Picking out a baby cot with mattress is kind of comforting. Why? Because despite the dizzying array of cot beds and mattresses which are available for new babies, at least parents are on solid decision-making ground because they are amongst the few products parents can say with absolute confidence that they need and will get regular use out of. On the flip-side, it is precisely because a baby cot with mattress is so heavily used that the selection of the right mattress, especially, is absolutely critical. Dragons of Walton Street is delighted to be of service with this handy guide to the best baby cot with mattress options that will keep baby safe and happy.
If you are after a baby cot with mattress combo then look no further than Dragons of Walton Street. We have been protecting baby’s sleep – and the sleep of tens of thousands of parents, for over forty years. Of our baby cot with mattress options, one of the most popular is the Dragons Cot Bed with either the Twist Cotbed Natural Mattress as standard or the Geovital Cotbed Mattress as a luxury upgrade.
Safety First
The choice of a baby cot with mattress is a serious business – indeed, it can be a matter of life and death. Which.com has conducted a recent investigation into this area and found that something like 60% of brand name cot mattresses on the market fail to meet British Safety Standards. In the most severe cases, young babies have been found to be at risk of suffocation and choking due to the defective design of baby mattresses which fail to take into account the special risks they pose to new-borns. To read this Which.com report, click here.
Temperature
The key function of any baby cot mattress is to provide an ideal cocoon for baby. As with the baby’s original cocoon, the perfect temperature is key to baby’s perfect bliss. Keeping a baby from overheating should be the main function of any baby cot with mattress. Staying away from synthetic materials certainly helps.
This is ubiquitous with cheap mattresses and in particular cot mattresses comprised of foam. Keep an eye out for ‘high tech’ jargon which effectively boils down to ‘synthetic’ as well as for brands putting ‘natural’ to the forefront. When it comes to temperature control nothing beats natural fibres. Unfortunately, the vast majority of mattresses on the market are synthetic, meaning their entire makeup is detrimental to new-born baby skin. Yes, synthetic mattresses are incredibly cheap, however, natural fibres are incredibly tough and far more suited to facilitating heat distribution.
If you are looking to provide your baby with a natural mattress, then look no further than the Twist, an award-winning dual-sided mattress which grows with your child. This mattress is made with 100% natural materials and is designed to provide your little one with the right support as they grow from baby to toddler and beyond. One side is firm, as recommended for babies up to 12 months. When your baby becomes a playful toddler, simply twist it over to the supple natural latex side that’s as comfy as it is durable.
You can rest easy knowing that your child is sleeping safely in a pure and healthy environment, free from toxins and harmful chemicals. Free from chemical fire retardant sprays or adhesives (found in most cot mattresses). Its naturally hypo-allergenic fleece wool disperses moisture to create a clean, dry and anti-dust mite environment.
Supporting growth
Your baby cot with mattress needs to facilitate a rapidly growing child. The mattress must be up to the task of coping with a range of weights, pressure, turning and movement. At the same time that the mattress is coming under exponential weight increases and pressure it must respond by proactively springing back to its original shape quickly. It is important to select the right mattress material, since, if the mattress fails to spring back promptly, baby will be resting in the same position for a prolonged length of time and may struggle to shift position, which may result in waking and distress.
Critical Head Care
Baby’s heads need special attention – after all, babies are very top-heavy in that their heads make up a substantial part of their body weights. An issue with cheaper mattress brands is that generally, no regard is given to issues like baby’s head indenting too far into the mattress and causing issues like overheating and neck sweat. Unlike natural materials which can cope with the moisture a synthetic mattress may soften over time as a result. More importantly, as aforementioned a young baby’s head sinking into the mattress can be deadly. Which.com notes that lack of firmness poses a suffocation risk where baby may not have the strength to turn their heads until they are 6 months old.
Loving Baby’s Lungs
New lungs require special care and any baby cot with mattress has a role to play in preserving and protecting them. Poor-quality mattresses can be inherently toxic, attract dust and produce off-gassing that can affect a new-born. Using hypoallergenic natural materials can significantly help to reduce this. Unlike synthetic materials which may not be thoroughly clean after a 60-degree wash, natural fibres will be thoroughly cleansed of dead skin, dust and other contaminants at this temperature, which means that nasties won’t make their home in your baby’s cot.
A big aspect of whether your baby cot with mattress will be allergen-free will depend on the parent’s following of care instructions on each piece of bedding.
You’ve Got It Covered
One of the oft-overlooked elements of selecting a baby cot with mattress is the mattress cover. There really are two schools of thought on this. Group A would argue that natural everything is always best for baby as materials are more breathable, etc. Group B does not necessarily disagree with Group A that natural, as a rule, tends to be best, but they would argue that in the case of mattress covers they would be pointless as when baby soils bed, the natural fibre allows the waste through to the mattress beneath.
In this case only parent knows best. Natural options are readily available and it is definitely worth knowing about the water resistant options which act both as mattress toppers or can be used as an internal cover, potentially with a natural material on top.
Joy Archer is a trained journalist who defected from her job in the City to become an interior designer. Now, many fabulous projects later she combines her writing skills with her love of all things interiors and babies in her role as PR for Dragons of Walton Street. Joy’s favourite Dragons piece is the huge friendly brown lion which she pats every morning for good luck.