HOW TO MEASURE YOUR NEW MATTRESS

This essential guide will easily explain how to ensure you are measuring your little ones mattress correctly, whether you are confirming the dimensions you need are correct or you are measuring up for a custom -made mattress using our ‘build your own’ mattress service. It is not as simple as you may think, we often get lots of questions from parents asking how they should correctly measure their little ones mattress. We cannot stress enough the importance of measuring a mattress correctly not only for the comfort of your little one but also their safety.

The sleep space whether moses basket, crib, next to me crib, travel cot, cot, cot bed or single bed should be assembled before measuring for the mattress. 

The gap between the mattress and the cot sides/ends should be no more than 3cm when the mattress is pushed tightly to one side. Although if you are only using a sheet for bedding then we would recommend only a 1cm gap so that the mattress is as flush as it possibly can be to the sides/ends. If a gap is any larger than this, your baby could get a arm or leg trapped in the gap and could be dangerous or even fatal. British Safety Standards state that any mattress for a baby, toddler, child needs to be a snug fit, 1cm off the length and width is usually sufficient, perhaps 2cm off the width if you are ordering a mattress for a cot/cot bed with a drop side function. Just remember to keep the mattress snug.

With your assembled sleep space ready, accurately measure the interior length & the width of the cot base. The mattress should be a snug fit & should have absolutely no more than 3cm taken off the total dimensions. For cribs or next to me crib’s that have fabric sides, measure the solid bottom base only. In many cases, there is usually a stamp or a sticker advising of the correct mattress size.

Please note the following if you are measuring for a cot or cot bed:

A cot mattress should not be too tight against the sides if you have a cot or cot bed that uses a drop-side action, as an oversized mattress could impair the use of this function.

Please consider the space between the top of the mattress and the top of the cot side bars is deep enough to prevent your toddler from climbing out, this should measure 50cm or more. As a rule, cot/cot bed mattresses should not exceed a depth of 10cm for all British cots/cot beds.

Finally, we must repeat the important of ensuring any gap must not exceed 3cm between the mattress and the cot sides/ends. Please be rest assured you will still be able to fit bedding onto the mattress.