second hand mattress???

nikkiandneil · Dec 29, 2009 1:07PM

I know this is technically a big NO NO, but:

Abby is 8 months, very tall, and likes a good wriggle in her cot, which means that she often gets a bit cramped. So my SIL has offered us her baby's old cot bed (her baby is 2 years and 8 months) and mattress. Now it would be fab to put Abby in a bigger cot, and I think she would sleep a lot better, but there is no way DH and I can afford a new mattress.

Apparently it is a very good mattress (cost a couple of hundred apparently), and hasn't been used that much (as SIL and baby spend most of their time at MIL's house) and I know it will have been kept scrupilously clean, so it seems a shame to chuck it but I do worry about the "never ever ever use a second hand mattress" rule?

What do you girls think?
Nx

hushpuppy · Dec 29, 2009 12:22PM

I would if I knew where it came from - they're your family after all so only like using the same mattress for subsequent children. I wouldn't buy a second hand one but one from someone you know I think is acceptable. You could always buy a mattress envelope type thing to go over it before you put the sheet on.
xx

Poppygir1 · Dec 29, 2009 12:23PM

It's a toughie - I've always said myself that i wouldn't use a second hand mattress. Having said that though, when my eldest son Jack outgrew his cotbed I thought it was a real shame to throw away the mattress - it was a good one, and i know that I had looked after it well.

Personally, I'd snatch her hand off for the cotbed, but would probably want to buy my own mattress - even if it's just a cheapy (i think somewhere like Kiddicare have them for as little as ??30) As you say, there's probably absolutely nothing wrong with your sil's mattress, but I think i'd want the peace of mind of having new.

That's just my opinion though. HTH

xxx

WoWbabies · Dec 29, 2009 12:23PM

the reason they say not to use a second hand mattress (ieven from a previous baby of ur own) is because the bacteria in saliva can be left to breathe, along with dust mites, bed bugs etc etc etc. personally i wldn't use a second hand mattress, no matter who its from, and if and when baby no2 comes along it will be new matresses then. the only way i wld possibly even begin to consider it, is if its continuosly (not one day without) been in a waterproof protector, and not the ones with holes at the top, cos obv dribble can get thru that. but thats just me, and maybe i'm just fussy. also u can get cotbed mattresses in tk maxx from ??29.99 hth xx

EmilyB · Dec 29, 2009 1:07PM

We had some advice on this from the lady who helped us choose our mattress when we bought it. Hubby asked her whether you can use it for any other children you have, as we were debating whether to get a cheapy foam one or a more expensive one. She said that, officially, the advice is not to ever use a second hand mattress due to the bacteria, like siany says. The lady said if a baby has wet the mattress then the ammonia can still be being released from the mattress years into the future, and that this can then be breathed in by any baby sleeping on it. She said if you can guarantee there's been no urine soaked into the mattress then there is, in theory, no danger. She emphasised repeatedly that this would be our own choice though! She also said that if we were protecting the mattress with a waterproof protector, which we had already said we wanted to get, then that would help even further to eliminate the risk of ammonia soaking into the mattress.

Personally, we're going to use our mattress if and when we have any more children. It's got a protector, and it's an anti-allergy mattress that dust mites can't live in, so I'm satisfied!

It's a call only you can make, because you know your SIL and how clean the mattress has been kept. I'd go with your gut instinct, hon.

Em x x x

second hand mattress???

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