As new parents, we tend to touch and taste everything before our children do to make sure they’re healthy and safe. So if you’ve felt your newborn’s playard mattress, you might be second-guessing your choice. It’s not a mistake. Most pediatricians recommend that babies sleep on a firm mattress until about one year of age. Newborns lack head control. If they sink into a cushy mattress the wrong way, their nostrils or mouth could be blocked, and they can’t lift their head to open their airways. Babies will build neck muscles through “tummy time,” rolling and, later, crawling, and by around age one, a softer mattress is acceptable.