Right now I am also using crib mattresses - collected from families selling cribs and moving their kids to big beds over the years but they have pretty much reached the end of their lifespan so I too am looking for a change.

My plan right now is to buy the actual daycare cots. I have looked at the ones at all about kids too. PlaynLearn there is a discussion on this on another site and someone posted about a daycare centre in the west end that sells the cots and the price was cheaper than all about kids ($40 cot) or $200 for 6. I want to do some more checking into those.

If you go for the cots do not get the toddler ones cause they are too small. For mats the thicker you can go the better because they tend to roll off the thinner ones more because they don't sense the sides. Have no idea on how well the ones that fold up last but I would have concerns about some poor child's hip or knee hitting the unpadded fold spot and it not being comfortable. By the time you fold up 5 mats they will take up the same amount of space as 5 stacked mats.