I want to make a DIY latex bed for my sons room. The bed is also used occasionally by an adult. This is what I have so far but I am not sure what the finished firmness feel might be. Would it be better to put 3 inches of soft or medium talalay over the base foam or is it pretty good as is? Are these suppliers having any shipping delays right now? Originally I was going to do the kids bargain mattress from APM and add another topper but they are having some shipping delays and we are in need of it faster than that. Also what is the cheapest wood foundation I cAn get for this that can go inside a metal frame. I saw latex mattress factory has one for 200 and plexus has one for 185, not sure how fast flexus is shipping.
6 inch lux-hq foam from foambymail $129
2 inch medium dunlop from either foambymail $116
2 inch soft talalay from latex for less. $173
10 inch plush bamboo cover from diymattress $179
I’ve been peaking at your conversations with NikkiTMU to determine the age of your son. Is this mattress for your newborn or is this for an older child? Either way I’ll try to cover all bases. As the adult will use the mattress only “occasionally” the best is to focus on getting something with your son’s wellbeing and needs in mind. Babies and infants will generally need a firm to extra-firm sleeping surface while toddlers will generally need a medium-firm to firm sleeping surface and older children that have transitioned to a larger mattress and are out of the crib will generally do best on a medium to medium-firm.
There are several reasons for this but the most important are …
~ Babies, toddlers, growing children need a sleeping surface that is more supportive for the spine, their posture, and epiphyseal plates which are forming
~ Children … especially when they are very young … need a mattress that allows for free movement (too soft or a memory foam layer would prevent that) If the child is too young to move or turn with some “strength” there can be a danger of impaired breathing or suffocation if they are on their stomach face down in the mattress.
~ The mattress/bedding microclimate needs to be breathable.
~ Good to see that you discarded the Memory foam which is truly is not a good choice for young children. Children have less developed immune systems and can be more susceptible to harmful substances and VOC’s (off-gassing).
[QUOTE]6 inch lux-hq foam from foambymail $129
2 inch medium dunlop from either foambymail $116
2 inch soft talalay from latex for less. $173
10 inch plush bamboo cover from diymattress $179 [/QUOTE]
Generally, infants don’t need more than 4" thickness, a child won’t need more than 6" or so (if the sleeping surface is firm enough 8" is OK), and when the needs change if it becomes necessary then you can add some thickness or softness with either another layer inside a new cover or add a softer topper to the mattress.
As mentioned above, mattress firmness guidelines for children
0-1 infants …. Firm to extra- firm sleeping surface
1-3 toddlers… medium-firm to a firm sleeping surface
3-5 preschoolers… medium to medium-firm sleeping surface.
One of the advantages of doing a DIY for a child is that they are very adaptable and do well on firm mattress surfaces so you don’t have too much thinking to do when it comes to comfort choices for them. Later, as your child grows and develops more adult proportions you can add or exchange layers If and when they need a softer comfort. You can either replace the top layer with a softer one, or if you got an expandable layer you can insert a new layer and increase the mattress thickness, or add a softer topper to any firmer child’s mattress when they get older and develop more adult proportions. The 10" construction you are suggesting is too soft and thick for a baby, toddler, or growing child.
DIY Natural Bedding also has an expandable 100% Organic Cotton Double-knit ticking that you might wish to consider (3" to 15" in thickness)
I am not sure how fast is Flexus is shipping nowadays. They seem to have some supplier disruptions and shipping delays. If both budget and time are of the essence, I’d certainly first call Henry and Flexus and confirm that they have the product in stock and ready to ship. Post #2 here includes links to most of the better forum posts and topics about mattresses and children and includes some suggestions and guidelines and links to some good quality/value options as well.
Let us know if this makes sense to you and if you have any additional questions
Phoenix
Thanks for your response! My son is 4.5 years old, but right now my husband uses the bed more than my son. We are hoping that changes but my son is autistic and prefers to sleep with me most of the time. He is used to sleeping in an adult bed. His current bed is an Ashley furniture chime 12 inch memory foam bed. My newborn is in a crib in my room
Thanks for the clarification,… I understand now. …even though the bed is more for adults with your son in mind, I’d still go with the firmer comfort level (the medium Dunlop on top of the core) for the “finished firmness”
You did not mention your and your husband’s primary sleeping positions or BMIs but even if you would it would be only to give some general guidance as it is not possible for anyone to say for sure what firmness level you could do well with as there are too many interrelated variables at play and only you can feel what you feel on the mattress. In terms of durability, this bed does not raise any red flags unless one of the adults has a higher range BMI. In this case, you may want to revisit the mattress durability guidelines here for the materials and components.
Good luck with your DIY I hope you’ll return with an update once you have a chance to sleep upon it for a while.
Phoenix
One other thing to consider on top of Phoenix’s great advice is that Dunlop actually feels softer (has more give) than Talalay latex to young children (due to material response curve) but this characteristic reverses as you add more weight/pressure (which is why many adults say that Talalay is softer). I would suggest dunlop over talalay certainly for very young children. Something to think about anyway.
