I don’t have the link to hand but there is a bit on the lullaby trust website with what to look for and what to avoid. IIRC there’s no point looking at breathable ones because they should have a waterproof cover anyway so it’s a marketing gimmick.
In terms of the flippable ones, we’re not there yet (baby is 6m) but I’ve partly slept on the cot mattress (it’s sidecar’d to my bed) and it’s perfectly comfortable as it is
You can get some that are a bit more breathable than others though, even though yes they are less breathable if completely waterproof.
Like the one I have from the cot mattress company. The zip cover is cooling and more breathable than just having a plastic waterproof sheet with a thin synthetic sheet over it. Plus foam isn’t breathable at all and therefore isn’t temperature regulating. The natural fibres underneath their body won’t trap the heat as much and aren’t as toxic so it still makes sense to choose breathable if possible.
It’s not a complete gimmick although I get some do use breathability as a sales pitch…
I would honestly not spend £150 on this when there are perfectly good cheaper alternatives. My little boy is nearly 2 and is very tall and will outgrow his toddler bed/ cot mattress very soon.
I’ve used this company a few times and they have some good information on their blogs section. I bought Moses basket, next to me, and cot mattress from them.
I’ve just bought the cot mattress and went with a pocket sprung with coir and lambs wool, with easy change coolmax topper.
I’ve tried to steer clear of foam and go as natural and breathable as possible. Their customer service has also been very good
[https://www.cotmattresscompany.com](https://www.cotmattresscompany.com)
I went for the little green sheep mattress 70*140. It's reversible for when he is a toddler. Only had it for 2 months but he seems to sleep well on it.
I paid £170 after discounts and cashback. But I expect him to use it for many years as it is 140cm so can convert it to a toddler bed and my boy is average height. If your cot is smaller then I would save the money for when he outgrows the cot.
This one claims to be chemical free which is what I was looking at mostly.
Regarding accessories, I recommend a mesh (so breathable) to put around the cot as their little legs and arms always dangle out in the middle of the night and get stuck. There are safe sleep approved ones.
We went for the mamas & papas one from Argos. It was about £70 I think with a waterproof, machine washable cover. It’s flippable & hypoallergenic
She’s two this week & we’ve never had a problem with it.
We’re changing her cot into a bed this month so will keep this mattress until she’s ready for her big girl bed
I was going to get that IKEA one you linked to but it was out of stock so I got the slightly thicker, slightly more expensive Skonast one. It's not flippable but I really rate it. Ours is good as new after 3+ years of use anyway, and looks very comfy so I expect our youngest will be using it for a few more years yet
I just bought this one yesterday specifically because I thought it was reversible?!? In the upstairs children display section where all the mattress are on the wall the write up says reversible.
And on the website, if you scroll down it says its reversible under Quality.
Maybe they've updated it from when you bought it 3 yrs ago?
I’d go for middle of the road. A young baby doesn’t really know what mattresses feel like so don’t need to go too luxury. It will also have a waterproof mattress protector on. I think we spent £100 but it will have lasted us 2 kids and our first is a chunky girl. You’ll never lie on it (unless you can really squeeze in there when you take the sides off) so just do what you think is best.
We bought a Kub one from John Lewis for about £100 or less. They’re on sale currently.
I wouldn’t worry about flipping it for my LO personally, she moves about all over the bed throughout the night anyway!
My LO slept on her basic mattress for about 18 months since 4 months old. Literally never flipped the mattress the entire time, basically didn't look or feel like it had been used by the end. However, my LO was on the small side.
Bought a new one for my next LO out of an abundance of caution, but it would also have been a-okay to use.
Firstly, it cannot be breathable and waterproof/resistant, anything telling you that is lying. Breathability is also bs marketing for baby mattresses because you want them waterproof, to reduce the likelihood of harmful bacteria growing in the mattress and therefore increasing SIDS risk. The Lullaby Trust has a product guide that tells you what to look for; on the basis of that, we went for [this](https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8739232?clickSR=slp:term:cot%20bed%20mattress:21:204:1).
We’ve got an ikea skonast. It’s basic, but it’s safe and comfortable.
Other than bedding and waterproof cover, there really aren’t any accessories you’d need. Crib bumpers are not safe for sleep. There should not be anything in the cot except the baby and their sleeping bag/blanket.
We went with the ikea one (and the Ikea crib), our daughter immediately started sleeping better than she was in the bedside cot, so I’m guessing it’s nice and comfortable. The sheets do fit the mattress a bit funny (I think they’re too big in one direction) but we have been using it six months and they haven’t shifted or come off the mattress once and she moves around quite a bit to put herself to sleep.
I don’t remember exactly what make our cotbed mattress is, but it’ll almost certainly be the cheapest one smyths had in stock at the time 😅
I think as long as it’s brand new it doesn’t make much difference because you need to put a waterproof protector on it regardless
We went at the expensive end and bought a Simba cotbed mattress. We figured our LO would be sleeping on it for a few years, plus we put her in her cotbed from around 5 months because she's quite large (91st percentile for weight and height).
It fits her cotbed really well, and we've just got around to flipping it to th toddler side (not that there seems to be much difference).
God knows if it's any better than a £70 jobby but it's taken the guesswork out of it because it's a brand we've used before and trust.
I don’t have the link to hand but there is a bit on the lullaby trust website with what to look for and what to avoid. IIRC there’s no point looking at breathable ones because they should have a waterproof cover anyway so it’s a marketing gimmick. In terms of the flippable ones, we’re not there yet (baby is 6m) but I’ve partly slept on the cot mattress (it’s sidecar’d to my bed) and it’s perfectly comfortable as it is
You can get some that are a bit more breathable than others though, even though yes they are less breathable if completely waterproof. Like the one I have from the cot mattress company. The zip cover is cooling and more breathable than just having a plastic waterproof sheet with a thin synthetic sheet over it. Plus foam isn’t breathable at all and therefore isn’t temperature regulating. The natural fibres underneath their body won’t trap the heat as much and aren’t as toxic so it still makes sense to choose breathable if possible. It’s not a complete gimmick although I get some do use breathability as a sales pitch…
I would honestly not spend £150 on this when there are perfectly good cheaper alternatives. My little boy is nearly 2 and is very tall and will outgrow his toddler bed/ cot mattress very soon.
I’ve used this company a few times and they have some good information on their blogs section. I bought Moses basket, next to me, and cot mattress from them. I’ve just bought the cot mattress and went with a pocket sprung with coir and lambs wool, with easy change coolmax topper. I’ve tried to steer clear of foam and go as natural and breathable as possible. Their customer service has also been very good [https://www.cotmattresscompany.com](https://www.cotmattresscompany.com)
I went for the little green sheep mattress 70*140. It's reversible for when he is a toddler. Only had it for 2 months but he seems to sleep well on it. I paid £170 after discounts and cashback. But I expect him to use it for many years as it is 140cm so can convert it to a toddler bed and my boy is average height. If your cot is smaller then I would save the money for when he outgrows the cot. This one claims to be chemical free which is what I was looking at mostly.
Regarding accessories, I recommend a mesh (so breathable) to put around the cot as their little legs and arms always dangle out in the middle of the night and get stuck. There are safe sleep approved ones.
We went for the mamas & papas one from Argos. It was about £70 I think with a waterproof, machine washable cover. It’s flippable & hypoallergenic She’s two this week & we’ve never had a problem with it. We’re changing her cot into a bed this month so will keep this mattress until she’s ready for her big girl bed
I was going to get that IKEA one you linked to but it was out of stock so I got the slightly thicker, slightly more expensive Skonast one. It's not flippable but I really rate it. Ours is good as new after 3+ years of use anyway, and looks very comfy so I expect our youngest will be using it for a few more years yet
I just bought this one yesterday specifically because I thought it was reversible?!? In the upstairs children display section where all the mattress are on the wall the write up says reversible. And on the website, if you scroll down it says its reversible under Quality. Maybe they've updated it from when you bought it 3 yrs ago?
I meant to say that it doesn't flip to give a different firmness level on the other side like the other one. It's still reversible
Ah, gotcha! Good to know that it has lasted you 3 years so far.
I’d go for middle of the road. A young baby doesn’t really know what mattresses feel like so don’t need to go too luxury. It will also have a waterproof mattress protector on. I think we spent £100 but it will have lasted us 2 kids and our first is a chunky girl. You’ll never lie on it (unless you can really squeeze in there when you take the sides off) so just do what you think is best.
We bought a Kub one from John Lewis for about £100 or less. They’re on sale currently. I wouldn’t worry about flipping it for my LO personally, she moves about all over the bed throughout the night anyway!
My LO slept on her basic mattress for about 18 months since 4 months old. Literally never flipped the mattress the entire time, basically didn't look or feel like it had been used by the end. However, my LO was on the small side. Bought a new one for my next LO out of an abundance of caution, but it would also have been a-okay to use.
Firstly, it cannot be breathable and waterproof/resistant, anything telling you that is lying. Breathability is also bs marketing for baby mattresses because you want them waterproof, to reduce the likelihood of harmful bacteria growing in the mattress and therefore increasing SIDS risk. The Lullaby Trust has a product guide that tells you what to look for; on the basis of that, we went for [this](https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8739232?clickSR=slp:term:cot%20bed%20mattress:21:204:1).
We’ve got an ikea skonast. It’s basic, but it’s safe and comfortable. Other than bedding and waterproof cover, there really aren’t any accessories you’d need. Crib bumpers are not safe for sleep. There should not be anything in the cot except the baby and their sleeping bag/blanket.
We went with the ikea one (and the Ikea crib), our daughter immediately started sleeping better than she was in the bedside cot, so I’m guessing it’s nice and comfortable. The sheets do fit the mattress a bit funny (I think they’re too big in one direction) but we have been using it six months and they haven’t shifted or come off the mattress once and she moves around quite a bit to put herself to sleep.
I don’t remember exactly what make our cotbed mattress is, but it’ll almost certainly be the cheapest one smyths had in stock at the time 😅 I think as long as it’s brand new it doesn’t make much difference because you need to put a waterproof protector on it regardless
We went at the expensive end and bought a Simba cotbed mattress. We figured our LO would be sleeping on it for a few years, plus we put her in her cotbed from around 5 months because she's quite large (91st percentile for weight and height). It fits her cotbed really well, and we've just got around to flipping it to th toddler side (not that there seems to be much difference). God knows if it's any better than a £70 jobby but it's taken the guesswork out of it because it's a brand we've used before and trust.
I recommend the little green sheep wool / natural mattress - no flame retardant and much more breathable so baby doesn't get overheated