It would be not unreasonable to assume, especially if you are awaiting the birth of your first baby, that all crib mattresses come in a standard size, so you really need not worry too much about it. Unfortunately this is not the case when it comes to crib mattress size at all. I remember when we were buying our first crib mattress we purchased the Nightstar Eco-Friendly Firm Crib Mattress, mainly because it was on offer, just like it is today here.
The trouble was, we were quite inexperienced at all the baby stuff and we had already purchased the crib for our little one. We had in fact completely fitted out the nursery, with the possible exception of the crib mattress. Unfortunately, when we got home with our new mattress we found that the dimension of the Nightstar Eco-Friendly Firm Crib Mattress, was 52 1/2″ long and our crib would only take a mattress up to 51 5/8″ long. I know the difference is small, but in order to get out proud new mattress into the crib we had to sort of jam it into place. The crib mattress should fit snugly into the crib, snug enough that you can slip less than a finger around the edge of it (this test is called the finger test), but our brand new mattress was just a little bit too snug for our liking. Boy did we feel silly taking it back to the store.
By the way, the reason it should fit snugly is so that there is no risk that your baby, who may well move around its crib a surprising amount, even when very young, does not get trapped in an uncomfortable position, potentially even risking suffocation, between the edge of the mattress and the side of the crib. Sensible advice when you really think about it.
Anyway, the second time around we made sure we knew our measurements in advance. It also served as a bit of a wake up call in respect of the importance of the crib mattress. We did a bit more research and learnt more about buying the best crib mattress and the particular reasons for doing so. Reasons such as, why you should consider an organic crib mattress due to the fire retardant chemicals used on conventional crib mattresses which might harm your newborn baby. In the end we purchased a Colgate Classica I Foam Crib Mattress, which fitted, being just that little bit smaller, and were really happy. After all, the Colgate Classica I Foam Crib Mattress is a great crib mattress.
So, is there a standard crib mattress size? The answer is, sort of. Probably the vast majority of crib mattresses sold on the market today have the following dimensions:
- Length – 51 5/8″
- Width – 27 1/4″
- Depth – depends upon the construction of the crib mattress, a coil crib mattress, or innerspring one tend to be a little bit thicker than a foam crib mattress – but overall, whatever it is made from it should never be more than 6″ deep.
So, overall, advice in respect of crib mattress size is – measure your crib before you leave your home, or order online and if you do need a non-standard crib mattress size then make sure that the mattress you purchase is a good quality one.