Experienced Mom's - your opinion on...

ndecker78

Cribs!

I'm starting to narrow down "silly things" like color / style etc.  but have noticed that a lot of new cribs are sporting handy things like drawers underneith the mattress.  Sounds like they would be just the fix for a gal like me with storage and space issues.

ALSO - you opinions on drop down sides, should I only consider cribs with drop down sides for easy access etc.??

TIA!

dionnemd10

we went with a convertible crib-becomes a day bed/toddler bed and then a twin bed.    no drawers under but i did look at those.   we got a drop side because after looking at those with no drop side-i wouldn't have been able to lift baby at the lowest mattress setting etc.   the drop side allowed me to have better access to my child.   i am 5'4" so having the side get lower was very nice

tigergreen

i'm not an experienced mom, but everything i read said the drawers under the mattress are kind of overrated, since they have an open top & dust, etc., can get in there.  i guess if you only put things you don't mind getting a little dusty, or cover them up with plastic or something, it's just a little extra storage!

 

supposedly drop-down sides are bad for baby b/c of the pinched fingers factor, but the way i see that, it was good enough for us...... i wound up not getting a drop down side crib, just because the convertible cribs aren't done that way, but not because of the safety reason.

xnbride

I think storage is always a good thing and I loved the drop down feature on our crib.  It made it so much more comfortable otherwise it is too much of a physical strain getting baby in and out especially if you are on the shorter side.

alicia11780

As for the drawer...I say if the crib has that option go for it.  I personally wouldn't choose a crib based on it alone though.  I would think of it as a bonus rather than a must have.

As for the drop down side...we have a stationary side.  DS's crib is a convertible crib so the side doesn't move except to take it off for the toddler version.  I didn't notice a difference.  I never thought oh I wish I had gotten a drop down sided crib.

dionnemd10

"the convertible cribs aren't done that way"  ours is a convertible and it was made with a drop down side.   it is 3 years old, but if you search i am guessing they are still out there.

franciscaz

You know both of our cribs we have are just basic.  One is convertible and will eventually be Rachel's bed.  My big thing is they have a plastic teething rail cover for both sides.  My son loves chewing on his crib.  Both are drop rail but I hardly use it.

aeg51107

I read (maybe in Baby Bargains) that a lot of crib manufacturers are getting away from the drop-side cribs. When I was at Babies R Us the other day I think I only saw 1 drop-side.

You can adjust the height of the mattress in the convertible cribs if you are shorter.

 

j.h.mommy

We went with a convertible and we love it. The only advice I have is that if you think you will consider trying for #2 while your dc is still using the crib, make sure it has the drop down sides. Ours does not and at 17 weeks it is already really tricky to get ds in and out of it with my belly in the way.

j.h.mommy

aeg*5/11/07:

I read (maybe in Baby Bargains) that a lot of crib manufacturers are getting away from the drop-side cribs. When I was at Babies R Us the other day I think I only saw 1 drop-side.

You can adjust the height of the mattress in the convertible cribs if you are shorter.

 

Yes you can adjust the heaight of the mattress, but at some point your dc will start to stand up, jump, and climb and it will not be safe to have the mattress anywhere but the lowest position. (and once they get to that point they are heavy to lift out)

Harms80

If the crib you like doesn't have a drawer, will you put stuff under the crib anyway?  Then go ahead and get one with a drawer.  You can probably still put a crib skirt on it.  ABSOLUTELY get a crib with drop down sides.  Being able to reach the baby better without hurting your ribs is a major plus. 

I'd advise not to get a crib with a solid wood panel in the back- you can't tie a crib bumper to it safely and after one night of getting limbs stuck through the slats, you'll probably overlook the "bumpers aren't safe for infants" trend and put the bumper on. 

mrsgtobe

We have both types. Both are convertible. One has a drawer that was useful in our old house where we had storage issues, but I honestly dont miss it with our second crib because it is a very shallow drawer and you can't fit a lot of stuff in it.  As for the drop side, I'm 5 ft tall and I prefer not to have the drop side.  I found that as an infant the drop side was not necessary since the mattress was in the highest position and by the time the mattress was in it's lowest position, I would put DD in the crib awake to fall asleep on her own, so I may have used it 5 times EVER!!  The one that does not have the drop side seems to be shorter overall and even with my (lack of) height I've never had a problem getting DD in or out.  And the lack of drop side makes the crib feel a lot more solid since there are no moving parts.  

purlgurl

We have a convertible crib, but never converted it for DD. We just bought her a new bed since the baby will be using the crib soon. Ours does have a drawer and it is a good place to store the extra sheets, but I wouldn't buy a crib based on a drawer. Ours also does not have a drop down side. The ones without seemed sturdier. One thing to consider is that the mattress is up pretty high when they are little, but by the time you lower the mattress, the child will be able to stand in the crib, so you don't have to bend over to pick them up in the morning. I would have never found a need to use the drop down side, but I am on the taller side.?

nikih47

I agree with the above poster, PurlGirl.  We don't have drop down sides or any extra storage.  A convertable crib is what we got. It's a Munire and I love it!  

smurfetteinred

aeg*5/11/07:

I read (maybe in Baby Bargains) that a lot of crib manufacturers are getting away from the drop-side cribs. When I was at Babies R Us the other day I think I only saw 1 drop-side.

You can adjust the height of the mattress in the convertible cribs if you are shorter.

 

There's actually been some very serious talk about banning drop side cribs because of safety concerns. That's one of the reasons that they're getting so hard to find. I'm pretty sure that bru is carrying one drop side crib right now. 

We have a stationary and even when my ds got bigger I had no problem getting him in and out and he's in the 97% for everything so he's not on the light side. Even with my big belly in the way and the crib at the lowest setting I don't have any problems getting him out. 

And we would never have used the drawers because we keep a couple larger items under the crib. We only use our pack n play (well after the nb stage) for travel so it's the perfect place to store it when it's not in use. We have a crib skirt that covers it up. 

lbg832

I think if you have storage and space issues the drawers could come in handy.  When we were shopping for a crib last time I was really against a convertable crib at first.  I didn't think we needed one and I really thought I wanted a drop down side becasue that is what I was used to.  In the end we got a convertiable crib with stationary sides because it was a really nice one that was on clearence. Nothing wrong with it just making room for newer ones.  Honestly, I didn't have any issues with not having the side go down and I really have liked the convertible feature.  It made the trasition from baby bed to bigger bed much easier.