is better than any other specific mattresses, they can't show you anything. They don't have it. Their sales pitch is just that - a pitch to get you to buy THEIR product. They don't carry any other kind of mattress (at least not in their Arlington Heights, Hoffman Estates, or Mundelien stores) so of course they want you to buy your entire ensemble with them. The squared-off corners don't make a difference and I would actually think they'd make the sheets fit worse - sheets are MADE for rounded corners. Their claims of lifetime guarantee and the anti-microbial ticking didn't sell me either - I think most mattress companies will stand by their product, and until I KNOW my son has severe allergies, I'm not going to concern myself with the anti-bacterial/anti-microbial stuff. I made the decision since they couldn't produce any hard evidence that this mattress was going to make my son's sleeping experience 100 times better than any other mattress, I would rather save my money and my back and go with the Colgate mattress.

JMarie
EDD 2/23/03
Aidan Christopher

[alandenisefields]

Caroline,

Thanks for using our message boards!

Never heard of a foam mattress needing to be replaced in 8 years of writing about baby products. In fact, we know many parents who've used in for more than one child without needing replacement. Glad you didn't let the salesperson snow you!

Best wishes,

alan and denise fields
authors, BABY BARGAINS

[JMarie]

Okay, so since I read this thread I figured I needed to get on the ball and get my mattress ordered. I see that the Colgate Classica I HAS squared-off corners, just like the Baby's Room mattress, and it's lightweight to boot! Since I haven't seen any complaints about the Classica I - only very happy customers - it must not be a problem with the square corners and sheets. Off to order my mattress!

JMarie
EDD 2/23/03
Aidan Christopher