# Memory Foam safe for baby?



## jenoline

Is a memory foam mattress/mattress pad safe to co-sleep on w/ an infant? I'm thinking about factors other than the chemical issue (which I realize is something to consider) - more like, would the baby sink too far into the mattress and have breathing issues? I googled but can't find a satisfactory answer...what I did find was several crib mattresses made w/memory foam, which makes me think it's maybe okay, but that is probably assuming that baby is sleeping on his back (which my babies rarely do).

thoughts? links? thanks!


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## Xoe

I'm not giving you the o.k. on this issue-- as I'm no saftey expert. However, I have a memory foam topper. After the off-gassing smell disappeared, I allowed my DD to co-sleep with me. I have not seen any evidence that she would sink into the mattress. Right now she's six months and 16 lbs. She's doing just fine.

So that's just my personal experience with the memory foam topper that I have. Your experience with whatever product you choose may obviously differ.

xoe


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## stickywicket67

i have a Tempurpedic bed which is basically all memory foam. for us- it's fine. ds is 6 months and 18 lbs. he slept in a bassinet for part of the night when he was first born but now fully co sleeps with us and has since about 3 months old.
baby and i are light sleepers. i might be more nervous about it if we weren't. i don't see him sinking into the foam that much but he does sink into me or his dad way more than on a normal bed. that could pose a problem for some. i find we all sleep much better on our backs in our bed than in a regular bed though and for us that is more comfy (and safer) for co sleeping.


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## jenoline

I don't know. I'm leaning toward not using it. After posting I found this statement from some county health department's website


Quote:

Never place an infant to sleep on a couch, sofa, recliner, cushioned chair, waterbed, beanbag chair, soft mattress, pillow, synthetic or natural animal skins (such as lambskins), or other soft surface such as "memory" foam mattress toppers and pillows designed for adults.

Why? Sleeping on any of these puts the infant at great risk for suffocation as these items have high wedging and trapping potential. These risks are even greater when an infant sleeps with any other person on any of these surfaces. (2, 4, 22, 23, 27, 29)
I think I'd feel better about it for an older baby, but I'm not sure about for a newborn. I am curious about the marketing of memory foam crib mattresses though, when everything you read says a baby's mattress should be firm.

We just bought one for the guest bed, to make it tolerable for my parents when they visit. I'd love to have it on my bed when it's not needed in the guest room. However, I also don't want to endanger my baby.


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## wondertwins

I would be cautious about a newborn as well, but our 9 month old twins have been sleeping on our memory foam mattress for 5 months. We started out with a co-sleeper, then transitioned to "snuggle nests". DS has a habit of rolling onto his stomach and sleeping almost face down. It scares me to find him that way, but it seems comfortable to him so I just readjust his head and then find him that way again 15 min later.

Some of the information out there is really scary, but if I did believe everything I read, I would have my DC sleeping in stripped down cribs. I prefer having them sleep on either side of me. The snuggle nests allow you to sleep on your comfortable mattress, with your child right next to you, but in a completely safe way. HTH


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## jayell79

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jenoline* 
I don't know. I'm leaning toward not using it. After posting I found this statement from some county health department's website


I think I'd feel better about it for an older baby, but I'm not sure about for a newborn. I am curious about the marketing of memory foam crib mattresses though, when everything you read says a baby's mattress should be firm.

We just bought one for the guest bed, to make it tolerable for my parents when they visit. I'd love to have it on my bed when it's not needed in the guest room. However, I also don't want to endanger my baby.

The foam crib mattress that we have has two sides. The memory foam is only on one side, the other side is very dense foam. It isn't meant to be flipped over to the memory foam side until the baby is 9 months to a year.


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## jenoline

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jayell79* 
The foam crib mattress that we have has two sides. The memory foam is only on one side, the other side is very dense foam. It isn't meant to be flipped over to the memory foam side until the baby is 9 months to a year.

okay, that makes sense. thanks.


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## Meg_s

I've used a 4 inch memory foam (tempurapedic) for cosleeping with both boys since they were newborns. I think they like the coziness of it.


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## bottomsup

I hate when this question comes up. The cavalier attitude toward a safety issue like a baby sleeping on memory foam drives me crazy. It is not safe for a young baby. I wouldn't even consider it until 1 year.

If we want to be good advocates for co-sleeping, we need to be safe about it.

I do have a pillowtop mattress. I put a THIN, long inflatable camping air mattress under where my guy sleeps, so he always has a firm surface to sleep on, and bonus in my book, he is slightly, very slightly above my level. Not enough to interfere with night side lying nursing, but enough to make me comfortable that he has plenty of "air" around him.


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## treqi

we have a mmry foam matrs but dd is 18mo but she never rlly sinks into it? it's pretty firm its been awesome for my side lying nursing pain which is now non existant


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## nighten

I think it can be okay, if you put a tight mattress pad over it. That helps the surface be more firm. We had one (no longer smelled so I was okay with it initially) and the mattress pad we put over it made it so she did not sink down into it at all. Heck, neither did I at that point. *laughs*

Anyway, we ended up taking it off the bed because I started getting worried about residual off gassing.

For an infant any soft surface with loft can be dangerous. I think it depends on the firmness of the surface in this case, and whether a mattress cover over it tightly can help reduce the loft/sink issue.

It's up to you and your comfort level. I'd find something that's the same weight as your baby (like a sack of potatoes or something) and put it on the bed for a few hours. Take it off and see how deep the indention (if any) is. Unless it's very, very slight, I wouldn't do it. But again, it's up to you and your comfort level. I definitely wouldn't use a memory foam topper that is really lofty or squishy though. But ours ended up being fine until I got paranoid about the gas thing.


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## Mommy2Haley

I have a topper for my side of the bed -- we have two XL twin mattresses making a King. DD has slept with me since she came home and she won't sleep on any other surface ... except for Mommy & Daddy!

The topper has definintely saved my back and my shoulders from pain sleeping in the nursing position all night. I have very wide shoulders (think football player) so sleeping on a firm mattress would be VERY uncomfortable.


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## rmzbm

I'd be fine with it.


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## Juise

DD is one month now and we've been sleeping on a 4-inch memory foam topper from the get go. She doesn't sink in at *all* yet. We were a little bit worried about the indentations we create at first, but we put a tight mattress cover over top and it hasn't been a problem at all. Although, she has been able to lift her head, turn it, and roll all the way over since she came out, and is also extremely vocal about the slightest discomfort, so maybe I would have felt more nervous if some of these things were different? I'm not sure, but I know that I feel very safe the way things are now.


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## karen1968

We have a Tempurpedic and DS has always slept with us. I don't know about other brands, but the Tempurpedic responds to both weight and temperature - the colder the temp, the firmer the mattress. DS has never sunk into it, as far as I can tell. I think he "sank" further into the traditional mattress at my parent's house, honestly. We did use a SnuggleNest for the first 3 months or so, though. But at that age, he was swaddled and couldn't roll over, anyway! He has slept mostly on his tummy since he was ~8 months old, and I've never seen anything that would make me think it was unsafe.


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## LuckyMe

I have had a memory foam topper for quite sometime and DD #3 has been sleeping with me since birth. She is 6.5 months now.


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## mama_y_sol

We took ours off just before ds was born 8 weeks ago. I just don't feel comfortable with him sleeping on it. But...I am a worrier...I believe in co-sleeping and I do feel that it is safe, but sleeping on the memory foam just doesn't sit right with me. You have to listen to your gut.

We got the memory foam when dd just turned a year. No problem there...we will probably put it back on when ds is reaching a year or so.


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## Ruthe

I definately would NOT feel comfortable putting a young infant to sleep on memory foam. After a year or so, _maybe_.


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## mommyfied

I think it would depend on how firm and how the foam responds. We have a Tempurpedic mattress and it is absoulutely safe for cosleeping, and I always felt like it was better than a mattress where baby might roll into one of us due to weight shifting. It's very firm. The baby's weight isn't enough to sink into it. Not all memory foam is alike, however. Other types of memory foam are less dense and rebound more slowly. I would be wary of a memory foam topper on a spring mattress. Toppers are usually made of less dense material and a spring mattress can be unstable, creating issues where baby could get stuck.


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## woobysma

DS2 slept with me on a memory foam topper from birth, but I got one of those water-proof pads to protect the foam, which gave an added bit of support between the topper and us. I don't think I would be comfortable with an infant sleeping on memory foam by itself, especially if the babe is a "tummy sleeper".

DS and I slept on a queen size bed with a 2 inch foam topper. I got a twin size water-proof pad and put it on side-ways, so it covered the top half of the bed where DS (and my leaky boobs) were. With the pad, he didn't sink down at all into the foam.


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## chekhovgirl

We have a Tempurpedic and I don't think I'd feel as safe sleeping with DS on a regular mattress. I like the fact that when you move, the other people on the bed don't feel it- the baby won't roll into you as it might on some spring mattresses.


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## Qestia

we have a tempurpedic and I feel it would be very safe for an infant, I hardly sink into it at all, DS at 30 pounds doesn't make a dent. I think our old coil spring mattress we had when DS was a baby was far more dangerous, there was more chance of him rolling into me and we all definitely sunk farther into that. I'm really looking forward to cosleeping from day 1 with our next baby on this mattress.


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## MommyHawk

we have a temperpedic and love it...although it was REALLY smelly to begin with. After it aired out it was fine. And the baby never sank at all, just rested on top - they don't weigh enough. Both my babies were belly sleepers and with the temperpedic I feel as if I don't need a pillow and so we don't have pillows around the babies heads either.

I felt it was very safe, much more so than a spring matress. There aren't any 'dips' in the matress that causes the baby to slide into you. BF'ing is much easier as you can bounce around and DP won't feel you moving. And you can get out of bed without waking baby. The Temperpedic that we have is VERY firm. The baby doesn't make any indentation into it at all.


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## tofugirl27

I have co-slept with my son for 2.5 yrs now on a Tempurpedic mattress. He has done just fine with it. And come to think of it that may be why we can't get him to stay in his bed which is snuggled next to our bed. It's really comfortable!


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## PancakeGoddess

treqi (or anyone with hip pain from side lying nursing), did you get any special sort of memory foam to get this good result? My baby is 20 months so I think he's fine - I'd love to find a solution to my sore hips from night nursing.


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## inkedmamajama

i used a snuggle nest with my newborn until she was about 9 weeks old, then we sidecarred her crib to our bed that has memory foam mattress...so sometimes she is on the crib mattress and sometimes she rolls over onto the memory foam. we havent had any issues. my middle child slept directly on a memory foam topper from day one with no issues. its important to note that i am a very light sleeper/insomniac though-so i am always aware of the baby.


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## farmwife

We have a memory foam mattress-it's an off-brand, not Tempurpedic. DD has slept with us from the beginning and I've never once worried. SHe's now 20 pounds and I still don't worry. What I really like is we can roll around and get out of bed and she doesn't feel a thing.


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## LeighB

We have a tempurpedic bed and I actually feel like she is more safe. (though maybe not after reading this thread...) We have a king though, so she has her own little corner where I don't have to worry about her sinking into me. I think the mattress feel more firm than a spring mattress.


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## MyBoysBlue

We have a Kingsdown mattress that has a memory foam pillowtop. When DS was a newborn I made sure we put a little waterproof mat under him but he was so light that he didn't sink into the foam at all. I didn't worry and never had problems.


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