Crib Question

cantobean · September 2015

I've looked at lots of cribs and I think we are going to buy one tomorrow or next weekend. I want to get it done early, because I read some orders take 12 weeks or more to deliver.

Those of you with convertibles--is it really worth it? What makes a "toddler bed" different from just a bed? Is it really important to have before a regular bed?

Those planning to have more than one---why get a convertible if you'll just need to go out and buy a new crib anyway for baby #2?

I ask because my aesthetic tends to align more with simpler, less bulky cribs, and those are usually not convertible. Is it worth it to get a convertible even though they're a little bulky, and even if you're planning for another child down the road?

Edited for spelling.

kshows03 · September 2015

We got a Baby Cache Montana from BRU for our first baby. It sounded like a great idea at first until it's an additional $99 for the toddler rail conversion kit and $199 to make it a full size bed. Looking back I would have as easily just gotten a new bed on Overstock or Wayfair sometimes even cheaper. Go with what you like because the "3 in 1" is still expensive!

jellybellybean3 · September 2015

I'm on the fence on whether or not it was worth it. I actually have two convertibles (my first two are only 14 months apart). And we did use the toddler rail for both of them, so it was very convenient. I'd say if you are planning on going from crib to toddler bed it might be worth it so you don't have to purchase/store a toddler bed, but I know lots of mom's who have just skipped the toddler bed and went to a twin or bigger when baby outgrew crib. I think if I had to do it again I probably wouldn't worry about the convertible unless I fell in love with the crib itself, because I could have definitely done without it.

jellybellybean3 · September 2015

And if you plan on having children where they are spaced far enough apart that you really only need one crib then I'd say the convertible isn't really worth it. I'm not even sure why I bought a second convertible now that I think about it. Probably didn't make a lot of sense.

HandsomeJacksMom · September 2015

We got a convertible crib 4 years ago for our son. We used it as a toddler bed for about 2 weeks then bought a completely new bedroom set when we found out we were expecting again. Will use crib again and prob the toddler bed option in 3 years. However we never got the rails to convert to a full bed. Will be pretty worn by the time baby number 2 is ready for a bed. I'd rather get furniture that they can use for a long time going forward.

CuriousKiddosMama · September 2015

We never bought the conversion kit for ours. We won't ever use it as a toddler bed, but the main difference or what makes it a toddler bed is it has a rail to keep the toddler from falling out the side.
I figured we would never use it as a full size bed because it would be too beat after 2 or 3 kids to bother. Just my 2 cents.
If you do want the conversion kits, buy them at the same time so they don't get discontinued.

SoSirius · September 2015

So a toddler bed is the same size as a crib. You bascially take off one side and attach the little toddler rail. That is smaller than a twin. The 3-1 convertible cribs usually turn into a full size bed but you'd have to buy a frame and mattress anyway so it's just the head and footboard you are using at that point. We're passing on our crib to baby#2 and DS is getting a twin bed for his new room. I don't think we needed the convertible but it buys us a little more time before we have to buy baby#2 a twin bed. We won't use the full size feature. Also, if baby#2 is a boy, we're going to get DS bunk beds and then we really won't be using the convertible features even for a short amount of time.

If you and your H are tall, I suggest getting a crib where the lowest setting is VERY low. It will allow you to keep baby contained as long as possible.

Achae · September 2015

A toddler is same size as crib just the front portion has a railing so they will not fall out. We just transitioned to a toddler portion for our daughter and despite her being a wild sleeper, she hasn't fallen out! I think it is worth the investment (ours was $500) as it will last them until grade school and beyond if you pick up the twin size railings. But I also like the designs of the convertibles because they seem sturdier and not like particle board.

MississippiCatfish · September 2015

My LO turns 3 next week and is still in the crib. I'm glad, even though we haven't transitioned yet, that we have a convertible. I feel like the transition of just taking off one side of the crib, rather than a whole new bed right off the bat, will be a little smoother. But like I said, he doesn't climb out, so we haven't bothered to take him out of the crib yet! One of the most note able points of parenting for me: the less mobile they are, the easier it is;)

SoSirius · September 2015

OMG. So, my son isn't a climber. He can get on the couch but otherwise he's very laid back and chill. He's also shorter for his age (21 months). He's not even at nipple level with the railing (the point at which they suggest you switch to a bed). Welp. Guess who chose tonight to climb/fall out? He literally got his leg on the railing and plopped out. Then he continued to try to do it every time I put him back in. :-O ETA: He has never tried to climb out before tonight. I'm kind of a monitor stalker so I think I would have seen it before tonight if he tried.

ohbaby714 · September 2015

We bought the convertible crib for DD in hopes that we would use it for a toddler bed then full size bed and she would have her bedroom set until she moved out. But now with her only being 20ish months when the baby comes I don't think she will be anywhere ready for the toddler bed yet and I don't want to have to buy another crib. Although we will be having the new baby in our room in the PNP for at least 4-5 months. We also debated on getting another convertible for the new baby so they could have it up until a full size bed.

I wish we would have looked into it a little more before we went for the convertible crib because just the little tiny toddler rail is almost $100 and our entire crib only cost $250.

Does anyone know if you can just not get the toddler rail and still be able to take the one side off? H thinks he can make a rail for it rather than spend that much on something that won't be used for that long.

pettycrocker · September 2015

We had a graco 3 in 1 with my DD, I did convert it to a toddler bed for her for maybe a year before I bought her a separate toddler bed. My only regret was not getting one that came with a toddler rail (i'm looking at one with a toddler rail now) but I liked the 3 in 1 concept. Eventually we will make it a full size bed for her.

MississippiCatfish · September 2015

@ohbaby714 you definitely don't have to buy the fancy rail. You can get ones that just tuck under the mattress for about $20.

@ohsirius I'm sorry:( my son has been able to climb out since about 18 months, so a year and a half, and he's only done it once (maybe twice, but all in that first day). We were very stern with him that it was so unsafe, and he has heeded the warning for some reason! I wish he was always so obedient. It's been almost 18 months since then, and he has yet to do it again. I'm so glad we just waited to see if he'd continue to do it. Might be worth a shot!

AdventureMama · September 2015

The one I liked happen to come with a toddler rail, but I wouldn't have bought it if it hadn't, probably. DS will be two in a few weeks and we haven't switched him yet. He can climb out of the crib but he only does in the mornings when he wakes up, when he's tired enough he stays in there. I'm nervous that if we switch to the toddler rail, he'll be too distracted by just how easy it is to get up when we're trying to get him to go to sleep at night.

Anyway. We'll probably build him a twin bed here soon, since 2.0 will need the crib, so for us it wouldn't have been worth it to buy extra conversion stuff.

ohbaby714 · September 2015

@MississippiCatfish awesome! Thanks! I can't believe how much they charge for a 2ft rail. Insane! That's really good to know, my husband will be very happy

MississippiCatfish · September 2015

ohbaby714 said:
@MississippiCatfish awesome! Thanks! I can't believe how much they charge for a 2ft rail. Insane! That's really good to know, my husband will be very happy

I know. I really want the nice one because they are prettier, but I can't justify it!

ohbaby714 · September 2015

No kidding, it's literally almost half of what our entire crib costs. I'm glad that for ours we don't need to buy anything except the bed frame for the full size, and those are so cheap.

MamaFroFro · September 2015

This is the crib we got for our first. It is super easy to assemble, not bulky, and converts. It's much easier to get a kid used to a "new" bed that's already so familiar so I'm all for it. Then we made the crib into a desk for our 5 yo and now plan on turning it back to a crib for our new baby. Well worth it IMO.

https://www.potterybarnkids.com/m/products/kendall-fixed-gate-crib/?pkey=ccribs&isx=0.20.20

VitaLuna · September 2015

We have a Babyletto Hudson for our first. I'm not a good judge, because she still has never slept in it (a little over 2yrs old), but I can speak to two things.

1) if we loved a crib that wasn't convertible, we would've purchased it. I don't think convertible is THAT important.

2) depending on child spacing, I don't think there'd be an instance where you'd need two cribs. We plan to put DD on a single/twin floor mattress (then put a frame under it, once she gets used to it), and move the crib into LO#2s room.

g8trkim · September 2015

We never used the convertible. DD came when DS was 2 1/2 and we moved him to a twin bed. We moved DD to a twin about 6 months ago and will put the crib back together for this baby.

cantobean · September 2015

@VitaLuna love the idea of the mattress on the floor. My friends' daughter slept in a sleeping bag next to her bed for 3 months because she wasn't ready for the "big girl bed" yet but had outgrown her crib, haha.

brushesnbrunch · September 2015

@cantobean which crib are you looking at?

cantobean · September 2015

@brushesnbrunch No particular one. We've seen about 100 between BBB, BRU, target, and furniture stores. We didn't end up getting one this weekend. We will probably go to the furniture store next Saturday and get one. It's so overwhelming!

brushesnbrunch · September 2015

I know, right!? That's why I like seeing what others buy

dragonfly321 · September 2015

I found one for $119 that I like at IKEA. I'm mainly picking this because we're going up there to get the dresser anyways. It converts to a toddler/day bed, but we will plan on buying an actual bed and using this crib for a second LO, if/whenever that happens.

Katty422 · September 2015

I just bought a book off of Amazon called " Baby Bargins". Heard great things about this book. It just came in yesterday and I have been reading reviews ratings for cribs and everything else. I'm leaning towards Baby Appleseed or DaVinci have been reading great things about these brands. If your having trouble deciding what to put on your registry or where to begin I suggest buying this book. FTM

cantobean · September 2015

Katty422 said:
I just bought a book off of Amazon called " Baby Bargins". Heard great things about this book. It just came in yesterday and I have been reading reviews ratings for cribs and everything else. I'm leaning towards Baby Appleseed or DaVinci have been reading great things about these brands. If your having trouble deciding what to put on your registry or where to begin I suggest buying this book. FTM

Yes! I've been reading that book as well. It's very helpful in a lot of cases, and I'm learning that you get what you pay for with cribs. Looks like we'll be spending a little more than I anticipated on a crib but that's Ok. I want something that will last for baby #2 (DH was leaning toward one baby before I got pregnant, now he is set on two, haha).

We looked at the Appleseed ones and thought I know they are a great brand, they are just aesthetically a little bulky for my taste. We may still get one though.

BabySeaTurtles · September 2015

I probably would have gotten a convertible crib had we not been offered a free crib from a friend who was done with theirs. I am glad it worked out this way because when it was time to move DS to a toddler bed, I found one at Once Upon A Child for $25 that matched everything in his room and that's much cheaper than the conversion kit. When he is ready for a regular bed we have one from the guest room that will be his. So my point is, there are cheaper thrift store options than the conversion kits out there. Plus, I don't have to essentially have two cribs since DS isn't ready to leave his toddler bed. Something to keep in mind if you are planning for more kiddos later down the road.

twinmom1121 · September 2015

We got two convertables for my twins because most of the cribs we had seen were all convertable. We plan on using them as toddler beds once we switch them over. But for us it was either buy two new toddler beds so this baby could use a crib or buy one new crib. So we are just getting a new crib. I probably won't use them past the toddler bed stage because you do have to buy the extra pieces.

Life is Exciting · September 2015

We got a very simple IKEA convertible crib for I believe $119. It is great. Our two-year-old just converted to the toddler bed portion of it. It's nice because it sits only about 6 inches off the ground when converted to a toddler bed as opposed to a twin bed which is much higher off the ground it needs a crib rail for sure. It's easy for him to climb in and out of.

We are getting the same one in the white for our daughter.

Life is Exciting · September 2015

dragonfly321 said:
I found one for $119 that I like at IKEA. I'm mainly picking this because we're going up there to get the dresser anyways. It converts to a toddler/day bed, but we will plan on buying an actual bed and using this crib for a second LO, if/whenever that happens.

We have this one. Love it!

Kimbarbour08 · September 2015

Shoot! I thought the crib we picked out came with the toddler rail but it doesn't . . . back to the drawing board!

Kimbarbour08 · September 2015

Ok I have a question about convertible cribs as well. How important is a toddler guardrail? Because a lot of the ones I'm looking at I can't tell if they do or do not come with one, and I just don't know if they're actually necessary or not. My instincts are telling me I should get a guardrail but I don't know if that's me being overprotective . . . anyone have any suggestions?

dragonfly321 · September 2015

Life Is Exciting--- I'm glad you posted! I've been hoping someone would tell me they loved it

ETA quote fail

Zepplin1218 · September 2015

@Kimbarbour08 I know fisher price sells a toddler rail for around $30 that is plastic that is supposed to fit on most convertible cribs. FTM so I have no experience actually using it but it may be worth looking into.

NoelBird · September 2015

When I Converted my crib when ds was 18 months I didn't use a rail. The crib is low to the ground and I put a few pillows on the floor for a couple weeks. When I moved my Son to a queen at 2.5 I didn't use any guard and he was fine.

Achae · September 2015

Kimbarbour08 said:

Ok I have a question about convertible cribs as well. How important is a toddler guardrail? Because a lot of the ones I'm looking at I can't tell if they do or do not come with one, and I just don't know if they're actually necessary or not. My instincts are telling me I should get a guardrail but I don't know if that's me being overprotective . . . anyone have any suggestions?

Honestly that will depend on every child! My daughter is a wild sleeper and the guard rail has so far kept her from falling out. When we have had to use cots while away she has rolled out and ended up sleeping on the ground under the cot. The crib we chose doesn't have that long of a guard rail compared to some I've seen (ours seems to be 1/3 vs. the 2/3 I have seen in pictures).

graceinchaos · September 2015

@MamaFroFro that's the crib we have. Glad to see someone IRL likes it! I love how simple it is, and that it's such a nice piece of furniture (lol the baby has nicer stuff than DH and I). Looking forward to using it

SgtLou2 · September 2015

Get what makes you happy. We got a convertible crib with DD. First thing: the toddler conversion piece is $99 and a total of eight small slats of wood. Immediately returned that because it wasn't worth the $$. I figured that we could just use those safety railings that you can attach to a twin bed at a much lower cost. Second, I thought that my kids would be spread out a bit so that DD would use it as a toddler bed for a bit before #2 arrived. Well, they will be closer in age than originally anticipated. So, current plan: I bought DD a used toddler bed and matress for $40 and #2 will get the crib. *If* the crib is still in good condition when #2 is ready for the toddler bed, then I will convert the crib to a full bed and give it to DD and #2 will get the/a toddler bed. We had plans, they changed, but at least we're using the same crib twice instead of spending a lot of money on two of them. So, buy what makes you happy and you'll make it work out in the future if/when you have another one.

brushesnbrunch · September 2015

I think I've settled on this crib: https://www.wayfair.com/Storkcraft-Mission-Ridge-Fixed-Side-Convertible-Crib-KD1966.html?piid[0]=11318461

MamaFroFro · September 2015

graceinchaos said:
@MamaFroFro that's the crib we have. Glad to see someone IRL likes it! I love how simple it is, and that it's such a nice piece of furniture (lol the baby has nicer stuff than DH and I). Looking forward to using it

I talk it up all the time that's how much I love it!

our son has nicer stuff than us too. I rarely spend on myself but when it comes to him I always want to get him the nice stuff

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