We use a thrift store wool sweater for a waterproof layer in the kids’ cribs over their natural mattresses. This one was 1.99 at our Goodwill, which I washed on gentle/hot and it didn’t shrink much. My kids stay generally near the head of their cribs when they sleep, so I only use one. I lay it like this (I actually usually fold the sleeves so they’re on the outside of the body, along the side, to cover more) and then put the crib sheet on. I haven’t had a problem with it moving around at all, and we’ve never had a leak go all the way through . Wool is great because it’s naturally antimicrobial and doesn’t wick, so it may get wet but doesn’t wick to the mattress underneath.
Crib mattresses are something that I’m concerned about, since the chemicals in conventional mattresses may be linked to SIDS. Even if the mattress/SIDS theory isn’t completely proven, I don’t think that it’s a great idea for our quickly-developing children to be right against toxic chemicals for an extended period of time every day.
Both my children’s mattresses are from Organic Grace, I shopped around before buying them and they had the best deal that I could find. You may want to look around more now, since it’s been a couple years since I compared prices. We’re going to try to replace our queen sized mattress this year with a natural one, but for now the kids’ were our priorities. (Nevermind that the baby won’t even nap in his crib, he much prefers mom’s scent in the big bed… we’ll get there)
More:
My collection of baby posts
Why we wear natural fiber clothing
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I have done so much research on natural mattresses and am surprised what companies find as natural, organic, eco, or what ever they call theirs. I have finally decided on a brand at OMI. A local retailer carries it so we are able to try them out. I found another company that uses a rayon layer for fire protection. I am not sure how I feel about rayon but I am sure it is better than chemical. I was wondering about Lanolin. If you melt it in water and spritz it on, it can allow the water to bead up on the surface. It may help hold the water on the surface of the mattress to wipe it up later; If anything gets under or around the sweater. There are brands that have very clean ( purified for use) lanolin that can be used for water proofing and skin care.
I couldn’t choose between organic baby products and non-organic but after reading this and some other blogs I’ve decided to go totally organic. I figure I’ll be using it for 2-3 kids so it’s worth the extra cost.
I’m not sure how this works. I’ve felted an old wool blanket, as much as possible and metabolized it. My testing of its waterproof-ness has been pouring some water onto the blanket with a towel underneath. The water has soaked through to the towel every time. I’m so frustrated as I really don’t want to buy toxic mattress protectors for my soon to be pull up free sleeping kids. Advice?
Try with a towel on both the top and bottom, then pour water on the top. The wool should prevent the towel under from getting soaked. In the case of the crib, the mattress is protected while the sheet is encouraged to absorb leaks, though it wouldn’t work for a full on diaperless accident most likely.
I bought used wool blankets on ebay for $10-15 dollars and have repurposed them as mattress protectors for the cot on top of a natural latex mattress.