It’s true that there is way fewer options out there in terms of infant and toddler mattresses, at least when compared to the variety of adult-sized beds you can find on the market. However, that doesn’t make crib mattress shopping any easier because let’s face it, we are obsessed with buying what’s best for our children. While that is admirable, one can get lost in the variety of specifications for something as small as a crib mattress.
From safety concerns regarding the quality of the materials used to the different features that you’re not even sure a baby needs, mattress buying can be tough. So, today’s review is based on one of America’s most famous infant and toddler mattresses: the Sealy Premier Posture 2-Stage.
A Closer Look at the Sealy Dual Sided Crib Mattress
Sealy is a very powerful name in the mattress industry and been around for quite some time. For more than 130 years, this brand has turned from a small business that made cotton mattresses for friends to one of the main mattress suppliers for the hotel industry across the globe.
They are particularly well-known for making some of the best and most price-convenient double-sided mattresses on the market. Back in 1950, they developed what is now known as the Posturepedic Technology, meant to bring the mattress game to the next level by offering customized support for the body parts that need it most.
Today, we’re going to go over a mattress model that’s designed to fit cribs, but also toddler beds. It’s a dual-sided mattress designed to be safe for children and conveniently priced for the parents.
Pros:
- Double-sided with different firmness levels.
- Suitable for babies and toddlers.
- Sturdy construction.
- Meets all children’s safety standards.
- No off-gassing.
- Natural cotton cover.
- Airflow pockets.
- Hypoallergenic cushioning.
- Lifetime warranty.
- No box spring is required.
- Convenient price tag.
Cons:
- Too soft for some infants (customer claim).
- Cover not 100 percent waterproof.
Features & Benefits
Size
The Sealy dual sided crib mattress is only available in a single size. Since it measures 51.63 x 27.25 x 5.5 inches, it’s compatible with the standard crib size in the US, and also fits most toddler beds.
Construction
The construction of the Sealy dual sided crib mattress is pretty straightforward: it’s a hybrid mattress with an innerspring support core, and two different firmness levels (we’ll get to that in the next section of this review). The 5.5 inches in height are distributed as follows:
- The entire surface of the mattress features a protective cover made from natural cotton. What’s more, this cover is waterproof, which is great news for baby moms out there who were worried about wet accidents destroying the bed. Even so, it never hurts to use an additional waterproof mattress protector, just to prolong the life of the mattress as much as possible.
- If the toddler side is facing up, underneath the cover you will find three layers that combine comfortable cotton both cushioning and transitioning to the core of the mattress.
- The center of the mattress is an innerspring unit that sports 204 steel coils, which are not individually wrapped, as you may have seen in adult hybrid mattress models. There are two important elements that come into play here. First, you have a border wire that’s made with secure edge steel. This means that the mattress provides edge-to-edge support so that there won’t be any compression when the child rolls over to the side of the bed. Then, the mattress also has edge pillars, six of them to be more precise. These also reinforce the perimeters of the mattress, while making sure that the corners are also sturdy and compression-free.
- Beneath the support coil system, lies another dual-layer made from cotton, which is thinner compared to the three-layer system that’s on top of the mattress side meant to be used for toddlers.
- It all ends (or begins, depends on how you look at it) with the waterproof cover made from natural and soft cotton.
Materials & Important Features
The mattress is constructed with materials that are safe around children, but what we wanted to talk to you about in this section is how the materials interact with one another and why they were chosen in the construction of this bed.
The cover is made from natural cotton, which is one of the best materials used to make baby clothes. That means that your little one can safely be around the mattress, but there’s also the comfort factor that’s really important. Cotton is a rather breathable material (not the best, but not the worst at the heart retention chapter).
Underneath the cotton cover, there’s a waterproof lock-stitched binding. “Waterproof” is the keyword here, but if there’s anything out previous baby mattress-related experience has taught us is to always look at waterproof mattresses with a bit of skepticism. We do recommend purchasing a waterproof mattress cover for two reasons:
- If your baby has any wet accidents, you want to avoid them having to sit quietly in a moist puddle until they’re changed.
- It prolongs the lifespan of the mattress, as stains and moisture are quite difficult to remove.
Let’s take a moment to talk about the coils. The Bonnel coils that make up the support system of the mattress are made in America and have been tested for both durability and quality. But the most important thing here is the fact that they support the baby’s body.
While the mattress also has support pillars in all its four corners, this isn’t very important for a baby who will rarely end up in the corner of the crib. It could be important for toddlers who sit at the edge of the bed and could end up compressing the corners with their body weight.
However, edge support is important for both infants and toddlers, because if your baby rolls over to the edge of the mattress, they could get stuck between the edge and the bars of the crib if the mattress compressed. Because of that, the Sealy dual sided crib mattress has a secure edge border wire, to reinforce the coil perimeter.
The mattress also has an anti-sagging system, which is another valuable feature to have in just about any mattress, really. This distributes the body’s weight evenly across the surface of the mattress, preventing wear and tear, and preserving the mattress in better shape over a longer period of time.
There are two more of these mattress’ features that are important and useful for a child’s bed. The first one if the fact that this mattress can be spot cleaned, meaning that you have to do is use a damp cloth to wipe the surface of the protective cover and then air it out so that it can dry properly.
The second feature is the fact that all the materials that are used to make the comfort layers of this mattress are hypoallergenic. Basically, aside from the steel coils, the mattress provides a combination of cotton and polyester, without any harmful chemicals that nobody wants around their children. But stay tuned, we’re going to discuss the certifications and safety concerns you might have in regard to this mattress later in this review.
Firmness Considerations
As mentioned before, this double-sided mattress is designed to be firmer on one side and a bit softer on the other. That’s because the side that’s meant to face upwards when a toddler uses it has one additional cotton layer, making it a bit plushier compared to the side that’s designed for babies.
I know that some of you may be thinking that you want your child to have excellent comfort and cushioning and that a soft mattress is better for a child still in their most fragile years.
However, babies should not sleep on a mattress that is too soft. Babies will tend to toss and turn quite a lot, and a soft mattress poses a real danger once they learn how to roll over on the side. If your baby is left unsupervised and ends up belly-down on the mattress, they might not be able to support their head up and will find their face buried in the mattress.
This can cause the baby to suffocate, making a firmer mattress a much better choice for infants. For toddlers, however, a crib mattress that is a couple of levels softer doesn’t pose a concern.
Safety Concerns
Naturally, every parent wants to know that their child isn’t sleeping on a bed imbued with shady chemicals and potentially harmful materials. The Sealy dual sided crib mattress has passed the safety and chemical test required to ensure parents that their babies will be absolutely safe when sleeping on this bed.
Here are some of the safety and quality certifications that you might be interested in:
- The mattress is CPSIA tested for phthalates and lead, and every one of the components used in the construction of the mattress is air quality tested, so that it doesn’t take a toll on your indoor environment.
- The bed has the GREENGUARD Gold certification, meaning that it doesn’t release any harmful chemical emissions.
- The Sealy dual sided crib mattress has also passed the latest ASTM tests for precise crib sizing, and the lock-stitched binding is safe for children to use.
- The mattress also falls under the Children’s Safe Products Act and Chemicals of High Concern to Children regulations which are introduced in several US states.
Customer Opinions
Infant Use
Opinions on how the mattress experience was for their babies were different from one customer to another. For example, one client was happy that the mattress was so good, she bought two for her twins, one for each crib. On the other hand, there are parents that complained that the infant side was still too soft and that the baby sunk into the mattress way too deep. In general, mattresses will have different feels, with materials reacting differently under each body weight. That’s a rule to remember for the future.
Durability
This is one chapter where the Sealy dual sided crib mattress excels. There are plenty of customers that were so happy with how the mattress performed, they bought a second one when they had another baby. They also like the fact that the mattress is durable enough to serve one child both through their infant and toddler growth phases.
Price
Price is the second chapter where the Sealy dual sided crib mattress made a good impression. The fact that the product can be flipped and used when the baby grows has convinced a lot of parents that this is a good long-term investment. The fact that people bought seconds also says a lot about the price-to-quality ratio of this bed.
Noise Levels
This is not normally a determining factor when buying a new adult mattress, but for children, a quiet sleeping environment makes all the difference in the world. A lot of customers compared the Sealy dual sided crib mattress with other beds that made noise and were happy to report that this mattress is quiet.
Odor
Because the mattress is safe to use for children and doesn’t contain any PVC or other things you don’t want to touch your child’s skin, it also doesn’t emit a strong odor when you unbox it. While some customers state they felt a little bit of a stale smell, that could be because of how the mattress was deposit prior to being delivered to them. It’s nothing that leaving the mattress to air for about 24 hours can’t fix.
You may want to read: Sealy Double Sided Pillowtop
Bottom Line
The Sealy Premier Posture 2-Stage is one of the best products in its category. And that’s not something taken out from expert reviews: it comes straight from the mouth of happy parents that felt they’ve invested their money wisely.
This Sealy double-sided mattress is designed to be a flippable product, with a firmer side for infants and a softer one for toddlers. The durability, material choice, and many different safety certifications make this product a long-term solution for parents who are just tired of browsing through different options with confusing specs.