Seeking Input on Healthy Beds & Bedding

Companies that make stuff for people with allergies should have a mattress cover that is non-permeable. You can just get a regular bed and seal it and the pillows with the allergen-covers. then the fumes will be "sealed in". You will spend more for linens, but not for the whole bed!

T.,
So glad to hear that other moms have the same concerns as I do!! Luckily for you, the price of organic mattresses has gone down even since we purchased ours two years ago. I just googled it and they now start at $599. Here is a well-known site that offers one for that price (Babyage.com):
http://www.babyage.com/products/mt40_naturepedic_naturepe...

I looked at this big purchase as an investment in our daughter's health...and she'll hopefully have this mattress for at least 10 years or so. Just an fyi, regular mattresses can off-gas for DECADES.
Best of luck!

Try Custom Comforts (www.ccmcmattress.com)
My sister purchased a bed from there and swears after sleeving on theirs you can't sleep on another bed. All beds are still made by hand individually with cotton inserts
Hope that helps!

We went to Custom Comfort with a note from our doctor to purchase a bed without the flame retardant. I can't remember but it was only a hundred or so more to do so. Very simple note from the doctor is all that is required and CC is the best.

Hi T.,
I share your same concerns. The flame retardant toxins in the mattresses are not good for anybody especially a growing child. You can buy expensive mattresses with no toxins, but you can also buy a cover. The Babesafe Mattress wraps keep the toxins in a plastic cover that wraps around the baby's mattress. Perhaps if you check out the website maybe they have something similar for twin size beds or you could manufacture something similar using a plastic allergen barrier and some tape.

Call or go by GOLDEN CRADLE in Studio City. This is what they specialize in. I know they have mattresses but they may have beddding that can be a less expensive solution.
They are a couple doors down from the Juvenile Shop on Ventura Blvd.

You are right to be concerned and cautious. A major contributor to SIDS is the chemicals in the mattress that off gas. We had to buy two twin beds when we were expecting our third child. After much research we bought from http://www.whitelotus.net/ProductDetail-18.html. We bought two twins without foam. They are very comfortable and well worth the price. We bought unfinished bunk beds also. You can buy organic sheets at Bed Bath and Beyond. They have reasonable prices and you can use the 20% off coupon.

Hi T.,

What about purchasing an unfinished wood bed and purchasing non-toxic paint and perhaps you and/or your husband can paint it?
I would think that something like that would not be anywhere near the cost of purchasing a bed that would come that way.

Also, maybe you could use some organic mattress pads that would go between the sheets (poss. organis too?) and mattress?

Don't stress yourself out over this, do what gives you peace in your heart.

Be blessed,

K.

We didn't really know our options with baby #1, but I can assure you that when we unocvered the crib matress, I freaked about the smell of the chemicals. We used our Alpine ozone air purifier (it's cheaper than going organic) and put it in front of the matress blasting it for 5 days. After 2 there was no smell, but we wanted to be sure. We co-slept, so he was rarely in the crib anyway. Once we moved him, it was to a bed that our friend had but never really used. It had been off-gassing for probably 3 years, so I wasn't too worried. Then, he moved into my old bed that was used for about 4 years, but I had owned for about 10. He and his brother sleep in it now.

I did buy a bed from Costco for our infrequent stay at my in-laws place and it was BAD. I didn't want myself, let alone our daughter sleeping in that thing. It was off-gassing that I could smell for over a year.

Maybe try Custom Comfort beds, as they are family manufactered and owned and they might be able to give you some good info?

T., I hear you! The garbage they are putting in our food, clothing, shelter and other stuff now is truly killing us (have you seen www.StoryOfStuff.com? Very eye opening.

We as parents can only do so much. If we freak about everything that we COULD be doing, we will go crazy. So do what you can and know that the rest will be exactly as it should be. Remember what you focus on expands so if you are thinking about how your baby's growth will be stunted, well that is exaclty what you will get.

As for the price, what is it worth to you? You have to decide. You see, when my daughters moved to a twin bed, I bought the best I could afford (at that time I bought a natural matress with organic cotton bedding - it cost about $1100 in total - and that was 8 years ago! I looked, I tried to remember the name to find them online but sorry no luck).

I knew that for at least 10 years, they would be sleeping on that mattress...so I did the math, 8 hours a night X 365 days a year X 10 years = 29 200 hours they would be sleeping on that bed (an that didn't include naps) Then I divided the hours into the cost...and got $0.04 an hour. So basically, for about $0.32 a day, I and my babies could rest safe and easy. To me that was worth it.

Relax, do what you can. Be the best mom you can be.

B.
Family Wellness Coach

Hi T.,
The happy medium that I found was the natural latex mattress that IKEA sells. It's 85% natural latex and the fillers are wool, etc. (I don't remember the details). It's their most expensive mattress (they have a bunch of latex ones, but all but the top end one are synthetic latex). It's still pretty pricey (I think $599 for a twin), but it is a really quality mattress, and very comfortable. I sleep on this mattress too, and love it.
Good luck. It's a bummer that it always seems to be expensive to make the right choices.
M.