New Born and Matresses

the GALL

My wife and I are expecting our first child in june, and are delighted. Our sister in law has offered us her moses basket that she used for her two children, save a few quid and all that.
I was talkin to my wife about getting a new matress for the basket and she said there was no need, I was under the impression that with each new baby that would use it(Basket) you would need a new matress, and that stuff like mosses baskets should not be used second hand i.e. out side of your imediate family (not cousins etc etc) due to contaminations. The wife has me figured for a bit of a snob who won't accept hand me downs, which could be true, but at the same time im also not wantin to tempt faith over the sake of a few quid. I could have sworn that I read somewhere about cross cantamination, but I cant find the books I was lookin in
Any opinion on this would be great.....
.....not the bit about me being a snob just the bit about contaminations. Cheers

gpmaguir

Hi,

I don't have a reason why you should get a new matress Some say it can be connected to SIDS??) but I do know it is the done thing. I know my wife told me we had to get a new matress for our new arrival. We kept it for the second child and then got a new one for the third. For the sake of €50 i would just buy it

Ger

the GALL

Thanks for the speedy reply
I wouldnt be too worried if the matress was used within the same family but the way im lookin at it it's a second hand matress and I know I wouldnt buy a second hand matress and sleep in it, the fact that it's a new born and the immune systems not fully up and running that they could be susceptable to any illness that the original owner has had. Im not saying that the inlaws are in any way hygenic but its my impression that new borns can pick up anything thats going quicker than anyone else.

gpmaguir

I think you have already made up your mind. Good luck with the new arrival. They are hard work but so worth it:)

sneakyST

You're right to get a new one as there is a link to SIDS through vomit aspiration which is higher if the mattress is old or used by another baby

See http://www.mattresskleen.co.uk/suddeninfantdeathsyndrome.htm

Redpunto

Yep get a new one, we bought new mattresses for each of our kids.

silja

As long as the stuff is clean, I don't think there is a major risk. I bought all my twin's early stuff (clothes, crib, swings etc) second hand from classified ads and had no problem.

Moonbeam

A new mattress is only about 12 euro.
I am using a borrowed family basket too and bought a new mattress for my little girl.

sparklepants

I understood that the recommendation to replace the matress had to do with ensuring that there's adequate support for the baby's back. After a few months of use the things get pretty flat. We replaced the matress with our second, but we found that matresses were nearly as expensive as the baskets with matresses included.

Oryx

When I was having my kids (not long ago) the recommendation was always a new matress for a new baby. Cuts out any risk of contamination, wear and tear etc. I kept my cot for my second child but replaced the (perfectly good) matress that had been on it from new. Theyre cheap to replace, so why not?

As an addition, I was also told never to give second hand teddies to a small baby. Even if theyve been washed.