Ickle Bubba Pocket Sprung Cot Mattress Review

Amelia Jean Jones and her 22-month-old daughter, Olga, put this Ickle Bubba  Cot Mattress to the test to see how it compared to other brands.

The Ickle Bubba Cot Mattress is a firm pocket sprung mattress with springs encased in breathable nursery foam to keep baby supported and comfortable. As well as being lightweight and ready to use straight away, it comes with a polypropylene cover, which is water-resistant, hypoallergenic and breathable.

This Ickle Bubba cot mattress doesn’t come with lots of the extras that you get with many brands, but it promotes good posture, conforms to British safety standards, doesn’t use harmful organophosphate-based fire retardants, and offers a safe sleeping space for your baby.

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Available sizes: 120 x 60 cms, 140 x 70 cms | Type: Pocket Sprung/Foam | Price: £79.00

Design

‘The first thing I noticed when I took the mattress out of the packaging is that it’s surprisingly lightweight,’ said our tester Amelia. ‘[That’s] pretty important when it comes to regularly changing sheets post-accident, especially in the middle of the night.’

While Amelia was a fan of how easy it was to swap the sheets on this mattress, she thought it could do with being a little sturdier. ‘While claiming to be “firm”, I didn’t feel that it gave as much support as other baby mattresses I’ve used in the past and didn’t have the same “bounce-back”, when my toddler rolled or stood up in her cot.’ She thought that it dipped when her toddler rolled, making her more restless. That said, once she had settled, Olga slept till her usual 7am wake-up time. Because of this, Amelia thought this mattress would be better suited to a younger baby, who hadn’t learnt to move around to the same extent as a 22-month-old.

Comfort and features

One of the main features of this Ickle Bubba mattress is its removable polypropylene cover. This is water-resistant, hypoallergenic and breathable and protects the mattress underneath from getting soiled and wet. Amelia felt the cover was ‘very synthetic and plastic’ to touch, although she admitted it was fine when covered with a separate mattress protector and sheet.

While not especially comfortable or soft, the removable polypropylene cover did do the job: ‘After a night with a particularly runny nose, the cover itself was easy to remove and came out of the machine both looking and smelling fresh at 60°C.’

Value for money 

At £79, the Ickle Bubba Pocket Sprung Cot Mattress suits those who want a basic, lightweight mattress that safely does what it needs to and doesn’t have lots of fancy innovations.

This mattress works especially well if you’re a new parent with a limited amount to spend because you’re kitting out an entire nursery for the first time. Despite its low cost, Amelia didn’t feel like it offered enough value or quality for money, although she did like that it was made in the UK and therefore had a low carbon footprint.