Cribs Cribs everywhere what to look for?

lightningrod

Hi I have been researching cribs and am tossed between a convertible one that converts to a bed later on in life as well as brands etc. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

LittleFish1

First decide how much you have for a budget. My opinion on the converts .... going to a toddler bed is great, however will the special rail that matches crib be available in a year plus when you convert? Will the full or double bed actually fit in LOs room? if no, there is no point in paying extra for that "feature" which you wouldn't use. The few cribs that convert to twins were beyond what I was willing to pay when I was looking. If you're planning on more than one child, would spacing be close enough that you'd want them to pass crib onto younger sibling, or would the plan be to buy another?

Finally, a child teeths & gnaws on the crib in many cases so the finish may take a beating / not be so nice in two plus years. The toddler's decor taste is also different than a pre-teen. I figure will us my LOs crib as toddler bed & then will be done with it.

AKB090609

I'm all for the crib being just a crib for many reasons. If you plan on having more than one child you can just move the older child to a bed and reuse the crib. I know that my taste changes and the things I look for in furniture are different now than before DD was born.

MommyAtty

I have 2 Graco convertibles and really love them both. We have the Lauren for the one we are currently expecting and a Charleston for DD. (Note: She is 19 mos and loves her crib. And it is still sturdy and beautiful.). Both in the $120 range, so quite affordable, even if we don't convert all the way to a full-sized bed.

hollygb22

i think its a catergory where you spend a decent amount of money and rationalize with the theory that it's a nice piece of furniture that your child will use for years and years.

For us, I knew I wouldn't use if for years and year. I knew it would probably get nicked, dented, chewed on and who knows what else.

I just wanted something sturdy, with moderately good reviews and not alot of money. for DD I wanted something a little more modern looking..we went with the Olivia Mod crib off of Walmart. Friends had it and we saw it in person.

For #2, we bought the Graco Lauren crib. DD #1's crib has a couple bite marks in it and I'm so glad I didn't sucuumb to my mom's pressure to buy a "real" crib as she put.

If they use them as toddler beds and we convert them into big girl beds one day..great..if not and they get destroyed...I'm glad I didn't waste over 1k on a matching crib, bureau, etc...but just my reasoning!

dmurrie

IMO, definitely get one that converts to a toddler bed. Granted, you can find a lot of cheap toddler beds at garage sales, but then the crib is just laying around, and the ones that don't convert at all aren't any cheaper.

As PP said, if you want it to convert to a regular bed, it will convert a the way up to a full-size! There are brands out there that don't need special expensive rails to convert bigger but that will use a regular metal bed frame (and then the back of the crib is used as a head board... in these cases, there is no footboard to the bed.)

ss265

If you do plan to convert, I would purchase the kit to convert at the time your purchase the crib. A sales associate at BRU once told me that manufacturers usually make the convertible kit up to two years after a crib is discontinued but I wouldn't take the chance if I knew for sure that I wanted to convert it.

 

FWIW, we will probably buy the kit to convert to a full size bed - I love my crib furniture and would love to use it in a teenager's room someday.

=Lee=B

I have 5 cribs here for my daycare kids.  For me it was important that the crib has the ability to work as a toddler bed with just taking one side off (needs that support beam across the crib).  This way I can convert to toddler beds when they are ready but easily put the side back on if they start fooling around and show they are no longer ready.

I also noticed, in having 5 different cribs that they come in very different heights.  So if you are rather short then keep this in mind and stick to a brand that sits low to the ground (Ikea).

Of all the people I know with convertible cribs I've yet to know a family that has used this.  They chew up the rails...and by the time they are ready for a big bed parents typically want a new room set.  Both ways can be done on the same budget so I don't think the convertibles are really that great a feature.  I also find they look rather odd as a double bed.  Something about the head and foot boards just doesn't look right as a double bed.