Have You Heard of or Tried This Organic Crib Mattress?

Wool is VERY normal--great stuff for babies! Wool is naturally anti-microbial, soft, water repellent, and durable. My babies wear wool diaper covers over their cloth diapers, and they work very well

What if your baby is allergic to wool or latex?
I am allergic to both.
Get a good innerspring mattress with a waterproof covering. all the major mattress brands make crib versions.
I got a Sealy for $40 - not fancy but 100% waterproof and then I splurged on a good 100% cotton mattress cover and organic cotton sheets - actually I got extra sets for those late night diaper explosions. ;)
Wool is a breeding ground for dust mites and if it gets pee or vomit on it you'll never get the smell out because wool is a protein and it absorbs other proteins....gross.
I think the baby industry is taking advantage of our desire to be good parents by making us feel afraid to go for the budget friendly items.
I'd invest the big bucks in a super great car seat that adapts to a booster and get a simple mattress. Oh and a very stable changing table - I bought a cute, light-weight one and my son was able to make it tip by wiggling at 6 months - it's now a storage shelf in the attic.

Hi K.,

I, too, have been a bit obsessed with organic mattresses since my daughter was born and I think Pixel Organics is a pretty good product from what I've read although they must be cutting some corners to make it so much less expensive. Here's what I did: I purchased an organic co-sleeper futon from Dax Stores at the beginning and then got an organic crib mattress off of craigslist or Berkeley Parents Network (can't remember which). If you watch on craigslist every day you can usually find one. Dax has an organic mattress for $243 that looks good and it's free shipping. The other thing I would do is talk or email with both Pixel Organics and someone at Dax or another store and ask them specific questions about why they recommend their product over another (they probably won't knock specific manufacturers by name but they might talk about the details of how a product is advertised). My guess is that the Pixel mattress is pretty thin and that it's just a pad as opposed to a more substantive mattress with an innerspring, etc. As long as your son is comfy with it who cares how thick it is? I think organic on a budget is much better than thicker that's full of chemicals. Also the deal with wool is that it is naturally flame retardant and naturally resistant to bugs and it doesn't get as wet or moldy as cotton. I prefer it as a mattress. Also, another thing to keep in mind is that you can sell the mattress when your family is through with it and you're not the only person who wants an organic one so there's a good market for them. And think about whether you would like a puddle or mattress pad over whatever you buy to keep it nice. We got a pretty cheap one ($60?) from nontoxic.com and I just bought it directly from her in person (she lives in Walnut Creek or around there) so I didn't have to pay for shipping. Feel free to email me directly if you think I can be of any other help. And be grateful you're not facing the cost of a twin organic mattress - my burden to bear at the moment - talk about expensive, yikes! I'm definitely watching craigslist for that.

Hi,

Just wanted to add this link to a page on BPN where these issues are discussed:

http://parents.berkeley.edu/recommend/where2buy/mattress_...

Also, this website had interesting information:

http://www.organicmattressreviews.com/

Also, I would only buy a used mattress if it still had the label on it and I knew what kind I was getting and if the people seemed upfront and nice. I went with my gut and felt confident about it.

If you are trying to get a low VOC mattress for less money you should look into buying an old fashioned foam mattress. Make sure it is not soaked in the flame retardant chemicals. It is not natural latex which means that once it is years old and starts to disintegrate you will want to throw it away rather than let your child breath the foam dust-- but it will last for years with a decent cover on it. If you want the wool covering for extra flame retardant -- just put a pure wool blanket under the mattress cover.

I'm not sure about the pixel organic, but we bought a natural latex/wool mattress for our daughter, and it's fabulous. Dax stores had by far the best deal.

One note, however. Our daughter ended up bed sharing and has hardly used her crib, so you might consider waiting to purchase an expensive one.

Good luck

Latex and wool mattresses are awesome. No toxic fire retardants. The wool makes it flame resistant. We have a crib mattress and just got a twin big boy bed that is latex and wool/cotton. Our son loves it! I didn't know Pixel Organic made one - but if it's affordable - go for it! Depending on where you live there are natural mattress stores where you could compare prices and test it out. Do an internet search. We got ours from The Natural Mattress Store on 4th Street in San Rafael (Marin). I ordered a couple of wool puddle pads and sheets from www.nontoxic.com in Walnut Creek.

Hello K.,

I have not heard or tried this organic mattress but I can only recommend to get an organic rubber core crib mattress with organic cotton and pure wool. The wool and cotton makes it possible for companies not to put dangerous fire retardants on the mattresses. The rubber core makes the mattress longer lasting and is also hardly flammable. My son sleeps very well on his mattress, which we bought at a happy planet in san Francisco. It was very expensive $390 but it was so worth it. This inexpensive version sounds great, too - they have gotten a lot more affordable from what I heard because other companies produce them now. I wold recommend to call the manufacturer or the seller and investigate. Ask your questions and ask for buyer reviews. I believe it's good to contact them directly if you feel unsure. Good Luck! By the way, national retailers started selling organic mattresses - just please do not buy some with a plastic cover - it makes baby sweat. Use a wool puddle pad to protect the mattress from accidents. Babiesrus sells inexpensive organic crib bumpers, sheets, and blankets.
J.
I do not agree w/ Alleane's response to your request. I do not recommend getting a regular mattress treated w/ fire retardants. FYI: rubber core is NOT latex. Read about wool yourself. From what I read, wool is a very good temperature regulator, IT IS antibacterial by nature, and when you put a sheet over it, it will not touch your baby's skin at all.

I Do however agree fully w/ the mommies describing daxstores.com as a good seller for organic baby stuff. They do tend to be less expensive. This is something not to stress about - just make a well informed decision for yourself. I bought our crib mattress at ahappyplanet.com; organic sheets and bumpers at ahappyplanet.com and babiesrus. I also found an inexpensive organic innerspring mattress made by quakers in the U.S. My son has a convertible crib - so he will sleep on this mattress until he grows out of his bed (3 or 4) - therefore the price etc. made sense to me.
By the way: It is illegal to sell used mattresses in all US states for various reasons. Buying an old/used regular mattress is probably not a good idea in general. Old mattresses were made at different times, when different fire retardant regulations were in place. Just a thought.

Good Luck to you all.

I haven't heard of or tried the Pixel mattress but I do want to encourage you to stay on your path to organic. It is very important and it is better to error on the side of caution these days. Lots of organic mattress manufacturers use wool because it is naturally fire resistant so they meet the requirements without the chemicals. Also, it doesn't allow mold or bacteria to grow (no dust mites). But of course, you don't know if your baby would be allergic to it. I am also trying to decide on a organic mattress for our next baby and I am also having a hard time. Good Luck!

I haven't had any experience with this type of mattress, but out of curiosity, looked at the website you gave. It sounds like a good mattress from what I'm reading, and not nearly as exepensive as I would expect from such a 'specialty' item. So, if you think it's what you want and you can afford it, I'd say go for it.