BR: Mamas, crib insight

MrsIH · April 2010

I'd love some insight on cribs because for some reason the nesting mode has kicked in at the start of this week Indifferent

I have been looking online at cribs a bit and am wondering how you decided on yours. (We have the Baby Bargains book FYI). Also, did you buy a convertible crib so it can be useful as a bed frame later? Any other pointers other than all of the regulations you have to be mindful of? TIA Cool

MauiWedding08 · April 2010

oh fun!

I had a set amount of money to work with because my ILs wanted to buy the crib and just gave us a check. I wanted to stretch that money to buy a crib+mattress+dresser so I only really looked at ones that were on the cheaper end. I knew I wanted a modern design with out a drop side.

Not too many modern cribs were in the lower price range. I went with a babymod crib from walmart. Not a big fan of walmart in general but I read that this brand is only sold there and is manufactured by Million Dollar Baby and they get good reviews.

I just got a normal crib - I didn't think we would ever use the full bed conversion. Our baby and any future kids will have twin beds, it did come with a little toddler bed conversion which we might use.

Good luck!

mrspresley · April 2010

safety and price were how we chose

if the crib has a drop side and you don't want that, you can easily fix that with some hardware by nailing it in place. not ideal, but if you really like a certain look and it has a drop side, that's something you can do

honestly i don't think you need something extravagant. ask a lot of moms - some of their babies don't even end up using the crib LOL due to cosleeping and what not. you just need somewhere safe and quiet for your LO to sleep.

we didn't get a convertible crib b/c we figure if we have #2 we'll want to use the crib for that baby so miss A can just move into a twin bed hopefully.

lelekay · April 2010

I don't know that I necessarily did it right, but here is what my process was:

I went pre-shopping for furniture with my sister and we took pictures of all the cribs that we liked. Then I spent a week or so looking up reviews (if I could find them) for either each specific crib or at least the manufacturer (online and in Baby Bargains). Most of the ones I liked we fairly highly rated, but I did eliminate it down to 2 or 3 that I liked the best, after reading the reviews and just thinking about it for a week. Than MH and I went back to look at the ones I liked, and there was one that he clearly liked more than the rest, so that was it!

We did get a convertible crib that turns into toddler bed and a full-sized bed later. Other features (besides the standard safety features) we looked for were dark wood (what MH and I agreed on for the room), a higher back than the front (I think that looks nicer once it's a real bed, which is will be for the longest!), no drop side (we're both tall, so this isn't an issue for us) a fairly simple design/not too fancy, but sturdy and well made (no obvious screws showing, etc.) MH really didn't like cribs that he deemed too "swoopy," meaning with lots of curves. He liked straighter designs.

We ended up with the Brookline crib made by Westwood Baby. We liked the wide, smooth slats, ad the simple, but elegant design. And it just feels strong and sturdy, if you know what I mean. We got it in the Chocolate Mist color.

http://www.westwoodbaby.com/brookline.html

(I'd PIP, but my laptop never seems to want to do that properly, for some reason)

lola808 · April 2010

I browsed Baby Bargains for ideas about cribs and mattresses. I was a bit limited living in HI, since most cribs won't ship here.

We went with the Graco Charleston convertible crib from Target. It was about $180. Price was a big factor for us, because as long as it was safe and sturdy, we really didn't see the point in blowing a ton of money on it. It was easy to assemble, looks classy, and was a great bargain. I'd browsed some specialty baby stores and couldn't really find any other good options under $200.

http://tinyurl.com/2dj8xe8

It is convertible, but I'm not sure we'll use it for that purpose. It's nice to have it as an option, though.

For the mattress, we splurged a little and went with the Colgate Classica I Foam Mattress for about $150 from Amazon. You can read more on it in the BB book.

http://tinyurl.com/265p86c

MrsIH · April 2010

mrspresley:
we didn't get a convertible crib b/c we figure if we have #2 we'll want to use the crib for that baby so miss A can just move into a twin bed hopefully.

Good point with this! Price is also a factor for us too, we don't want to spend a ton of $$ either As long as it's safe I figure we are good to go.

MrsZiz · April 2010

we have a baby italia from BRU. My parents bought it for us. It was around $200, I think. It is a convertible. We bought it because it's not a drop side and we liked the look. We also liked the pieces that go with it (armoire and changing table that turns into a dresser). I figure she'll have it for some time to come. I had my same furniture for about 18 yrs so I'm hoping Bella will have hers for awhile too...

Married2MrWright · April 2010

Our considerations were saftey, value and size/storage. We got the AFG Furniture Athena Daphne 2-in-1 Convertible Crib in White and it fits all of our requirements. I love how well-made and sturdy it is (all solid wood) and all of the storage and the built-in changing station. It does convert to a youth bed and night stand. We didn't want one that converts to a full/queen b/c we want her to have room to play and a bed that big would allow for much empty floor space in her room.

She currently naps in her crib during the day and sleeps w/us overnight. we do plan to have her in her crib by 6-7 months.

Usually the covertibles require a conversion kit that is additional cost and it's recommended to buy them with a crib which means you also need to have the space to store them

myday1708 · April 2010

I was going to get the Graco Lauren in espresso from Target for $150. But it was drop-side and then the warning came out about them. And then DH's grandmother told us she wanted to buy the crib. She used to own a furniture store and so she told us to get a nice solid wood one, not a cheap one.

So....... I fell in love with the Munire Urban, which according to Baby Bargains is a good brand. It cost $700. She gave us $900 total to also cover the mattress and sheets. We got an eco-friendly mattress from Walmart for $150 that was recommended in Baby Bargains. We got organic cotton jersey sheets from Buy Buy Baby. And a breathable bumper from BBB also.

We did NOT get the toddler conversion or the conversion set to make it into a full-size bed. We figure we will use the crib for our next baby and we don't need a bed, we need a crib. Besides, I think kids should sleep in a twin-sized bed, not a full-sized bed anyway.

vanilla15 · April 2010

most of my friends got convertible cribs for their babies, and so far they have all converted them to a toddler bed, but the only one that has kids old enough for a full size (or twin) bed, didn't want to use it. She said after all those years of being a crib & then toddler bed, they just weren't in the best shape so she decided to just get new "big boy" beds for them!

(just fyi...)

liubride510 · April 2010

We had difficulty with this as well. I wanted a solid wood crib that was convertible since we don't plan on having another baby. My MIL offered to purchase the the crib and I found the Baby Italia Eastside crib and BRU in white. It wasn't cheap nor really expensive and I liked the design. Baby Italia received good reviews overall i Baby Bargains and the crib itself received positive reviews on the BRU websit. BRU also had a sale if you turned in an old car seat, crib, etc you received 25% off. SInce my MIL babysits for a living we were able to take advantage of the deal. HTH

MrsNJSwimmer · April 2010

We wanted something solid wood that was convertible. We went with the baby's dream serenity crib recommended in baby bargains.

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