How To Know What’s Best For Your Baby

Choosing a cot mattress might seem like a trivial task but it’s one that warrants careful consideration. The mattress is as important as the cot itself, and we recommend buying the best one you can.

Why does it matter so much? For one thing, babies spend a lot of time in their cots. It might seem hard to believe, especially when you’re getting up to feed a fussy baby in the middle of the night, but infants sleep up to 18 hours a day.

So much has been said about which type of mattress is the best for your baby’s cot, cradle or bassinet. Fashions change, ideas change. Firstly we are advised to use a ‘bumper’, and then we are told a bumper is a possible factor in the SIDS debate, restricting airflow. We were advised to sleep our babies on their tummies so that if they should be sick they will not choke; next, tummy sleeping is BAD, it too is a possible SIDS factor.

Have you noticed how recently many babies have a very flat back of head, due to pressure from constantly lying in the one position? This is Plagiocephaly or ‘Flat Head Syndrome’. While we do not dispute that babies lying on their backs has probably saved the lives of possibly thousands, we are convinced that it is more to do with them NOT lying on their tummies and breathing in directly the toxic off-gassing of fumes from the plastic waterproofing, foam rubber, latex or any other synthetic mattress.

A cot mattress needs to be ‘firm’ so that baby doesn’t suffocate. When the mattress is made from a natural, toxin-free and fully breathable medium, the likelihood of suffocation is vastly minimised.

Here in Australia we have the highest levels of allergies in the world. The industrialised world has created many new chemicals and our immune systems are vulnerable to these environmental changes. We believe it is vital to reduce chemical overload and especially that of our babies and children. For that same reason, Organature® found it necessary to create a bassinet, cradle and cot mattress made with highest quality 100% Certified Organic Cotton fabric and filling possible, as back in 2004 when this family business was founded out of necessity, there were no fully Certified Organic Mattresses being produced here at all. In 2019, they are still the best, safest and manufactured to the highest standards available in Australia today. Read more about The Organature® Story.

Consider An Organic Bassinet Or Cradle Mattress

These futon style Organic Cotton Bassinet, Cradle, Pram And Porta-Cot Mattresses are made to order in the Organature® workrooms and are hand manufactured from 100% Certified Organic Cotton. The natural outer fabric contains no dyes or bleaches. The filling is 100%, air cleaned Certified Organic Cotton. To provide your baby with a lump free Organic Cotton Mattress the cotton has to be carded (fluffed out). Due to the nature of the filling, they cannot strictly adhere to overall size and height. They look somewhat like a flat pillow. They are slightly irregular, and the height can depend on how fluffed out the filling is, but they do get close to between 5-6 cm depth. These baby mattresses contain no formaldehyde or flame retardant chemicals, no nerve toxins, absolutely no additives, just the ultimate, purest product available.

Buy A New Cot Or Crib Mattress

Buy a new Innerspring Organic Cotton Baby Mattress if possible. For one thing, buying it new ensures that the mattress is sanitary. If you buy a used mattress or accept a hand-me-down you won’t know for sure how it was cared for or stored. Mold can grow in improperly stored cot mattresses and bacteria can fester on the surface from liquids (nappy leakage, spit-up) that weren’t properly cleaned up. If you buy a new mattress for your first child and keep it clean and stored in a dry environment, you can use it for your next child, and the next.

The MOST IMPORTANT thing is that babies do not sleep on a mattress laced with chemicals, which can exacerbate SIDS and bring on allergies, asthma, eczema and other health issues too.

In recent years, as we became personally aware of the problems created by repeated exposure to toxins in the environment, our own children and grandchildren have followed this path of trying to reduce the chemicals in their lives too. It is a matter of taking one step at a time and where better to begin, than with a new baby.

Use An Organic Mattress Protector

To protect your babies mattress always use a well fitted, washable, water-resistant bassinet, cradle or cot size Organic Baby Mattress Protector to keep the baby’s sleeping environment as clean and sanitary as possible. Being 100% Certified Organic, these mattress protectors are not waterproof. Water proofing is plasticising which can only be formed using chemicals so we do not use, endorse or promote waterproofing. Instead we recommend using a mattress protector that is ‘Water Resistant’ and may even be a bit larger than your mattress, with elastic around the edges so it’s easy to tuck any excess under the mattress.

Combined With An Organic Mattress Overlay

Organic Mattress Overlays are generally made from fleece fabric similar to sweater fabric. They sit on top of the mattress and are bound around the edges. They are not totally waterproof either, but combined with the Mattress Protector, they will give you maximum protection achievable without using a synthetic or plastic protector. Certified Organic Cotton fleece has a natural wax, which makes it water resistant. These two products together provide the BEST water resistance that Organic Products can possibly provide.