For years, when you thought of a baby's crib, you thought of the rectangle mattress, the one that is about 52? x 28?. That might be about to change. One of the newer items for the nursery is the round crib. The mattress for this crib is a 42? round circle. This has both advantages over the standard rectangle crib, as well as disadvantages.

Round cribs are unique and make a bold statement in the nursery. Being a bit smaller, they take up less room and being round, and can easily fit into the middle of the room allowing for more use of wall space. They also do not have any sharp corners to run into in the middle of the night. Depending on the particular crib, it can allow more unfettered access to the child from anywhere in the room. There are round cribs that have canopies on them, creating a definite front and back, and others that are similar to a standard rectangle crib with no canopy. However, if there is a canopy, it makes it much simpler to hang a mobile or other hanging toy from the middle of the canopy, making it easier for baby to reach.

On the down side, round cribs are a bit more expensive than standard cribs, the mattresses are harder to come by and there are not nearly as many options when buying bedding as with standard sized cribs. Also, a round crib mattress is only 42? from edge to edge. A standard crib mattress is 52? x 28?. So you can keep baby in the crib longer with a standard crib mattress. While that might not seem like a viable option, there are many jr. beds that allow a toddler to transition from the crib to a bed. This bed is much lower to the ground and has guards on the sides so your toddler is less likely to fall out. And the jr. bed is made to fit with a crib mattress, so even though your child has moved out of the crib, their mattress is able to do double duty.

The internet is naturally a place where a round mattress, crib and crib bedding can be found in quantity. So if you don't see what you want around town or don't need the hassle of running from store to store to find what you want, search online for round cribs, round crib mattress and round crib bedding. Of course, you can find a multitude of standard cribs, mattresses and bedding online as well.