Nesting

I've been trying to find a mattress for the cradle, and I finally decided to make one myself. I figured if I bought enough vinyl, I could screw up a couple times and it would still cost 1/4 of the price of a special order mattress.

I purchased a roll of NU-Foam, which is a safer alternative to foam. It's basically a very dense polyester batting, so it doesn't give off all those toxic fumes that typical baby mattresses and foam give off. It was 24 inches wide, so I cut a piece to length and folded it in half. It fit perfectly in the cradle.

Next, I found a pattern on the internet for a rectangular cushion bed (basically a dog bed with a foam pad), and followed the directions (thinking that I would have to do this about three times since I've never followed a sewing pattern before).

I cut the pieces to size....

...and pinned it all together...

I did some fancy stitching on the back side where I would be inserting the foam.

And then I sewed it up and turned it right-side out!

Who knew -- the measurements worked out and the foam insert fit perfectly!

And now I have a mattress for the cradle!

I totally rock! Next, I'm going to make a co-sleeper pad for our bed, in case the Belchigator has a diaper catastrophe while she's in bed with us. And then maybe a portable changing pad...