Crib shopping advice

almendarez

I'm starting to shop for a crib but have no idea where to start.  Maybe you can help me out:

- What crib do you have?

- Where did you buy it and about how much did you spend?

- Do you love it, hate it, meh?

- Do you have any advice?

Sorry if this is a repeat discussion, I did a search for "crib" and got 117 results!

LindsayDesigner

We have this crib, the Sundvik from IKEA. https://m.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/art/30248575/
It was $119, I think the mattress was just as much. Both were gifts from DH's family. $238 for the crib and mattress was reasonable and they have held up pretty well for the past 17 months. We'll buy another IKEA crib for this baby, probably a different color.

As far as sheets go I have a set from IKEA that are fine. I bought a crib sheet from HomeGoods. I can't remember the brand but it wasn't much.

lellymine

Check out Babies R Us online. They have a lot of reviews on their cribs.

Mztwilson

I bought one of those 3 in 1 cribs and I love it! We now have it set up as a toddler bed. I think we spent 250 on it. We have had it about 3 years so I can't remember off the top of my head what it's called.

chaysefaith

We haven't purchased our crib yet, but this is what we are getting: https://mobile.walmart.com/m/phoenix#ip/Graco-Lauren-4-in-1-Convertible-Fixed-Side-Crib-BONUS-Mattress-Value-Bundle-Your-Choice-of-Finish/21014097?type=shop-by-department


My only advice might vary from person to person. For us it's a pretty much a requirement to make sure it's a convertible crib so we're not turning around and spending money on a bed in a few years. And if you go with a convertible (even if you don't) make sure you protect it from teething!! I didn't learn my lesson with my oldest so both girls were like little beavers chewing on their cribs. This time we will definitely be getting the guards to keep them from chewing on the wood.

nunzchucks

We have this: https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2932217 We loved it so much, we got another for this LO.

flerlgirl

I have this one: https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11888739&cp=2255986.3252292.4379466&parentPage=family

I like it; the changing table being attached is awesome because we didn't have a ton of room and needed the top of the dresser for other things. It's $350. My only advice is to not overspend - go for safety and something that looks purdy, and after that everything is just a bonus. Baby will not care. Although my child does like to lick the side of his crib so I guess get one that tastes good. I recommend licking all the cribs in BRU to see which one is best. 

BabyCurtiss2014

For those that are STM would you recommend a convertible crib for a FTM? What about when the 2nd baby arrives, do you buy a new crib? I always thought you would re-use the nursery from first baby and buy new stuff for growing child? We are about to start shopping so I need all the advice I can get! I'm 32 now, so pretty much planing (God willing) to get preggo again within a year of giving birth. Thanks!!!

chaysefaith

BabyCurtiss2014 said:

For those that are STM would you recommend a convertible crib for a FTM? What about when the 2nd baby arrives, do you buy a new crib? I always thought you would re-use the nursery from first baby and buy new stuff for growing child? We are about to start shopping so I need all the advice I can get! I'm 32 now, so pretty much planing (God willing) to get preggo again within a year of giving birth. Thanks!!!

We're going convertible. Beds are expensive!! I would rather buy a new crib for each kid than a new twin or full sized bed.

BabyCurtiss2014

SNLT1012 said:

BabyCurtiss2014 said:

For those that are STM would you recommend a convertible crib for a FTM? What about when the 2nd baby arrives, do you buy a new crib? I always thought you would re-use the nursery from first baby and buy new stuff for growing child? We are about to start shopping so I need all the advice I can get! I'm 32 now, so pretty much planing (God willing) to get preggo again within a year of giving birth. Thanks!!!

We're going convertible. Beds are expensive!! I would rather buy a new crib for each kid than a new twin or full sized bed.

@SNLT1012 that's a good point! My friend said that if you go that route to go ahead and buy everything you will need, bc a lot of the time the products get discontinued.

gregsgurl81304

We spent around 1600 on my son's crib, convertible attachments, mattress, and dresser. We really wanted something that was solid, and real wood.  We bought it at a furniture store, and my advice would be if you are thinking of buying a convertible crib. Then I highly suggest buying all the attatchments when you get the crib. That way you won't have to worry about your crib being discontinued in the future and not being able to get the attachments when you need them.

In this case we will be purchasing a new crib set for this baby.

Rosebud2587

We bought a convertible crib at a boutique. We spent around $300 on it. Right now DD is using it as a toddler bed. We plan on putting the crib in the new baby's room once the baby is about 6m and get bunk beds or something for DD's room.

owlcup

We bought one from Target. I believe it was around 130. The mattress was around 80. Its also a convertible. Be sure to buy any conversion kits to make it a full size bed now though as they might get discontinued.

All the other furniture in the kids' rooms were stuff we already had or given from family members.

We'll probably get the same crib and hope we know someone giving away a dresser. :P

FutureMrsW9

We haven't purchased a crib yet, but we're currently in the midst of our search, as well.  We were told up to 20 weeks for delivery at some places, so we need to get a move on it!  I'm leaning toward Sorelle and Lusso cribs....it's what I keep being drawn to when we go to the stores.  There are a few Young America cribs, too, but I don't like the look of these as much, but they are a bit better in quality.  You should get the Baby Bargains book.  They have a section that reviews all of the crib brands and big stores (i.e. Buy Buy Baby and Babies R Us) and gives them grades - it's a great resource even to just get a feel for the different brands that are out there and where to look.  At the end they even have a Good, Better, Best summary where they give their opinion.  We're looking at a budget of around $2,000-2,500k for the whole nursery, which will include crib, mattress, dresser w/changing pad, glider/rocker, rug, bookcase, and a lamp or two.  The cribs I'm looking at are all in the $500-800 range.  They're good higher mid-range quality but not top of the top.  If you look at smaller "mom-and-pop" baby stores, they'll tend to give you better deals if you purchase items together (i.e. if you purchase a crib/dresser set) because they know the bigger stores take coupons and whatnot.  One store even agreed to give us an extra 5% discount, which almost wipes out the tax, if we pay in cash.  You have to ask about that, though, which DH did, otherwise they may not think to offer it.

chickpea912

We have the Pali Emilia crib - it was a gift from DH's aunt and grandma, so I'm not sure how expensive it is, although I'm sure it was more than $500.  It is a convertible crib, but we didn't buy the conversion kit, so when DD moved to a bed, we bought a simple toddler bed at Target for $80 and used her crib mattress.  She will likely continue using that bed until she's old enough for the loft bed we received as a hand me down, but we will have to buy another crib mattress.

We didn't buy any matching furniture - we did buy the 8 drawer Hemnes dresser from Ikea and got a hand me down glider from friends.

LegalLadyBug

We spent about $130 on a Graco Lauren and mattress from Wal Mart with DD. She used it for almost 2 years. It's held up well, no complaints. We'll be using it this time around too.

ETA: it's convertible but DD would not sleep in it as a toddler bed. She still saw it as a crib and the novelty of getting out whenever she wanted was too much for her. We ended up getting a twin bed and she uses that no problem. So, convertible was pointless for us.

lucreciac

SNLT1012 said:

For those that are STM would you recommend a convertible crib for a FTM? What about when the 2nd baby arrives, do you buy a new crib? I always thought you would re-use the nursery from first baby and buy new stuff for growing child? We are about to start shopping so I need all the advice I can get! I'm 32 now, so pretty much planing (God willing) to get preggo again within a year of giving birth. Thanks!!!

We're going convertible. Beds are expensive!! I would rather buy a new crib for each kid than a new twin or full sized bed.

This! We have a convertible and I'm so glad we do. I love our furniture, for Charlie we have the Munire Belize set.

https://www.munirefurniture.com/products-page/belize-collection/

We bought the bed, the bookshelf and the dresser (changing pad on top). Honestly it was pricey but it lasts forever (my friend got Munire for her 4 year old and it's still in perfect shape) We were lucky and found a regular furniture store that carried it, and they cut us a deal for paying in cash, so that was helpful. My advice is to order early, and to buy the toddler rail/conversion kit when you buy the crib. A friend of mine waited and then her crib was discontinued and she couldn't get it.

AngelaMorrison

I went low budg :-) Inexpensive non-convertible crib, when #2 was close to due, we moved #1 (about 20months) to a twin mattress, not in the actual twin bed yet just put the mattress on the floor. Didn't have to worry as much about her falling out of bed, was only 12" up haha. Once she got older we put mattress on its bad frame. When #2 was ready to be out of crib I moved her to twin bed. Didn't bother with toddler beds. Maybe a bit redneck but it worked for us lol

Mrs_D_in_KY

We used a convertible crib for when my almost 4 year old was little, but never converted it. We stuck him in a full size mattress and box spring on his bedroom floor with guards on both sides.

We will get the crib out for this LO soon. We bought our crib + mattress for around $300 at Burlington Coat Factory.

sarah_beth2005

DH and I picked out a Westwood crib, it runs for $400 on Amazon/Target.  It's a convertible, so we'll pay for the toddler rail and conversion kit, too.  All times two, since we're having twins.  We're also getting 2 dressers, so each kid will have a matching dresser in a few years when they transition out of the toddler bed conversion into full size beds, and move into separate bedrooms.  All in all, by the time we purchase crib mattresses, we've budgeted $2500 total for furniture.  We already have a glider, and we're just going to put a changing pad on top of one of the dressers.  We may watch local auctions for a nice low bookcase to put in the nursery as well.

arekeweg

In case you didn't know, any crib sold new must conform to the latest safety standards. Therefore, if you buy a $100 crib or a $1,000 crib, they must meet these standards. Knowing the baby is safe at any crib price is priceless!

skyview222

SNLT1012 said:

We haven't purchased our crib yet, but this is what we are getting: https://mobile.walmart.com/m/phoenix#ip/Graco-Lauren-4-in-1-Convertible-Fixed-Side-Crib-BONUS-Mattress-Value-Bundle-Your-Choice-of-Finish/21014097?type=shop-by-department My only advice might vary from person to person. For us it's a pretty much a requirement to make sure it's a convertible crib so we're not turning around and spending money on a bed in a few years. And if you go with a convertible (even if you don't) make sure you protect it from teething!! I didn't learn my lesson with my oldest so both girls were like little beavers chewing on their cribs. This time we will definitely be getting the guards to keep them from chewing on the wood.

$150 for crib and mattress is a great price.  It is a cute crib.  Makes me think I will shop around a bit more before I go for the $300 one I am eyeing.  Thanks for the advice about the rail guards. 

chaysefaith

Yeah, my thinking is to get them a crib that will last them a while. Get them new beds in middle school maybe, but until then there's no reason a convertible crib can't last that long!

crestedlady

We got our son the Spice Crib from Baby's Dream (https://www.babysdream.com/ViewItem.aspx?pid=153).  I really like the crib and the other furniture we bought with it - it's all very sturdy, looks great in his room, and should last him until he is ready to go to college as it converts to a queen size bed.  We bought it and a few other pieces of furniture from the set from a local boutique during one of their sales, but it was still fairly expensive.  The crib itself, I believe, retails somewhere around $700 right now.

We will need to buy another crib since our son is still young, and since I don't want to have the beds match each other, I want to get the Nottingham Crib (also by Baby's Dream/also convertible to a queen size) next.  I plan on getting the same finish (Espresso) as the other crib and just splitting the other furniture we've already bought (double dresser with hutch, dresser, and nightstand) between our son and the baby for the time being.  Eventually, I hope to get a piece or possibly two from the Nottingham set and redistribute the furniture so that they each have a bit more storage besides their closet space, but we'll see.

Other than the previously mentioned recommendation to go with a convertible crib, you might ask the retailer how long it will take to receive your crib once it is ordered.  Depending on what crib you decide on and which retailer you go with, it can take weeks or even months to receive it and any other furniture you might also order.