Parenting Guide - Baby Showers - Parenting Tips

Baby Mattresses

 
Within your home, the baby’s nursery is a very sacred place, in which your baby eats, sleeps and plays. As parent’s, it is our job to out a lot of thought and careful consideration into what goes into the baby’s nursery. We carefully choose items, and make sure that everything in the nursery is safe, comfortable and healthy. Your baby’s sanctuary is the crib and an integral part of it is the crib mattress. During the first year of your baby’s life, your baby’s systems, which are rapidly developing are a lot more vulnerable and sensitive to toxins and chemicals within the environment.

Normally, traditional mattresses are created using polyester, polyurethane foam and vinyl that has been treated with fire retardants and then coated with other types of substances. All-in-all, it can be a little worrisome having your baby sleeping on a mattress that has been bathed in slurry of chemicals. You know, the “new smell” of the mattress, is really the off-gassing of the substances. This is the main reason that it is recommended that you “air” out the crib mattress when your first purchase it. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome has also been linked to the use of conventional mattresses however the studies that have been conducted are controversial.

For those parents out there that are looking for an alternative to the conventional crib mattress, natural crib mattresses are a healthy and safe option. Most likely, the natural mattress is going to be made from natural foam rubber that has been manufactured from the sap that comes from the rubber tree that is located in South East Asia, organic cotton, untreated wool, and occasionally silk.

 The Benefits of Natural Latex Rubber

There are several benefits of purchasing a crib mattress that is made with natural latex rubber. For one, natural latex rubber is a very good heat regulator which will ensure that your baby is cool during the summer months and warm during the winter months. Secondly, natural latex rubber is flexible and stable which will ensure that you have purchase a long lasting mattress. Crib mattresses that are made from natural latex rubber are also resistant to the build-up of moisture, resistant to fungus, mold, bacteria and mildew, dust mite resistant naturally, hypoallergenic (there are a lot of people that suffer from an allergy of synthetic latex), renewable and biodegradable.

 The Benefits of Untreated Wool and Organic Cotton

 There are several benefits of purchasing a crib mattress that is made with untreated wool and organic cotton. Untreated wool is fire retardant, temperature-regulating and dust-mite resistant naturally as well as anti-bacterial. Organic cotton, on-the-other-hand,  is hypoallergenic, completely free of formaldehyde, softer because the chemicals are used in order to break it down and insecticide and pesticide free which will promote better air and soil quality.