Toddler mattress help desperately needed

[gummibear]

Please forgive me for posting this in the lounge - it's a mattress question but not exactly a nursery question.

I desperately need help because I need to buy a crib mattress for our 3yo DS, who has been co-sleeping with us since birth. And, I have zero experience buying a crib mattress; DS has never slept in one. And, our bed is soft since we added a memory foam topper last year. And, DH came across a Cars-themed toddler bed, so now we have a mattress-less red hot rod sitting in our den.

After reading the BB chapter, I'm thinking foam. I checked out all the A-list manufacturers + Sopora + Lullaby Earth. I'm guessing he'll outgrow the toddler bed in 2 years, so I don't want to spend a fortune; on the other hand, my gut feeling is that if we buy a too-firm (aka hard) crib mattress, as much as DS loves Lightning McQueen, the new bed will go unused. And he'll hop back into our soft bed, full-time.

My questions:
Is there such a thing as a soft and firm mattress?
Is it worth it in our case to get the mattresses that have memory foam on one side, since DS is already used to sleeping on memory foam?
Should we be getting a mattress with the 'dual-firmness' feature, or would we be better off picking up an ikea mattress and putting a memory foam (or other material) mattress topper on top?
Has anyone tried the Sopora or Lullaby Earth brands? I've seen people mention Moonlight Slumber and Colgate on the boards. I'm also considering the Naturepedic.

Any mattress recommendations or general thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Many many thanks in advance for any help in getting DS out of our bed!

[SnuggleBuggles]

For such a short need, I wouldn't splurge. If you have an IKEA near by, just pick one up there. You can always add a quilted mattress pad if softness really is a worry.

[bostonsmama]

We have the Colgate Classica II (I think it's the dual zone). Is anyone selling a used one on Craigslist? I've seen toddler bed and mattress combos for $20-50 there--looking great, too. Past that age you don't really worry about SIDS, and you can buy a mattress wrap if you're concerned. Yeah, if your DS is tall, he may not get to 5 in it.

I'm trying to remember where I got my Colgate...probably diapers.com with a coupon code.

[marymoo86]

I love our Moonlight Slumber Little Dreamer. It comes dual sided. It's a great mattress overall with little worries of off gassing. Fits snug up against the crib and sealed edges. Super buy and worth every penny.

I got it locally but you can buy online or probably Craigslist.

[Simon]

I think you're right to try and find a softer mattress but seriously do NOT spend a lot of $$$.
Our first cosleeper could not be transitioned to his toddler bed because it was too hard and too small compared to our bed. He is tiny himself but he was used to having lots of room.. We later got an IKEA mattress which was much softer but Ds2, who did not cosleep, also didn't like the small space of the toddler bed. Sigh. Fingers crossed, Ds3 will like the toddler bed and someone will finally sleep in it. Ugh.

[gummibear]

For such a short need, I wouldn't splurge. If you have an IKEA near by, just pick one up there. You can always add a quilted mattress pad if softness really is a worry.
We do have a nearby IKEA! No one's had any problems with jumpers on these mattresses? Their thickest mattress is not quite 4"; the toddler bed is really a plastic thing with a plywood board underneath.


We have the Colgate Classica II (I think it's the dual zone). Is anyone selling a used one on Craigslist?

We bought this car (http://www.littletikes.com/kids-toys/lightning-mcqueen-roadster-toddler-bed) off of Craigslist. I'm going to order some replacement stickers to buff this baby up like new. :bighand: But I'd like to avoid a used mattress. DS is right in the 50% percentile for his height, but he does have environmental (and food) allergies. I hate to medicate him if I can just prevent the symptoms instead.

Diapers.com has a 10% off right now for the Colgates. =) Albeebaby has a 15% off but they don't include the Colgates - but they do include the Naturepedic & Lullaby Earth ones. I've never ordered from diapers.com but I :heartbeat: albeebaby - we got such a great deal on our car seats way back when, and the seats were freshly manufactured too.


I love our Moonlight Slumber Little Dreamer. It comes dual sided. It's a great mattress overall with little worries of off gassing. Fits snug up against the crib and sealed edges. Super buy and worth every penny.

I got it locally but you can buy online or probably Craigslist.

This one is on my list too. There's a store local to us (near the IKEA!) that carries it. I probably should shop local so I can test out the firmness, ha.



I think you're right to try and find a softer mattress but seriously do NOT spend a lot of $$$.
Our first cosleeper could not be transitioned to his toddler bed because it was too hard and too small compared to our bed. He is tiny himself but he was used to having lots of room.. We later got an IKEA mattress which was much softer but Ds2, who did not cosleep, also didn't like the small space of the toddler bed. Sigh. Fingers crossed, Ds3 will like the toddler bed and someone will finally sleep in it. Ugh.
Ohhhh mannn, I can see that happening to us - DS does like to spread out. 0.o

TRU has the Stearns & Foster crib mattress (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11305326) mentioned in the book - on sale for $199. List price is $299. I wonder if its really plush. Not too many reviews online from actual buyers. I keep telling myself it's over budget, even on sale, but another voice in my head says "but you'd save $100!!!"

[SnuggleBuggles]

Yeah, the Ikea mattress is really thin but it seems ok. Ds2 sleeps well on it.

[gummibear]

Hello everyone:
Just a quick update - mattress acquired! Thanks for knocking some sense into me - I narrowed my exhaustive (exhausting?) list to four options.

Here was my 4-mattress list, with the best prices I could find, in case anyone else is looking: (1) the Ikea Vyssa Spelevink (for $90), (2) the Moonlight Slumber (for $153 on rightstart.com right now), (3) Colgate Classica III Foam (for $153 on amazon.com), and (4) Sopora Premium Dual (for $160 on greatbeginningsonline.com).

I decided to go with the Ikea mattress. It was less expensive, but looked very soft in the photo, and seems soft in person. It's definitely softer than the crib mattresses my sisters had. It's floppy - it flops over when you pick it up, and was floppy over the shopping cart - but it seems to be supportive. I could see us keeping this out on the floor as a play mat by the tv when DS is older.

In addition to posts by SnuggleBuggles & other users on this forum about the Ikea mattresses, two other factors helped me decide. I saw a thread on thebump about Ikea mattresses meeting German standards re: formaldehyde and off-gassing. Our package doesn't seem like it needs airing out, compared to adult mattresses I've gotten in the past. And, a nice email from the Fields advised me that they didn't see a problem with adding a mattress topper if I saw a need to thicken things up. I picked up a waterproof mattress protector but skipped the pad, as the mattress itself seems soft enough to not need it.

The Spelevink seemed to fit fine in the bed, and DS is pretty excited. Within a few minutes of bringing it home, he did a jump test (with it on the floor, and a couple of hops sneaked in on the car bed). Everything seems fine. And he's pretended to sleep on it. Hopefully he sleeps on it tonight!

Thanks again for all the feedback. I was having product overwhelm this morning.