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Last fall (I think it was last fall) -- we got inspired by the folks here and cut open our 7 yr old Stearns and Foster E King mattress (posted pics here too). We pulled out all the crappy foam and put in 2" of 32 and 1" of 20 ILD latex from Foam by Mail. We have tried a Cuddlebed topper from Costco and I liked it at first -- but now -- meh-- so we took it off. We had a piece of 2" Overstock memory foam that we took out -- I just felt it was beginning to 'lose its memory'. Then we tried a different 2" MF topper from Costco -- I REALLY didn't like that -- my hips hurt! We tried both of the MF on top and under the FBM 20. So now we are sleeping on just the latex. I've read here that people think FBM's 20 is really something between a 24-28. Whatever it is, it is really just too hard -- though it feels soft when I just push down with my fingers -- but when I lay down -- it is hard. For me it isn't horrible -- it is better than the floor or a board -- but it's just not gonna work long term. My husband is suffering a lot more than I am. So -- where do we go from here? Our stats -- I am 5'2" and 170ish (sigh) side and back sleeper (more back recently cause of how firm the bed is). Jim is 6'4" and 210 -- mostly side sleeper. He's getting tempted to just start from scratch which would be a cheap firm Sealy king from Costco (what we can afford at the moment) at around $600. Other options are 1" of softer talatech latex from SLAB which is $274 + tax -- I'm leaning toward 19 ILD (but don't know btween the 19 and 24). There's this from Arizona Mattress 2" 22ILD -- but I don't know where it's from and don't want to get another too firm piece. But the price is good -- $239. Also this from Sleep EZ -- 1.5" of blended talalay $220 + $50 for shipping -- it says it's 22-24 ILD -- again wondering if it will it be soft enough? Finally I've considered 1" of the 5.3 lb density MF from foam order (I think it was shovel99's rec?) for $122 + shipping.
I'd would LOVE to hear any opinions of anyone here. Thanks! |
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Thanks GK, Sandman and Catherine. (did I forget someone?) I sure appreciate your responses, support, and understanding! It's nice to not feel totally blind in all this. :) My husband ordered the 2" natural talalay topper from Arizona mattress today! The fact that Sandman and Catherine both said they preferred natural was a big sway for me since I haven't felt both to compare. I read back through some old threads and saw that Budgy also prefers natural. And I called Arizona and they said their natural topper was from LI so that helped too. The difference was only around $45 so it seemed wiser to just go ahead and spend a little bit more on something that folks with experience like better. Usually I stall a lot longer in making these decisions, but this time I am just so tired of researching. I know that my mileage may vary, but these 2 inches of an actual cushion layer should (I hope!) really make things better for us. And it's a LOT cheaper from Arizona than from anywhere else. We still have the cuddlebed and can always return that if we still don't prefer it and use the money toward a wool pad or towards a 5.3 pound MF topper from foamorder should we still feel the need. Sandman, how does this wool pad from Overstock look compared to yours? The price is certainly good for a king sized pad! Though I'm not sure who manufactures it. Catherine -- wow -- spending more on toppers than mattress is impressive -- and I'll bet at times discouraging too. :( I sure hope you find this current mattress gives you some decent longevity -- you certainly have earned some decent sleep with all the work you went through! Again, I am VERY grateful to you guys for sharing so freely your experiences. I will keep you posted. We live in S CA so hopefully the topper will get here fast! :) |
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stacytr wrote: My husband ordered the 2" natural talalay topper from Arizona mattress today! ....... Great! Usually I stall a lot longer in making these decisions, but this time I am just so tired of researching. I know the feeling.
Catherine -- wow -- spending more on toppers than mattress is impressive -- and I'll bet at times discouraging too. :( I sure hope you find this current mattress gives you some decent longevity -- you certainly have earned some decent sleep with all the work you went through! Well... turns out I was wrong about that -- I shouldn't do math in my head. I just added everything on paper, and the mattresses (the one I bought in 2009 plus the one I just bought) do come out to be higher. But I spent more on toppers than I did on the mattress I bought in 2009, and I certainly did not expect that. And the wallet is now closed.... Neither mattress was expensive, as mattresses go... but yeah, the whole process of trial and error (and error and error and error) did get discouraging and it took up way too much time.
I will keep you posted. We live in S CA so hopefully the topper will get here fast! :) Hope it works for you! |
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I hope the new topper works out well for you! I think it will be an improvement over your current situation. That wool mattress pad looks much thicker than what I have. Mine is the normal type of mattress pad/protector with a cotton cover and wool filling (instead of the usual poly fill). Works better to absorb humidity and keep you cooler. Some people like the Dormier one, since that seems to have a minimal effect on the feel of the latex. The problem if you go thicker is that it can change the feel of the latex significantly (often makes it seem firmer). If you already have a "normal" mattress pad/protector (not sure what the proper name is), then I would just try it first to see if it works for you.
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Catherine wrote: I just added everything on paper, and the mattresses (the one I bought in 2009 plus the one I just bought) do come out to be higher. But I spent more on toppers than I did on the mattress I bought in 2009, and I certainly did not expect that. And the wallet is now closed.... Neither mattress was expensive, as mattresses go... but yeah, the whole process of trial and error (and error and error and error) did get discouraging and it took up way too much time.
Hope it works for you!
And how do you do the separation of the quotes like you do? |
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sandman wrote: I hope the new topper works out well for you! I think it will be an improvement over your current situation.
That wool mattress pad looks much thicker than what I have. Mine is the normal type of mattress pad/protector with a cotton cover and wool filling (instead of the usual poly fill). Works better to absorb humidity and keep you cooler. Some people like the Dormier one, since that seems to have a minimal effect on the feel of the latex. The problem if you go thicker is that it can change the feel of the latex significantly (often makes it seem firmer). If you already have a "normal" mattress pad/protector (not sure what the proper name is), then I would just try it first to see if it works for you.
The only mattress pad we have is the cuddlebed -- which I'm still not convinced that we will keep. And I'm worried about how much it might change the feel of our nice new latex. We do have (or did have -- i don't know where it is now) a thin zip cover for an old memory foam pad we had -- I'll try and find it and dig it out to use for the new 2" topper. The mattress pad you linked to looks nice -- so does the St Dormeir. I found the same natura topper here for even less -- I am SO tempted -- sale expires tomorrow, But I think we've spent enough for today! |
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stacytr wrote: 2 mattresses in 3 years is a lot! Yeah, wasn't expecting that, and wasn't expecting the mattress surgery to be so ridiculously frustrating (not to mention, unsuccessful because the springs weren't supportive enough for me). But now I have a better idea of what's involved if I ever operate on a mattress again.
I think the thing in your whole saga that I was most impressed with was you screwing in those stabilizer things to make sure your foundation was stable and well supported (I think I'm remembering that right). Gotta love a woman who's not afraid to use some power tools! Thanks; and yep, that was me, wrestling with the stabilizer doohickeys. I think the only power tool involved was my drill, which is not all that powerful, but I have used a few other power tools, for other projects, without injuring myself (so far; knock on wood; etc.). I like building stuff, even though it doesn't take long before I'm in way over my head. Oh, and actually, I'm often quite afraid when I'm using certain power tools -- like, say, a chain saw -- but that's probably a good thing, 'cause it makes me more careful. (Cutting up fallen trees is kinda fun, though.) And how do you do the separation of the quotes like you do? It takes a bit of fiddling. I click the Quote button for the post I want to reply to; type something below the quoted material; select everything in the "Your Message" box; copy it; and then paste it several times. Then I can delete stuff from each of the quote boxes so each one has just the stuff I want to respond to. (If there's an easier way on this forum, I'm not aware of it.) To avoid losing posts: After you've written your post and before you click the Post button, select your entire post (either use your mouse, or on a Windows PC, press Ctrl+A) and then copy it (Ctrl+C) to the Clipboard. For an extra measure of safety, you can paste it into a Notepad file. Then if the forum software temporarily goes flooey, you can just start the post again and paste your text into it.
About wool mattress pads: I have the St. Dormeir and love it. It's thin, so it won't add cushioning, but it's quite stretchy (doesn't interfere with the latex) and seems to help with temperature regulation. It's not returnable, so if you consider buying it at some point, you can ask Sandra at Laughlin Designs (snuggledown.com) to send you a fabric sample. She sent me one (it was her idea), and it helped me decide to spring for the pad. This message was modified Apr 8, 2012 by Catherine
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Catherine wrote: Thanks; and yep, that was me, wrestling with the stabilizer doohickeys. I think the only power tool involved was my drill, which is not all that powerful, but I have used a few other power tools, for other projects, without injuring myself (so far; knock on wood; etc.). I like building stuff, even though it doesn't take long before I'm in way over my head. Oh, and actually, I'm often quite afraid when I'm using certain power tools -- like, say, a chain saw -- but that's probably a good thing, 'cause it makes me more careful. (Cutting up fallen trees is kinda fun, though.)
Catherine wrote: It takes a bit of fiddling. I click the Quote button for the post I want to reply to; type something below the quoted material; select everything in the "Your Message" box; copy it; and then paste it several times. Then I can delete stuff from each of the quote boxes so each one has just the stuff I want to respond to. (If there's an easier way on this forum, I'm not aware of it.) To avoid losing posts: After you've written your post and before you click the Post button, select your entire post (either use your mouse, or on a Windows PC, press Ctrl+A) and then copy it (Ctrl+C) to the Clipboard. For an extra measure of safety, you can paste it into a Notepad file. Then if the forum software temporarily goes flooey, you can just start the post again and paste your text into it. Oh my gosh -- I did it! Cool -- thanks! :) And the losing posts -- I was just an idiot and accidentally closed the whole tab when i was moving the mouse. Otherwise great suggestion -- I'll have to do that next itme. Catherine wrote:
About wool mattress pads: I have the St. Dormeir and love it. It's thin, so it won't add cushioning, but it's quite stretchy (doesn't interfere with the latex) and seems to help with temperature regulation. It's not returnable, so if you consider buying it at some point, you can ask Sandra at Laughlin Designs (snuggledown.com) to send you a fabric sample. She sent me one (it was her idea), and it helped me decide to spring for the pad. I'm super intrigued by wool -- but I think I just have to put this on the back burner for a little while. But good to know I can get a sample. Thanks for that.
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 This will have to be short cause I NEED some sleep! My little girl has been really sick and has been waking up multiple times a night coughing for the past 2 nights -- and of course waking me too. Poor thing :( But I'm wanting to post cause our topper arrived!!! I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I could kiss you all right now I swear! It's possible that the sleep deprivation is making me punchy. For anybody checking in who's new, we got the 2" natural talalay latex topper from Arizona Mattrress. ILD 22. My hips don't hurt anymore! My shoulder isn't all crunchy! I'm not sure I want to even try the cuddlebed back on top of it. But I suppose we might later. It is a bit springy -- kinda like laying on jello I'll keep a wool cover and the 5.3 lb mem foam in mind in case we think we need it later -- but I can't tell you how happy I feel right now. You all are my heroes! :) Thanks! |
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stacytr wrote: But I'm wanting to post cause our topper arrived!!!  We've been sleeping on it the last 2 nights just on top of our FBM latex (over our springs). And the consensus so far is....... I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hope your little girl feels better soon. |