How to Soften a Port-a-Crib Mattress

Many babies spend much time sleeping in a port-a-crib. The port-a-crib is a collapsible, mesh-walled structure with a mattress that also folds up like the rest of the crib. Most port-a-crib mattresses are made of a very thin layer of cushion over a hard board. Those pieces are sewn into a waterproof material that doesn't do much to add softness. Parents who want to soften this mattress must take care to do so in the safest way possible.

Things You'll Need

  • Measuring tape

Instructions

    • 1

      Measure the mattress. You need the length and the width measurements in order to find bedding that fits the mattress. Of course, you must measure the mattress while it is expanded and lying flat as it would inside the open port-a-crib.

    • 2

      Buy a quilted mattress pad that is made to match your port-a-crib's size measurements. It will be shorter than an actual crib mattress. Get a pad designed for use in a baby's bed. Such mattress pads are made firm but are softer than the mattress. Pads for babies also lack the embellishments that adult mattress pads have. Extras such as those pose a suffocation hazard to the baby.

    • 3

      Find flannel crib mattress sheets in your mattress size. The flannel provides a softness to the mattress that will not become a suffocation hazard for the baby.

    • 4

      Fit the pad onto the port-a-crib mattress and place the flannel sheet over the pad. Test the mattress softness by placing the baby in the port-a-crib. If he sinks into the mattress or is in a position that does not allow him to move his head and neck, the mattress setup is too soft. Remove the mattress pad and replace it with one that is firmer.

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