Hi CEMDaughter.
Your inference is correct …adding a 4" topper would be typically too thick especially for a stomach sleeper of such low BMI as yours. Of course, there are other variables that come into play such as density, firmness of the topper you purchased, and your specific preferences. (This would bring it to 4" + 2" total comfort layers on top of 8" coils bringing your sleep system to a 14" thickness. )
I’d pause with this for a while so that you have the chance to test your new mattress and determine what are your next needs. It’s good to have options after you slept on it for a while! It will allow you, at the very least, to do some “topper testing” with your mattress and see which ultimately offers you adequate comfort and support without exacerbating any back issues. Some more questions to keep in the back of your mind when the time comes. What’s your plan for the toppers that don’t work out? Do they come with a return policy? Make sure to find out the density of any of the toppers you are considering.
A forum search on Lucid (you can just click the link) will bring up comments and feedback about them. Lucid is from China, and post #6 here is about mattresses imported from Asia or China which may have been compressed for long periods of time in either shipping or storage before being purchased, which IMO makes this a more risky purchase. Canceling your order was a good call as many subscribers reported issues about and the company variance in answering other consumers and fiberglass as well.
About the other beds, you considered… downside to big mattress brands or some of the new breed of retailers that sell on line but are self-invented and have little knowledge of mattress construction and design. They rely on pushed advertising, fake sales, and employ salespeople who are given scripted information who are unable to answer any meaningful questions. This is why we recommend finding local retailers/manufacturers with many years of mattress experience that have been in business for long enough and have a track record of improving their mattresses rather than cutting corners solely with profit in mind and little to no regard to how this will affect the long term wellbeing of their customers. If you care about the quality of your sleep it becomes more important than ever to look for, discover, and talk with what I call “good mattress people”. They take pride in their work and are putting your well-being, comfort, and support needs above their bottom line.
Congratulations on your new mattress. It is nice to see that Brentwood is transparent about what they have in their mattress. This construction has a good chance of working for you. Spec of the 11" Brentwood Home Cypress Hybrid are as follows…
• 1-inch charcoal-infused memory foam with BioFoam (no foam density listed, but this is in the 1 inch or so foam range from the mattress durability guidelines)
• 1-inch 1.5/33 foam (which is OK for lower budget beds for petite individuals)
• 8 inches Leggett & Platt pocket coils
• 1-inch 1.5/52 foam.
For someone of your BMI (as you’ll note in our Mattress Durability Guidelines), we would consider 1.5 lb per cubic foot density for polyfoam a reasonable “cost/durability compromise”.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on sales. (@ebs thanks as well) With your budget constraints, the seasonal sales are definitely something that looks attractive but I’m glad you are standing your ground and realize what is happening on a larger scale. It is really encouraging to see that even though your mattress search started not so long ago you’ve already discovered some of the “best-kept secrets” in the mattress industry. Generally giving in to a sense of urgency because of a sale may do more harm than good when it comes to the suitability or even price. Sales come and go and some of them seem to last forever, In my opinion, they are mostly fake and are about the illusion of saving money than they are about reality. While it’s not possible to make a blanket statement about sales because each retailer or manufacturer can be different, I would keep in mind that the better manufacturers and retailers don’t generally “negotiate” (see post #6 here ) or have “fake sales” based on the time of year or holidays.
A good retailer or manufacturer won’t need to rely on “fake sales” or other tricks to create a false sense of urgency but would create the space for their customers to do some informed comparison shopping and make a good decision based on facts rather than stories or sales.
In general, Black Friday or other seasonal sales tend to be, on average, only about 5% higher.
If you do decide to go ahead with the additional uncertainty of buying a mattress and a topper separately then I would suggest buying the mattress first and then adding a topper that you think would work well for you after you’ve tried it and based on the information in post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to that can help you use your actual sleeping experience as a reference point and guideline for choosing the type, thickness, and firmness for a topper that would have the least possible risk and the best chance of success.
So I would not make any other purchase (topper or foundation) until you have a chance to receive your bed and sleep on it for a while so that you determine how much more “comfort” (if any) you’d need or prefer.
You may still wish to peruse through the toppers offered by our Trusted Members - many of whom are also running sales - and who will be more responsive to your questions and in a timelier manner than these larger brands. If you reach out and let them know your BMI, sleeping position, other needs and concerns, and your budget, they’ll be more than willing to help you find something…if you’re interested in looking beyond the DreamFoam.
Quick options that come to mind for toppers are…
SleepEZ
Arizona Premium
Latex Mattress Factory
My Green Mattress
Thanks to ebs who also weighed in with some great advice, so hopefully, you’ll have a large enough perspective for a good next step.
I look forward to your future updates once you’ve had a chance to receive the mattress and to sleep upon it for a while.
Phoenix