Hi KittyKlawz.
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