Crib Mattress Review

I remember when our first child was born my mother-in-law presented us with both a stationary crib and a portable crib. The stationary crib already had a mattress with it, of course, but the portable one did not. The lack of a mattress for the portable crib was of no concern to me because it was not designed to have one. It was made of a flexible canvas-like material that allowed the baby to lay flat in the crib without the need for an extra mattress. Yet my mother-in-law decided it was necessary to purchase a portable crib mattress anyway.

While her reasoning was illogical in my mind (she wanted to make my son more comfortable) I did discover later on that there were plenty of other good reasons to own a portable crib mattress. I will list those reasons for you in making the case for the portable crib mattress. If you don't think any of my reasons are legitimate, that's perfectly okay. As a parent, you have the choice of deciding whether or not something is right for your baby.

Portability

The main feature of the portable crib mattress is, of course, portability. This wasn't important to me when my son was first born, but that quickly changed the following fall when we began visiting various relatives for the holidays. Every time we were going for a visit and we knew would be more than just a couple of hours, I had the cumbersome task of packing up the portable crib, throwing it in the car, and setting up when we got to our destination. I hated that job!

After an entire holiday season of doing so I decided there must be a better way. Then it dawned on me that there was no need to take the entire crib when the mattress alone would be just fine. From that point forward I simply folded the mattress in half, and off we went. There was no breaking down the crib, no setting it up on the other end, and no worrying about forgetting or losing crib parts.

Easy to Clean

Almost every portable crib mattress I've seen consists of a thin layer of foam wrapped in a solid vinyl cover. Sometimes you'll find other materials being used for the interior, especially if the crib mattress is advertised as being organic, but the outside cover is almost always vinyl. And as any parent knows, cleaning up vinyl is a piece of cake. You simply remove the fitted sheet and wipe down the cover with some warm water and disinfectant. As for the sheet, that goes right in the wash.

Furthermore, when you carry just the portable crib mattress rather than the whole crib, the mattress is the only thing you have to clean. No more scrubbing the sides of your portable crib; no more making sure the crib is disinfected; and certainly no more crude crib stains!

A Spare Mattress for Guests

The portable crib mattress also makes for a spare mattress when you have guests with babies. Provided you are using a stationary crib for your child at home, your portable crib becomes available for your guests. If you own the same type of portable crib we did when our kids were young, you essentially have bedding choices for two children. One child can sleep in the crib without the mattress, the other can sleep on the mattress laid directly on the floor.

The portable crib mattress can provide the same benefits for other family members after your children have grown up. In our case, we kept our portable crib after our second child outgrew it because we knew we might want to have more kids. During the interim, we were able to provide the portable crib mattress at family gatherings for our nieces and nephews to use. It made for a quick and easy bedding solution when a stationary crib wasn't available.

A Mattress to Donate

When we were finally done having children the portable crib mattress was available for donation to a local church nursery. We couldn't donate the stationary crib mattress because it was more than worn out. But the fact that the portable mattress got used so infrequently by comparison meant there was still plenty of life left in it. We actually donated both the portable crib and the mattress together. I'm not quite sure how the church used them but they got both nonetheless.

To tell you the truth, if some of my brothers or sisters we're still having babies at that time we would have given them the crib and mattress. Come to think of it, they already had their own. I guess they understood the case for having a portable crib mattress!

Final Thoughts

Before closing this article let me just give you a few final thoughts. First of all, your purchase of a portable crib mattress should be governed by the same principles used in purchasing your stationary crib. You want a high-quality piece that's not going to fall apart after just a year or two of use. If it costs a little more money, so be it.

Second, some parents have concerns over certain materials used in mattress construction. Don't compromise your principles when it comes time to purchase a portable mattress. As a parent, you must do right by your child, regardless of whether or not your friends or in-laws agree. As an example, while I don't personally have a conviction about using organic, you might. So if you insist on organic for your stationary crib, do so for your portable as well.

Finally, your in-laws are going to spend the rest of their lives buying things for your children. Take them with grace and learn to look for the possible benefits. I did. As a result, I am now promoting portable cribs and mattresses as good ideas.