When I look for a product for my kids, I like to look for a name that I am familiar with. In this case, Simmons is a popular name that can be seen in millions of homes around the world. I have owned quite a few Simmons mattresses and each one was just as comfortable as the last. So when I was able to test out a Simmons crib mattress for my toddler, I was more than thrilled. With that being said, I would like to share my experience and tests with you.
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Video Review
Don’t want to read the full review? Watch our video review instead.
The Simmons Promise
In short, the Simmons company promises to offer excellent items at an affordable price while continuing to make innovative and safe products for our children. They are constantly setting high standards for the manufacturing process that makes them different from their competitors. They have been known to deliver exceptional products that meet the high standards of families.
Their belief is that “quality furniture begins with a great foundation.” They have continued to give us great products since 1891 and they will continue to do so. This is why I trust my child to be on a Simmons mattress-knowing that they are on something that was made with safety in mind.
Presenting The Sleepy Whispers Ultra Deluxe
The Sleepy Whispers by Simmons is a unique crib mattress with a Greenguard Gold certification and a CertiPUR-US certification. This means that the mattress won’t emit any harmful chemicals and it makes for a healthier indoor environment.
This mattress features a dual-purpose design that gives your baby an ideal firmness for proper support and a layer of comfort for toddlers. The whole mattress is wrapped in a natural fire protection wrap and woven fabric that offers a medical grade waterproof barrier.
The 231 luxury pocketed coils add to the support of the mattress along with a reinforced border and Innofoam corner protectors for that add to the stability of the mattress. This is something that is extremely important to me. The fact that this mattress has that added support means that the SIDS risk is greatly reduced.
Thoughts About The Packaging
As with all of the other mattresses I get, this one was wrapped in a layer of plastic to keep it clean and dry. In the package was a brochure type letter that told me everything I needed to know about the mattress. I know I have said this before, but I really do like those inserts. It saves me from having to scour the internet for product information.
Features & Benefit
Here is where we get into the nitty gritty. All of the features and benefits of the Little Dreamer make it so special and unique and I would like to tell you all about it!
What Sets It Apart?
Some mattress companies are only concerned about one thing-profit. They don’t give a hoot about the safety of the mattress or how well it performs. Simmons is completely different, as is this mattress. It has features of an organic mattress without the price tag. I have seen organic mattress go up to $500, maybe more, that have the exact same concept at the Sleepy Whispers.
Simmons has created this mattress with safety in mind while remaining affordable to just about everyone. Their 231 luxury pocketed coil innerspring mattress has all of the comfort that one of their adult mattresses would have while remaining safe for infants and toddlers to use.
The best part? It’s dual sided! I love this feature because you can use it for a newborn on one side and when it is time to switch to something more comfortable, all you have to do is flip the mattress and presto, a “new” mattress.
Construction & Composition
The Simmons Beautyrest Beginnings Sleepy Whispers crib mattress has quite a bit inside of it. Let’s check it out.
The hypoallergenic, water resistant superior woven cover is a wonderful feature to have. If you are in the process of potty training or have a newborn that is known to soak through their diapers and on to the mattress, water resistance is key. If you check out my video, you will see that the water that was spilled on the mattress stayed on the surface and did not soak through. I was able to clean it up quickly with just a few swipes of a paper towel.
The 100% natural cotton fire wrap contains no chemicals and is non-toxic. It also meets or exceeds federal flammability standards. There will be no nasty chemical smell emitted from this mattress as it is Greenguard Gold certified and CertiPUR-US certified.
The supportive comfort layers offer optimal support and comfort, hence the name, for your newborn and toddler. Instead of there being a thin piece of fabric between the coils and the top of the mattress, there are these comfort layers.
The innofoam corner protectors are a nice feature to have, even thought you can’t see them. They sit inside of the mattress in between the innersprings to keep them from smushing together. This keeps them in shape for a longer period of time.
The 9 gauge border wire wraps around the mattress to create a supportive edge. They protect the corners from sagging or falling apart after many years of use. I have seen mattresses that has no support on the corners and the edges that performed terribly. These protectors are definitely ideal for a 2-in-1 mattress.
Having 231 coil springs essentially means that the mattress is quite firm. Generally, the more coils a mattress has, the more firm and supportive it is going to be. In this case, 231 is a good number for this mattress. It will give off even weight distribution and support.
On the toddler side, you’ll find a convoluted comfort layer for toddlers. As toddlers get older, they become more picky as to how comfortable their mattress is. This mattress has that extra layer just for them. Instead of being ultra firm, it will still be firm, but not too firm.
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Comfort
My son slept so well on the Sleepy Whispers. Honestly, he slept better on this one than most of the other ones that have been in his crib. When I put him down for bedtime, he didn’t fuss or give me a hard time about going to sleep.
The toddler side is definitely different from the infant side in relation to comfort. Yes, the baby side is probably comfortable for a baby, but when it comes to toddlers, probably not. This was the only issue I had with my son. I had him sleep on the infant side just to see if there really was a difference, and he slept terribly. He didn’t like the firmness at all.
For a baby, comfort really isn’t more important than safety. The baby side is quite firm, but this means that it has an ideal firmness level to keep them out of the way of SIDS, something every parent fear may happen to their child. So in this case, even though it was uncomfortable for my toddler, it’s still okay for a baby.
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Support
Having a crib mattress with optimal support is something that I look for in a crib mattress. As I was saying above, having support means that the SIDS risk is greatly reduced. When a mattress has good support, your baby can safely roll over without sinking. If a baby were to roll over on a mattress with no support, they could get stuck. This is what leads to SIDS.
This mattress has great support. My son could lay on it without it sinking in any areas, and he’s quite the hefty little boy. I also had my older kids lay on it outside of the crib and they weren’t able to make a dent either. This is all due to those 231 coil springs inside of the mattress along with those support layers.
The Two Finger Test
This is a test that I like to do to determine whether or not the mattress fits well in the crib. If you can put more than two fingers between the mattress and crib rails, it’s too small for the crib and poses an entrapment risk. This means that there is enough space between the mattress and rails, that your baby could potentially get stuck in that space.
The Simmons passed the two-finger test with flying colors. I couldn’t fit any fingers between the mattress and the rails. No entrapment risk here!
Edge Support
Edge support is another feature that I look for in a crib mattress. The reason for this is because of that entrapment risk that small mattresses pose. Even though there was no space to fit my fingers, edge support was still ideal.
When a child transitions into a toddler bed, they sometimes find themselves at the edge and end up falling off if the edge gives away. As for this mattress, it has wonderful edge support thanks to the border wires. These wires give the edge of the mattress the optimal support it needs to keep your child from sliding off. Although, sometimes it does still happen and that is why I always recommend a bed rail.
Corners
The corners on this mattress are kind of hybrid. I can’t really tell whether or not they are suppose to be square and ended up round or if they are rounded just a tiny bit. Either way, in this care, the corners didn’t really matter to me. The mattress fit snug in the crib and whether or not the corners were rounded or square, it still wouldn’t have moved around.
Water Resistance Test
Seams
I have come across mattresses that had seams that weren’t tightly sewn. This, to me, means that there is a lack in construction quality. After a lot of use, seams tend to wear out. What do you think is going to happen when seams that are already poorly constructed are subjected to a lot of wear and tear? They aren’t going to keep the mattress together as long as it should.
So, upon investigation of the Sleepy Whispers, I didn’t notice a lack in construction quality. All of the seams were night and tight, there were no pulls in the material, and it was just all around nicely constructed. The edges were neatly rolled and sewn tight against the fabric. No chance of my son pulling on anything and ripping it.
Ease Of Transport
This is probably the only area in which I would have to complain about. The mattress is heavier than all of the other mattresses I have tested. It comes in at a hefty 20 pounds, yikes! This isn’t, and wasn’t easy to put in and take out of the crib. I can’t even imagine having to take it out multiple times due to a sick baby and sheet changes. All-in-all, not very lightweight and hard to transport.
Let me tell you a story. My son is currently in the stage where he enjoys taking his diaper off and playing in whatever is inside of it. I have had to take almost all of my mattresses off after nap time to wash them. I don’t think I could do that with this mattress because of how heavy it is. Lucky for me, he hasn’t felt the need to play in his diaper lately.
How Does It Feel?
Honestly, it feels just like a regular mattress that would be on an adult bed. The fabric is just about the same and my son liked the feel of it. It isn’t plush or anything like that, but it still has a nice feel to it. If you had to lay your child on the mattress without the sheet, I don’t think they would even notice the difference.
My son can be super picky about the material of his mattresses. He doesn’t like vinyl type mattresses, but he loves plush ones. This one is kind of in the middle. It doesn’t feel like plastic but it isn’t plush.
Bounce
I do bounce tests because it tells me how soft or firm the mattress is. If it bounces too much, it’s probably too firm, and if it doesn’t bounce, it’s probably too soft. In this case, this mattress had an ideal amount of bounce to it. It didn’t bounce right off and it didn’t just sink into the mattress like with memory foam.
Heat Regulation Features
This particular mattress doesn’t really have any specific temperature regulation features, but it does have air holes in the side of the mattress that helps to release warm air and replace it with cooler air. You’ll notice the metal rings on the sides of the mattress. With that being said, does the mattress retain heat or do the holes do their job?
Heat Retention
As I do with all of my other mattress, I took my trusty heat sock & temperature gun and tested the heat retention. I heated my sock up and heated the mattress up to around 130 degrees. I then timed how long it took for the mattress to cool down to 98 degrees. With the Sleepy Whispers, it took around 25 seconds to cool down. This is average for most of the other ones I have tested. So In this case, I do believe that the air holes do their job.
Since I have been doing these tests, I have noticed that mattresses with bad heat retention tend to make my son sweat. Mattresses that hold heat, in my opinion, aren’t safe. This one did not have my son sweating and he stayed cool throught the night.
Odor
I can honestly say that this mattress doesn’t have any odor to it. I have taken mattresses out of their packages and been overwhelmed by a chemical smell, but not with this one.
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Feedback From Other Consumers (Parents & Caregivers)
Here are some comments about the Simmons Beautyrest Beginnings Sleepy Whispers that other users had.
Construction & Composition
- Very durable
- Seams are tight
- Great quality
Support
- Great support for infants
- Equally good support for toddlers
Comfort For Baby
- Babies sleep through the night
- Less tossing and turning
Comfort For Toddler
- Toddlers falling asleep quicker
- Toddler staying asleep longer
- Less movement while sleeping
- Water resistance holds true
- Accidents were easy to clean
- No complaints of sweating
- Breathable
- Very heavy
- Not easy to transport
- Not easy to take out of the crib
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Is The Simmons Beautyrest Beginnings Sleepy Whispers The Right Fit For Your Baby/Toddler?
If you can relate to any of these, this mattress may be ideal for your baby or toddler.
If you are concerned about the longevity of mattresses, I can certainly tell you that you won’t have to with this one. The mattress is tightly knitted, heavy duty, water resistant and much more. All of these combined add to the lifespan of your mattress.
If you are looking for a mattress that can be used with both babies and toddlers, this is it. Since it has dial sides, you can flip it around to be used for a baby or a toddler. Instead of having one comfort level, it has two. You won’t have to worry about one side of the mattress wearing out from being used too much.
Although this mattress has a lot of nice features, it doesn’t come with the pricetag other mattresses with these features would. It’s about half of the cost as an organic mattress would be with the same highlights. This definitely won’t break your bank or thin out your wallet.
This mattress does offer high quality support when it comes to both toddlers and infants. It had great bounce, held my son up nicely, and definitely offers enough support to reduce the SIDS risk.
Conclusion
As with other Simmons mattresses, this crib mattress is a high quality product at an affordable price. I don’t think I have ever slept on an uncomfortable Simmons product. I was highly impressed by the features and the results of my tests. In my honest opinion, I would recommend this to just about anyone looking for a durable mattress that has great ratings, reviews, and price. Not only that, but it’s dual sided and can withstand even the toughest toddlers.
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Simmons Beautyrest Specs
| Material | Organic | Degassing Period | Firmness Level for Baby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Innerspring | No | None | 8 |
| Firmness Level for Toddler | Weight | Warranty | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 19.4 pounds | Limited lifetime | $$ |
Frequently Asked Questions
Does it work in all cribs?
It will fit in any US standard sized crib. This mattress measures 27.5” x 52” x 6”.
Is a protector needed?
Since the mattress is water resistant, it isn’t really necessary, but if you want to protect the longevity of it, Pads/protectors may be a good option.
Does it work on convertible cribs?
Yes, this crib mattress will work on a convertible crib, as long as it is a USA standard size.
Is there a warranty?
Limited lifetime warranty
Is it dual sided?
Yes
How easy is cleaning?
You can wipe it with a cloth and some mild soap.