Mattress Question...Simmons or Colgate?

[Virginia Dad]

We received the Simmons Super Maxipedic from BRU as a shower present. However, after reading these boards, Consumer Reports and the Field's recommendations, I am leaning towards returning it and ordering a Colgate. What do you all think...my wife thinks I am crazy for wanting to go through the trouble, especially since the Simmons is a good mattress. But I am kind of a safety nut to begin with. And do I need the Colgate that is firmer on one side than the other? Thanks.

[sntm]

you could always return the simmons for credit -- you can often find the colgate cheaper than simmons and it got better reviews. we ordered one from www.babycenter.com when it was on sale, plus a coupon, plus partial free shipping for buying more stuff :+

and you will certainly find uses for the credit. the gift cards are good for 24 months.

shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03

[Rachels]

We have that Colgate 2 in 1, and we hate it. It's hard as a rock. Abigail wants nothing to do with it. I put it on the floor and lay down on it, and now I understand why she never would sleep in her crib. I might as well have been trying to put her to bed on the fireplace hearth. Even the toddler side is a brick. I'd keep the Simmons!

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[Virginia Dad]

Wow, I didn't realize it was that firm. I would hate to return the Simmons, order the Colgate and then have the baby end up hating it. The Simmons seems firm to me, but I really don't have much to compare it to. It feels like a good quality mattress to me. Did you end up getting another mattress?

[Rachels]

Nope. We didn't figure this out until recently. I have tried her in her crib over and over and over for months, and she has never slept there for any length of time. We're cosleeping, which is actually fine with us, but we really ran into a crisis around naps. Once she got really mobile, it was terrifying to leave her on our bed without one of us there, but I didn't want to have to lie down every time she did. That's what led me to put the mattress on the floor, hoping I could get her to nap there. I lay down on it with her to settle her for a nap, and immediately discovered the problem. Now, because she's past the SIDS risk timeframe, I have a quilt on top of her mattress (still on the floor), and for the first time in her life, she's napping well. Wish I had figured all of this out six months ago.

FWIW, we travel to my mom's quite often, and I asked her to buy a mattress to put down for Abigail there, and we decided on either a Simmons or a Serta. I really think you're fine with the Simmons.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[Momof3Labs]

We have a Colgate foam mattress (the two-sided one) and Colin sleeps great on the firmer side! I think that it has more to do with what your baby is used to - if you try to put them on a super-firm mattress when they are older, they may not like it. But if that is all that they know, they don't have a problem with it.

Not that there is anything wrong with the Simmons, except the weight. Is it a super-firm mattress? If so, you should be fine from a SIDS perspective.

[Virginia Dad]

It's pretty firm, but all I really had to compare it to at BRU were other coil mattresses. I have not been to a store that has foam mattresses, other than Target, so I don't have much to compare it to. Do you have the Classica Supreme or the Classica III?

[Momof3Labs]

I'm pretty certain that it is the Classica Supreme. We got it at www.babycatalog.com.

[Rachels]

FWIW, we did try Abigail in the crib very early on, and her mattress in her cradle wasn't the softest, either. I don't think it's just a matter of what the baby is used to. Some babies appear to be pretty sensitive to this stuff. She also screamed bloody murder in her carseat for months, stopping only when we got a really cushy Roundabout. With another baby, I wouldn't bank on the idea that they would adjust to whatever I presented. If there's something as safe (which the Simmons seems to be) but not as brickish, I'd go for that.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02