standard vs. convertible crib

melissajoy · February 2010

I am going crib shopping this afternoon and am so confused-what are the pros and cons?

I realize w/ a convertible yo can use it for a longer time and would probably make more sense if planning only to have one.....

leigh517 · February 2010

we got a convertible simply because we liked it better, and it was not much more expensive than just a crib. If we try it and decide that the conversion part is not a great solution for the child, and we have another one later, we will buy just a crib then and use this as a guest bed.

Mrs_Springbride · February 2010

we got a convertible crib. more bang for the buck

plus, we felt they are made better, since they are meant to last longer.

amberose83 · February 2010

When I was crib shopping with my first I was totally confused but then I just based it on which crib I found to be the prettiest. Maybe that's not the best was to go about it but with all the overwhelming choices I gave up and picked the one that looked the nicest, which turned out to be a convertible crib anyway. I'm using the same crib for this baby since my daughter is just about ready for her big girl bed so I don't even know if i'll use the other features is has (toddler bed and full size bed). Good luck!

knedell · February 2010

We are planning to have several children so for us it made more sense to get a well made standard crib that cost less than a convertible. We figured that when this baby is old enough to move to his big boy bed that we would buy him a twin bed and likely have another baby to put in the crib sooon enough. Also, I don't like the look of a lot of the convertibles. I think it comes down to budget and personal preference.

Shell24 · February 2010

I think the main issue is that a convertible crib does not have a drop side. So that may be the final decision maker for a lot of people, even though I don't see it as a big deal.

By the time you lower the mattress to the lowest setting, the baby is pulling up and would normally be standing for you to pick them up, and leaning over to put them down is not a big deal. Even though my DD is almost 2, I still lay her down in the crib and can lean over the front rail massively pregnant!

We'll be using the baby furniture as baby furniture through all our kids (we still want one more) and the last baby will get it turned into a bed and grow up with that furniture.

carrotcake06 · February 2010

I think that convertible cribs are a way for the baby furniture industry to sell a higher-end product for a lot of money by convincing parents they can use it for a long time.

These high-end, convertible cribs last a long time, but we're told not to use an old crib, so a convertible crib is the solution: you'll use it for a long time so it's worth it to spend the money.

Personally, I don't buy it. I don't think my kid's going to want to sleep in what used to be his crib when he's 16. Tastes change, people change, situations change. I can't plan that far ahead.

However, I've found it difficult to find a good non-convertible crib since the vast majority of people prefer them.

shortstuff15 · February 2010

Shell24:

I think the main issue is that a convertible crib does not have a drop side. So that may be the final decision maker for a lot of people, even though I don't see it as a big deal.

By the time you lower the mattress to the lowest setting, the baby is pulling up and would normally be standing for you to pick them up, and leaning over to put them down is not a big deal. Even though my DD is almost 2, I still lay her down in the crib and can lean over the front rail massively pregnant!

We'll be using the baby furniture as baby furniture through all our kids (we still want one more) and the last baby will get it turned into a bed and grow up with that furniture.

This is what we are doing, and our convertible has a drop side, but I'm short and can barely get something over the crib rail now with the mattress on the highest setting, so a drop side was absolutely necessary for us. We didn't buy a convertible on purpose, it was just the one we liked the most and was the crib type and color we wanted.

gypsywitch · February 2010

I like the convertible cribs because you only ( in theory) have to buy one sleeping situation for your kid ever. It goes from crib, to toddler, to double. The cons...some cribs you have to buy a conversion kit in order for it to convert thats another $100+ dollars, and you have to rememebr to save all the pieces and directions...

ETA: You also canot pass the crib onto subsequent kids, so with every kid you have, you have to buy another crib...

Shell24 · February 2010

dhviel:

This is what we are doing, and our convertible has a drop side,

Really? Which brand do you have? When we were researching furniture before my DD was born I didn't think they had them, and that was a big issue. That's great if they've made that improvement...when you use the front as a footboard will it have any hardware or anything because of the dropside? I'm intrigued LOL

erinkate23 · February 2010

We got a convertible, but only because we liked it. We found the convertible cribs to be the same price as the standard ones. The one we got converts to a toddler bed but not to a full size.

It was on mega-sale at BRU for $189 and came with a free changing table. We couldn't see a good reason to spend a fortune on a crib when they all have to meet the same safety standards.

The only must was that we would not consider a crib with drop sides (because of all the recent safety problems).

DreamsBride411 · February 2010

We went with a convertible because we spent a good amount of money on LO's furniture anticipating that it's going to be her forever set. I'm into buying quality that lasts a looooong time.

RadicalDreamer143 · February 2010

gypsywitch:
I like the convertible cribs because you only ( in theory) have to buy one sleeping situation for your kid ever. It goes from crib, to toddler, to double. The cons...some cribs you have to buy a conversion kit in order for it to convert thats another $100+ dollars, and you have to rememebr to save all the pieces and directions...

ETA: You also canot pass the crib onto subsequent kids, so with every kid you have, you have to buy another crib...

Our "plan" for our convertible crib is to use it for all three kids - except that the third one would be using the conversion options, and the older (or different gender) two would get new, but twin (possibly bunk) beds. The two rooms we have for children - one is standard 12x14ish, so that child would get the converted crib and his/her own room, and the other two would be sharing a ginormous room (currently our nursery) - decent tradeoff I think.

Madison789 · February 2010

My husband and I still use his kiddie bedroom set in our house, all these years later. It is solid wood furniture with a few clipper ships carved into a few pieces, so we use it as furniture for the guest bedroom, and decorated the room with a nautical/pirate theme. He's always been really thankful to have that furniture in his life - used it through college and grad school as his bedroom set. He had real furniture when everyone he knew had to make due with crap from Target and beds on the floor (or just a metal bedframe). He really wanted our girl to have her own bedroom set that she could use forever, and take with her when she moves out of the house.

So we bought a very traditional-style set with a convertable crib, and all the conversion pieces. It converts to a very attractive full-size bed with head and foot-board, that won't every really go out of style. Of course, we also plan to not have more kids (one, and we're done!!) so this works well for our particular situation. If you plan on having more, you would have to decide if you plan on buying the next also their own bedroom set, or would they have to share a room, or would you prefer to buy a set for them when they're a bit older and can choose for themselves?

I think most drop-sided cribs have been recalled due to them not being safe, btw. If you see one at a store, you should probably avoid it.

Shell24 · February 2010

gypsywitch:

ETA: You also canot pass the crib onto subsequent kids, so with every kid you have, you have to buy another crib...

What are you talking about?

You mean once you've converted it to a toddler/full bed, right? Not just in general?

StrawberryAlarmClock · February 2010

We noticed that with the price we were willing to pay, the convertible cribs were made of a cheaper wood and probably would not look too nice after a few years, so we went with a non-convertible. Also, we're team blue and DH really wants to get LO a racecar bed when he's a toddler. LOL

shortstuff15 · February 2010

Shell24:
dhviel:

This is what we are doing, and our convertible has a drop side,

Really? Which brand do you have? When we were researching furniture before my DD was born I didn't think they had them, and that was a big issue. That's great if they've made that improvement...when you use the front as a footboard will it have any hardware or anything because of the dropside? I'm intrigued LOL

We have one of the Storkcraft recalled ones. We bought it brand new and will just watch to make sure the hardware is still in good condition. I never thought about the hardware part, but as I'm thinking about it, if we do convert it, it only has a headboard, not a footboard, and the headboard is the side of the crib that is the non-drop side, so there would be no hardware on it. Since we are planning on more kids though (at least 4 kids total) we won't be using that option for quite some time.

shortstuff15 · February 2010

Shell24:
gypsywitch:

ETA: You also canot pass the crib onto subsequent kids, so with every kid you have, you have to buy another crib...

What are you talking about?

You mean once you've converted it to a toddler/full bed, right? Not just in general?

I have never heard of this..... my parents still have the crib they used on all of us (it went through 4 kids) and it's the crib that my nieces and nephew use(d) when they stay at my parents. What would be wrong with using the crib for more than one kid?

Jennicap · February 2010

We ended up going with a convertible, it is made really well and it looks a lot nicer than most of the standard cribs which seemed flimsy to me. Honestly I don't remember caring what kind of bed or dresser I had growing up so if my kid doesn't like it for some reason then they can sleep on the floor, I wasn't allowed to give imput on what my parents had and it was never an issue, so I don't see that being a problem down the line, its a nice simple design that isn't modern or trendy.

Shell24 · February 2010

dhviel:
Shell24:
gypsywitch:

ETA: You also canot pass the crib onto subsequent kids, so with every kid you have, you have to buy another crib...

What are you talking about?

You mean once you've converted it to a toddler/full bed, right? Not just in general?

I have never heard of this..... my parents still have the crib they used on all of us (it went through 4 kids) and it's the crib that my nieces and nephew use(d) when they stay at my parents. What would be wrong with using the crib for more than one kid?

She didn't clarify, so I'm not sure what she meant, but typically they'll tell you that once you convert the crib to the toddler (just taking off the front) bed and then to the actual full size bed it isn't safe to have it be a crib again.

If you leave it as a crib it's totally fine.

pinkcallalily · February 2010

We went with a standard crib. I don't see us putting our child in a full-size bed after the crib, I would rather use a twin bed. Our standard does convert to a toddler bed & day bed, but not to a full-size bed. To get the convertible crib in the same style as ours it would have been almost $300 more (extra crib cost + conversion kit). I just couldn't justify the cost of that. We plan to use the crib/toddler bed for all of our children and then they will move to a twin size bed (I don't care if they have a headboard/footboard, the frame is fine with me).

shortstuff15 · February 2010

Shell24:
dhviel:
Shell24:
gypsywitch:

ETA: You also canot pass the crib onto subsequent kids, so with every kid you have, you have to buy another crib...

What are you talking about?

You mean once you've converted it to a toddler/full bed, right? Not just in general?

I have never heard of this..... my parents still have the crib they used on all of us (it went through 4 kids) and it's the crib that my nieces and nephew use(d) when they stay at my parents. What would be wrong with using the crib for more than one kid?

She didn't clarify, so I'm not sure what she meant, but typically they'll tell you that once you convert the crib to the toddler (just taking off the front) bed and then to the actual full size bed it isn't safe to have it be a crib again.

If you leave it as a crib it's totally fine.

That's what I thought too..... my parents crib isn't convertible, so it's always been a crib....

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