All About the Crib Mattress

Keeping your baby cozy and safe

Just like an adult mattress, a crib mattress needs to be comfortable. However, when buying a crib mattress for your baby, safety takes the highest priority.  Read on to learn about correct fit and safety precautions.

The right fit

To prevent injury, a crib mattress must fit snugly into the frame, leaving little or no space between the crib mattress and crib. Babies can easily fall into even the smallest gap.

As a general rule, you shouldn't be able to stick two fingers between crib mattress and crib. If your fingers fit, replace the crib mattress with a larger one. 

A safe place to sleep

With a quality crib mattress, your baby will stay comfortable and safe.

A soft crib mattress can lead to suffocation--make sure the mattress is firm. To check for crib mattress firmness, place an object weighing about 10 pounds on the mattress. If this object easily creates an indent, you should purchase a different mattress.

Also, make sure:

The crib mattress is made of flame retardant material.

The crib mattress contains ventilation holes.  

Proper crib mattress care

Avoid using plastic material to line the crib mattress. At first glance, plastic may seem like a convenient cleaning solution, but plastic liner can lead to suffocation. A proper crib mattress pad is safer and will keep the crib mattress clean and dry.

More information on crib bedding