A guide to buying the best baby mattress

Your baby is the most precious thing in the world to you. As parents, we want our loved ones to be comfortable at all times. Since your baby will spend most of his or her early life asleep, it’s important you spend time thinking about how to make your baby cozy in the land of shut-eye. It might help you get a good night of sleep, too!

On average, your little bundle of joy will spend up to seventeen hours a day sleeping. Every baby is different, and maybe your baby doesn’t take that much time out, but regardless, your child will spend a lot of time directly connected to the materials that make up your baby mattress.

Here are our top three things to look out for when you’re making that all important purchase.

1. Breathability.

Breathable mattresses are important for babies and adults. In order for a mattress to be breathable, air must be able to pass through the mattress’ permeable sleep surface. This is really important for comfort and wellbeing for everyone, but especially important when you’re buying a mattress for a baby. Why? Because if your baby rolls over on a non-breathable mattress, they could be in danger of suffocation.

Babies can’t tell us something is wrong, so we need to feel safe leaving them on their own to rest. The best way to make sure you feel comfortable leaving your baby safe from suffocation is to buy a breathable mattress.

This isn’t the only benefit of breathability. Non-breathable mattresses can often trap heat, which can impact your child’s body temperature. Breathable mattresses dry quickly, so will not be saturated by sweat (or vomit, if you have a sicky baby!). This decreases the risk of growth of unwanted bacteria and dust mites. Nobody wants bugs on their baby.

2. Chemical free

There are more mattresses out there than we would care to admit made from potentially harmful chemicals. Foam mattresses, for example, typically contain adhesives, solvents and resins. When released in the air, these products can produce volatile organic compounds, which can have numerous negative effects on health. They can cause irritation, infections, skin problems, shortness of breath, and much more. They’re not a good idea for your little one, who has delicate skin and lungs.

Instead look for non-toxic mattresses, made from natural materials. They have a whole host of benefits, including being chemical-free.

3. Look for natural materials

Aside from their breathability and the fact that they are usually chemical free, natural mattresses have a huge list of pros.

They’re typically hypoallergenic, which means there’s less chance your little one will suffer from skin irritation of respiratory problems sometimes caused by mattresses that trap dust.

They’re also naturally fire retardant. Wool, for example, is naturally resistant to flames, which means, in the worst case scenario, your baby is protected by a mattress that won’t catch fire. It’s such a scary thing to talk about, but it’s important.

We mentioned this a little bit above, but natural materials help regulate your child’s body temperature, whether it’s a little too hot or a little too cold.

Lastly, if you care about the environment, mattresses made from natural materials are easier to recycle, and break down quicker, so you’re reducing the impact you have on the planet every time you purchase. Nobody wants to buy products from someone making the planet a rubbish tip for the babies we love.

What else should you look for?

Mattresses aren’t cheap. We know you want to make the right decision when you decide to invest in one, whether it’s for your baby or for yourself.

Look for companies who offer long warranties. This means they believe so heartily in their product, they are willing to put their money where their mouth is. Sleep trials are another good indication of this. If a company is willing to let you try a mattress for thirty days with no obligation, you can be certain they believe in their product, and that’s likely because it’s high quality.

As an environmentally conscious company, we’d recommend you buy your baby mattress from someone who cares about the planet. 167,000 tonnes of mattresses end up in landfill each year in the UK alone. In America, twenty million mattresses are tossed into the trash. It takes many years for them to decompose. Elements of your mattress might outlive you! Let’s hand down this planet to the next generation in the best condition we can.

Look for companies that offer recycling schemes, as these mean an organisation takes their impact on the planet seriously.

Ely baby mattresses

Ely Mattresses are made from natural materials and toxin free. They’re fully recyclable and delivered to a room of your choice. We offer a thirty day sleep trial and a ten year warranty. For more information, please visit our Ely Baby Cot Mattress page.