What is the best crib mattress for your baby?
If you will soon be mom / dad or just getting your baby home, it becomes imperative to have the best crib mattress for the most important person in your life.
We must realize that our baby will sleep in a crib until about 3 years old. Therefore, we have to choose the best crib mattress that guarantees us that all our baby's needs, first, and child after, will be covered. Neither very hard mattresses, nor very soft, are beneficial for the first years of life.
Where to start?
We have to start at the beginning: the minicuna. There are minicunas or cuckoos, which are used from birth until the baby passes into the crib, or when it is already uncomfortable for the size it has and has no space for rest. In these cases, the right mini mattress has to:
Do not be laminated
Present a flat and firm surface. No cushions, pillows or extra covers
Be firm, neither too hard nor too soft
You can expand information on the most suitable mini mattresses in the post that we published last April.
After this initial stage, about 4.5 or 6 months (depending on each baby), we have to pass our little one to his crib, which will have the best crib mattress to promote physical development and rest.
According to experts in child safety, and pediatricians, babies do not need a pillow of any kind until approximately two years. The essential element of your baby's resting equipment will be the mattress.
To be able to choose correctly the first will be to know the measurements of the crib. We must take the inner measures. The standard model crib mattress is usually 60 x 120 cm, although there are other measures such as 70 x 140 cm, 80 x 130 cm and we can even find quite large cribs that require mattresses up to 150 x 79 cm.
Between the crib and the mattress we can not leave more than 2 cm, to prevent your feet or hands from curling around the edges and getting injured. We will therefore look for the mattress with the right measures, always taking into account the basic characteristics of the best crib mattress.
Basic Elements of a Good Crib Mattress
The points that we should stop at the time of choosing the best crib mattress for our little one are:
Its structure: be firm and durable, because most of the time our baby will spend it asleep. So it is crucial to choose a base that evenly distributes the baby's weight. This reduces the risk of malformation in the development of your spine, or even complications in your fragile head, such as the appearance of a plageocephaly.
The materials: Both the protector and the rest of the mattress or cover, must be hypoallergenic, that reduce skin irritations or respiratory problems associated with dust mites. The protective cover has to be removable, washable and 100% cotton, preferably. The padding or padding that has the core of the mattress has to be made of a breathable material.
Temperature: A mattress that is breathable and has materials that help regulate the temperature. A mattress with a good aeration system considerably reduces the risk that the baby may have sudden infant death.
Types of crib mattresses
Among the options we have in the market, the most common crib mattresses we can find are:
Coconut fiber mattresses (a moisture-proof and breathable material)
Spring crib mattresses: may become too firm for the little weight that infants have
Viscoelastic crib mattresses
Mattresses 100% natural latex cushion (hypoallergenic and breathable) or latex (more gummy and harder than natural)
Mattress cradle gel (breathable material, not altered with changes in temperature)
Sofa cushions, (ecological, hypoallergenic and breathable)
From ColchonExprés we recommend viscoelastic and natural latex with ventilation system, as more recommended options. Logically, the best crib mattress will be the one that covers all the rest and safety needs of our baby.
One last tip
According to the recommendations of pediatricians, if the baby is incorporated during sleep, it will favor the following aspects:
The breathing
Digestion, avoiding regurgitations due to excess milk
Correct position of the hip
In case of infection, cold or constipation, it helps that the mucus does not move towards the ear, avoiding infection of the ear or otitis
Reduces the weight of the baby's head on the occipital bone by more than 50%
In ColchonExprés we usually recommend the "Crib Cuna Seda Confort Rest", one of the crib mattresses most recommended by pediatricians of hospitals throughout Spain.
Buy crib mattress
Includes the following accessories:
Anatomical Wedge
Adapter
Pillows anti-rollover and Semi-curl, which guarantee a perfect support, avoiding unwanted postures.