I’m a new mom who lives in Toronto Ontario. Like most moms, I was all prepared for my new baby. I bought a crib set and organic crib mattress. After 4 months with my little one, we’ve decided to co-sleep using a Montessori approach (mattress on the ground). I’m looking for a natural/organic mattress for my baby that she can grow with.
I’ve read some of your posts and forums. But I’ll be honest I just need a bit of hand holding. You seem like you know what your talking about. My baby has no alignments. I have a girl. Based on some of my readings I think I should be looking to buy a natural latex firm core (Dunlop or Talalay) with a natural Talalay latex soft support (2") and possibly a cotton top and cover.
the full size costs $1200. They have a promotion where they’ll throw in a 400 dollar mattress protector.
I’m now wondering if I should be looking for a local manufacturer to make it for me and at a better price.
Could you give me your opinion on the Obasan’s mattress. And what you think I should look for if I’m to get one made? I’m looking to purchase a mattress relatively quickly and hope you can help me! Also do you have any suggestions for manufacturers in Toronto?
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. This mattress uses good quality materials but I would tend to choose a firmer top layer because children tend to do better on firmer mattresses. I also don’t know what the thickness of the base layer is in the mattress you are considering but you won’t really need more than about 6" of latex or so for a child and then when they grow older if they need some additional thickness or softness then you can either add another layer inside a new cover (if you have a zip cover) or add a topper to the mattress.
[quote]I was originally looking on Obasan’s website.
obasan.ca/products/fundy-1-0/
the full size costs $1200. They have a promotion where they’ll throw in a 400 dollar mattress protector.
I’m now wondering if I should be looking for a local manufacturer to make it for me and at a better price.[/quote]
This would probably make a more suitable choice because it only has 6" of latex and has a medium firmness (which I would suggest vs a soft comfort layer) but as you suggested I would make some good “apples to apples” value comparisons with other similar mattresses that are available to you as well (either locally or online) so you are confident that this is the best “value” for you based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you. While the “free” protector may be attractive … it also is more costly than many other good quality mattress protectors so I don’t know if this is their actual selling price or whether it is just a MSRP price that is higher than the protector would normally sell for to make the bonus sound more attractive. While Obasan makes some very high quality mattresses that use high quality materials … they can also be in a higher budget range and I would make some good comparisons so you are confident that this would be the best choice for you.
The better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Toronto area are listed in post #1 here and you also have some good online options available to you that are listed in post #32 here that may also be worth considering or if nothing else that you can use as a reference point for price and value for similar mattresses.
All of the mattresses that you listed use high quality materials but as you probably read in the childrens topics I linked I would personally would tend to avoid memory foam for children’s mattresses.
I don’t know the criteria that are most important to you but I would also be aware that polyfoam isn’t an organic or even a natural material although by most people’s standards, if it was made in North America or was CertiPur certified, it would be a “safe” material. There is more information in post #2 here about organic, natural, safe, or green materials that can help you decide on the types of materials you are most comfortable with including in your child’s mattress. I also like wool and natural fibers on the sleeping surface for children either as part of a mattress itself in the quilting or added on top with a mattress pad or topper because it is a great temperature regulator and helps to maintain a drier and healthier sleeping environment and microclimate.
The Dormio Marriott Organic Mattress that you linked appears to use 6" of GOLS certified Dunlop (not 5") but I’m not clear on why there would be such a significant price difference between it and the Organic 6 which also includes 6" of organic Dunlop and is two sided yet sells for about $450 less.
We are loving our mattress from Dormio. It’s only been a few weeks, but so far it’s been fantastic. We plan to exchange one of the firm layers for xtra-firm as my wife has started sleeping on her stomach (wasn’t able to do so on our old mattress because it was so worn).
One thing I can say is that Dormio will price match ( http://dormio.ca/browseproducts.asp?catID=20 ). I’d recommend looking around for similar items and do some price comparisons.
Good luck on your search! It took me quite some time to go over all the material this site has to offer, and review all the options that are available once your eyes are opened to whats out there!
(Phoenix - keep up the great work. I think I’ve mentioned this site to everyone I’ve discussed our new mattress with!)
I think that making meaningful comparisons to other similar mattresses that are either available locally or online is always a good idea because the “value” of a mattress purchase is always relative to how it compares to other similar mattresses that someone is considering or is available to them based on all the parts of each person’s personal value equation that are important to them. For those stores where the listed prices are negotiable (and I would always ask if the listed prices are the best price available) … the percentage discount that may be deducted off listed prices that may not be the best price available and may not be the regular selling price is less important than how it compares in apples to apples comparisons with other similar mattresses.
