It’s important to make sure the products your child is using meet the most up-to-date safety standards. To see if any of your products have been recalled, check out the recall list. Sign Up for News Receive weekly blog and periodic newsletter updates from the Baby Safety Zone! Stories from the Parenthood I appreciate that it provides valuable information while keeping a light-hearted and 'fun' feel. It's a great community and way to interact with other parents. BSZ is also great about remembering us dads too in posts, blogs, etc. Our weeSpring picks are data-driven, based on the feedback of tens of thousands of parents like you — and then subjected to an added level of testing by our editors. Clouds and Stars QuickZip Sheet You’ll lose count how many times you change your baby’s sheets but you don’t have to lose your mind doing it with QuickZip Sheets. These sheets are made up of two parts, the base that the mattress sits in and the flat top sheet that zips on and off.
These sheets are not only super safe but you’ll be able to get them off quick for middle of the night sheet changes, no need to wrestle crib slats. One mom even claims it’s so easy she can do it with one hand! The Catch: If you’re using a standard mattress pad you’ll need to change that too which wouldn’t be easy with these. HINT: use a flat mattress pad instead. Naturepedic Mattress Pad Protector Just as important as the mattress itself is the mattress protector pad. After all you wouldn’t want to ruin the mattress you just bought after just one late night accident because that’ll happen. Naturepedic Mattress Pad Protectors are organic so you won’t have to worry about your little one lying their head on any chemicals. Probably one of the most important parts is that it washes easily, so you won’t be left scratching your head after that first sheet change. Sheet Changing Hack: Buy two and layer your sheets and protectors so you’re not stumbling to do the whole job in the middle of the night, just rip off the first two layers!
You can thank us later… The Catch: A bit pricey for a mattress pad but might be worth it depending on how much you spent on the mattress itself. aden + anais Muslin Crib Sheets If you’re a fan of aden + anais, this is another item to add to your collection. They are just as soft as the swaddle blankets and get softer with each wash. These are nice and thin for the summer and warm for the winter. The breathable material makes the sheet light and airy. Since they’re made from muslin they don’t get cold like regular cotton sheets will. These sheets come in a variety of cute patterns making it easy to change things up in the nursery. Parents love them so much they want them in regular bed sizes too! The Catch: While we love the soft and thin muslin material it snags easily You can also use weeSpring to see what your friends recommend! You’ll be able to see all of your friends’ picks alongside our community’s opinions. Check out more crib sheets and mattress pad reviews on weeSpring!
Making the shift from a crib to a bed is a big transition for any toddler and her parents. Once deciding your toddler is ready for this change, there are a few different mattress options to consider. There is no one mattress firmness that is best for a toddler. Each available option varies in firmness but is still a safe and comfortable option for your child. What you choose may depend on your child’s attitude towards change, available space and expense. There are generally two types of crib mattresses, foam and innerspring, each of which are suitable for both infants and toddlers, says Consumer Reports. Both are very firm, which is important as it prevents infants from sinking into them. Many parents choose to simply use their crib mattress on a toddler bed until their child is 2 to 3 years old and ready to move into a larger bed, as toddlers still find this firmness to be comfortable. A toddler bed looks like a regular bed except it is lower to the ground and comes with side rails.
Most crib mattresses fit toddler beds. Some cribs come with the option of purchasing a convertible mattress. These mattresses are extra firm for infants on one side, and softer on the other. According to Consumer Reports, the softer side for toddlers is made of standard foam or springy, viscoelastic memory foam. Convertible mattresses can be used either with a crib that converts into a toddler bed, or with a regular toddler bed. They are generally more expensive than regular crib mattresses. Some parents choose to simply buy their child a twin bed that he can grow into, putting rails on the side if necessary. When purchasing a regular mattress, look for a softer mattress with innersprings. Softer mattresses will conform to a toddler's body, which is much lighter than an adult's. Gain 2 pounds per week Gain 1.5 pounds per week Gain 1 pound per week Gain 0.5 pound per week Maintain my current weight Lose 0.5 pound per week Lose 1 pound per week
Lose 1.5 pounds per week Lose 2 pounds per week Recommended Mattresses for Children What Ages Are Toddler Beds Designed For? How to Turn Crib Into Toddler Bed How to Convert a Crib Into a Full Size Bed Safety of Crib Netting Are Memory Foam Mattresses Good for Your Back? Is a Toddler Bed or Twin Bed Better for a 2-Year-Old? Pillow Safety for Toddlers How to Keep Toddlers from Running Away When in Public The Best Mattress for Large Heavy Side Sleepers The Best Beds for Your Back Signs of a High IQ in Toddlers Tips for Keeping an 18-Month-Old in a Toddler Bed Mattresses & Back Pain How to Stop a Toddler From Falling Out of Bed What Should a One Year Old Eat? The Effects of Chocolate on Toddlers How to Get a 14-Month-Old Toddler to Sleep at Night Shortness of Breath in Toddlers How to Clean a Crib MattressAbe’s crib is the Sundvik crib from Ikea. As I’ve mentioned before, this selection was motivated primarily by price.
The crib is $119, and I like the way it looks just fine. It has clean simple lines that fit in well with the nursery. It’s not flashy or exciting, but it does its job without drawing attention to itself. I wasn’t interested in spending more on a crib for a few reasons: 1. Cribs rarely excite me, no matter how much they cost. I just….don’t care that much about cribs. They aren’t like chairs. 2. I had no idea whether Abe would actually USE his crib much at all. Ari loved the crib. Milo hated sleeping, but didn’t much care where he was doing it. Gus HATED the crib with a fiery passion and slept in bed with us until he was three. So, you know, I’m pretty open minded about baby sleeping arrangements. I just want everyone to sleep; I don’t care where it happens. 3. Even if babies sleep in cribs, they don’t do it for very long, relatively speaking. Abe’s my last baby; he and some kid from Craigslist are the only ones who are going to use this thing. I’d rather save my money for something that will stick around longer.
So those are all my reasons for buying the crib to start with. When we put the crib together, my only concern, looking forward, was that the directions made it look like we’d pretty much need to take the whole damn thing apart again to lower the mattress down once Abe started pulling up on things. But, of course, at the time, that seemed too impossibly far off to even worry about. But then, somehow, he got bigger. Big enough to start trying to pull up on things. So, a few weeks ago, we had to undertake the daunting task of lowering the mattress. I thought I would report back on this process to make my Ikea crib analysis complete. Turns out it was pretty easy. We didn’t have to take the whole crib apart; we just had to take one end off and then slide the bottom that the mattress rests on out and put it back in the lower position. When we went to this, we learned that we had brilliantly thought to store the instruction manual AND the allen wrench under the mattress so that we’d be able to find them when the time came to lower the mattress:
Our minds were so sharp back before we had a fourth kid! We opted not to put them back under there once we lowered the mattress, by the way, lest Abe somehow figure out a way to pry up the mattress while sitting on it and pull the choking hazard tools out from under there. Better safe than sorry. (note to future self: they’re in the top drawer of Abe’s changing table/dresser) We turned it on its side like so. Unscrewed all these little things. And put the bottom back in at the lower position (there are only two positions). This part–fitting the little things into the little thing places–was the hardest part. I would say the whole process took the two of us 20 minutes? With a baby crawling around distracting us. The sad part is that we had to retire the crib skirt I made to match the curtains. I was going to just use heavy duty double sided tape and tape it farther back on the mattress board…but once the board was lowered the gap between it and the side of the crib was too tight to wiggle the fabric through.