Product Spotlight: Cribs, sleep surfaces

cato99 · January 2019

Happy Monday! We'll be tackling lots of baby furniture and gear over the next few months, but one of the major focus points of the nursery is the CRIB! So let's start there!

Many people find themselves with a million different sleep surfaces, e.g.: a bedside bassinet for when they're itty bitty, a sturdy crib (which may or may not convert to a toddler bed down the road) for their nursery, travel cribs, a Pack and Play for other areas in the house, a portable sleep surface like dock a tot for putting baby in random spots, and we want to hear about them ALL! Do you like all the bells and whistles like a SNOO? Or perhaps just the minimalist dream of the Finnish Baby in A Cardboard Box tradition? Please share!

(And generally this is a lighthearted space to share cute baby products, but this is a good time and place to share this page linked by the American Academy of Pediatrics on safe sleep habits for babies).

Prior and Upcoming Product Spotlights

BigBadWolf12 · January 2019

We got an ikea crib (sundvik style https://m.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/art/30248575/ ) and it's been great. It fits through a door way (barely) so I assembled it in the nursery and breathed a sigh of relief when I could move it into our bedroom so we could room share for the first while. He slept in his crib from the first night home from the hospital and it was great to not have transition issues later.

Ours has solid ends (as opposed to bars all the way around) which I highly recommend. Fewer bars and openings for limbs to get stuck, pacifiers to fall through, etc.

It does convert to a toddler bed but we haven't done that conversion yet.

*Question* would you buy another convertible crib or just buy a bed for an almost-2-year-old sibling? Whatever is cheapest? I haven't decided what to do yet.

elizabeth_1985 · January 2019

@BigBadWolf12 I put my DD into a regular twin bed at 19 months old. (She was crawling out of her crib.) We bought a guard rail thing and has worked fine.

olivemomma · January 2019

Oh sleep. The ultimate life changer of having a baby. First off, I think you will find many good responses as what works for one family/baby will not work for another. This is what worked well for us...

For the first few months our kiddos slept in our room in which you will probably want some alternative sleep space from the crib. We used both a rock n play (splurge and get the self rocking option) and pack n play. Both worked well, each baby will respond to different sleeping arrangements differently. We also own a podster - probably my number 1 must have! It’s like a dock a tot but has been around longer and has a little more of an incline. Both of my kids loved it and slept amazingly in it. I buy it as a gift for my pregnant friends weather they register for it or not, they all end up using it and loving it. Great to haul around the house with you, can go on the floor, or even in the pack n play. WHen we traveled and they were still itty bitty we would just bring this along for them to sleep in. I seriously LOVE this thing and it’s way more affordable than the doc a tot.

For a crib we also did an ikea with a pretty basic mattress from Amazon, both my kids slept fine without breaking the bank or getting a mattress with different levels of firmness. It converts to a toddler bed which is what we currently use.

@BigBadWolf12 I absolutely would not buy another convertible crib. You can probably convert the bed in the next couple of months and I would think they will be ready for a regular bed by the time the baby comes or shortly after. I’m sure you could keep them in the convertible for a while after the baby but come 3 or so they are going to be ready for a big kid bed anyway so why make the extra investment for such a short use? My oldest went into a regular twin bed a few months before she was 3. DS turns 3 in April, he’s still in the convertible but we will get him a regular bed soon. You can always put rails if you are nervous about it.

EmilyA724 · January 2019

I'm only 5'2 so finding a "low profile" crib was essential. We went with this one and loved it, converted to a toddler bed for DD, and will use it for the new LO as DD is now in a full-bed.
https://www.deltachildren.com/products/tribeca-4-in-1-crib-whitegrey

I will say, I was at IKEA recently, and they had a ton of cute "low profile" cribs, so they might be more common than they were when I first bought mine in 2014.

thirdtimesacharm2019 · January 2019

@BigBadWolf12 I would go ahead and transition your big kid into a regular bed if you think they are ready. DS2 was an attempted crib jumper/ climber at around 18 months (with the mattress all the way down). We tried the three sided crib option (with just the front off) and he kept rolling out. We ended up putting his crib mattress on the floor until we felt he was ready for a twin, then started with that on the floor, then added box springs, and eventually rails. The mattress on the floor looks a little crude, but I believe it was safest in our situation.

wanderlustsoul · January 2019

Any thoughts on chicco next2me vs halo bassinet? I lean more to halo bassinet but need to figure if sold here and/or how to get it.

aukeev · January 2019

We went with the Babyletto Hudson crib and we have a moses basket and stand I'm pretty sure I want to use as a bassinet. Has anyone else actually had your baby sleep in a moses basket overnight, or just for naps?

database6 · January 2019

I want to get a bedside bassinet/cosleeper but didn’t use one with my first. Any suggestions?

I used my DDs convertible crib but kind of wish we had just transitioned her sooner. She was 5 before we took the rails off of her twin, and I think it was a little later than most because we transitioned her so slowly. We are using the same crib for this baby though, which can technically be a twin too. I will still transition from crib to toddler bed, just a little sooner this time I think. We will see, all just depends on the LO.

cato99 · January 2019

@oklahomak I used something that looked just like this very basic moses basket/stand set-up (hand-me-down) in our room for everything, both naps and overnight, until DD outgrew it at like 3ish months. I took the bumpers off according to safe sleep recommendations. Often I would lift the basket out of the stand and put it on the bed so I could reach her more easily.

When she outgrew the moses basket we weren't ready yet to transition her to her room and big crib, and we didn't have room for a full sized Pack n Play, so we got this great smaller Graco Travel Crib. When we finally moved her to her room and we didn't need it anymore, we used it as a travel crib and eventually left it at my FIL's for us to use there.

The crib in her nursery/bedroom is this huge sturdy thing that was a hand-me-down. It's some weird imported French brand and the mattress is a size between a regular crib size and a twin mattress, so it will work well to convert to a toddler bed (unless we get DD a big girl bed when this baby comes and have him/her take over that crib).

Downstairs in the living room we had this Graco Pack n Play with a bassinet and a changing table (I'm sure there are newer versions). She napped in that bassinet all day as a little baby, and we took the bassinet insert out when she outgrew it. We actually kept using the changing table portion until she was 18 months.

We also have this travel pod, but we haven't used it--my cousin used it with her 2-month-old when she came to visit me and gave it to me as a hand-me-down. Hotel travel tip: obviously you want to call ahead and confirm, but I have never stayed in a hotel that didn't have a crib or Pack n Play available if asked, both in the States and in Europe.

sourlemon · January 2019

We've bought furniture sets for all the kids which included the 4 in 1 cribs. Currently dd1 (4.5) has hers set up as a full bed and dd2 (2) has hers set up as a toddler bed. I may be in the minority but think the 4 in 1s are a great thing. Dd1s was from Costco. Dd2s was a davinci set from Amazon, and this baby is getting a set from Costco. The quality of the Costco stuff is great.

Also both kids slept nights in the rock n play or pack n play in our bedroom for 4 months, only napping in the crib. The self rocking rock n play is the best! We had a normal one from dd1 but bought the fancy one for dd2 (they weren't an option for dd1). I'm a horrible mom and both my kids had many naps in the swing. Desperation and all...

grangerhp37 · January 2019

@cato99 Any suggestions for sheets for the Graco Travel Crib? It looks like exactly what I want for our bedroom - smaller than a normal pack n play, but baby won’t outgrow it in less than 3 months. I can’t find sheets online and everyone else on the internet seems to have the same issue.

Twinkiedoll · January 2019

@dogmomma096 Have you tried the American Baby sheets? https://www.amazon.com/American-Baby-Company-Mini-Crib-Breathable/dp/B000O7WOEY/

That's what I bought for our BabyBjorn travel crib. It's not a perfect fit (slightly loose) but works for us.

cato99 · January 2019

@dogmomma096 I forgot about that issue! I think I’ve used random big pillowcases before, actually! The bottom “mattress” part comes out and is just a thin padded board, and you can slip a king pillowcase over it. And what @Twinkiedoll suggests is worth looking into too!

Allycat11 · January 2019

I definitely agree with above that what works for one family/baby will not work for another. Here is what worked for us.

With DD I said I would NEVER cosleep, then I brought home my very needy baby who refused to sleep without a boob in her mouth for many many months. She slept right in our bed with us, while keeping an awareness of our pillows and blankets. With DS at first I planned to basically cosleep as needed. Thankfully he liked to nurse to sleep but would push off once he was out and could often be transitioned to a rock and play. That rock and play was a game changer for us. Both kids also napped in their baby swing/bouncer a bit at first.

In the nursery we had the same Graco convertible crib for both kids. We converted it to a toddler bed for each of them around 1.5-2years and then bought them a twin bed around age 3. DS will be 3 in April and we plan to transition him before baby gets here, we just have a ton of work to do before then.

BigBadWolf12 · January 2019

Thanks for the suggestions

I've thought of doing mattress on floor to transition. He's 16 months now and shows no signs of being ready for a bed. I'm nervous hell all of a sudden be ready for a bed when the baby comes lol. We are traveling all of June, so maybe July will be our "transition to a bed" summer challenge. Thanks!

EmilyA724 · January 2019

Has anyone used a baby hammock that goes in the crib? We will be sleeping in the nursery with LO because it is cooler in there than our bedroom, and I was thinking of skipping the bassinet and getting a hammock.

mkrel · January 2019

If anyone plans to be doing a lot of traveling (by air) I HIGHLY recommend the Lotus Travel crib + bassinet. It has been on 18 flights with us. You can check it or carry it on. It is lighter weight than a pack and play. My daughter sleeps well in it. It is super easy to set up/take down and it has held up well. You can only use it as the bassinet OR pack n play/crib set up at once, so if you are going to be using it as the bassinet for the first 6 months I would recommend getting a pack and play too to have sitting around the house. I never used a second one, but I know people like to have them out in the living room. Also, the bassinet is a decent size so baby won't grow out of that part quickly like some others. Just wanted to throw this out there because it was one of our best baby purchases.

aukeev · January 2019

@cato99 That's very similar to the moses basket and stand I have! I hadn't even thought about them already outgrowing after just a couple of months. I'm glad you mentioned that! I think we have room for a pack and play in our room, we'll just have to do a little bit of rearranging.

@BigBadWolf12 The floor beds seem to be gaining a lot of steam!

@EmilyA724 I hadn't ever seen one of those until the FB ads started blowing up my feed a few weeks ago, but they're so interesting! Let us know if you decide to go with that!

mrosek91 · January 2019

Both my sons spent approximately the first year of their life in a pack 'n' play. DS#1 because we lived in a tiny apartment, and there wasn't room for a crib. DS#2, because we figured it worked for DS#1, so why spend money on a second crib. When we moved to the house we went to Buy Buy Baby and bought one of the most basic cribs they sell, and moved DS#1 into that. DS#2 was born a few months later and went into the PnP. Then when DS#1 started climbing out of his crib we moved him to a bed, and moved DS#2 to the crib, which was just in time because he had started to out grow the PnP. We are planning on putting this one in the PnP and hoping DS#2 is ready for a bed by the time (s)he outgrows it, which will be likely.
At first we put DS#1 in a regular twin we already owned, with a guard rail on one side, and the wall on the other. But he hated the guard rail and constantly asked us to take it off, so we went to IKEA and bought a basic bed, not on the floor, but a little lower, and just put him in that. The ironic thing in that in the 4 months or so since we took away the guard rail, he's fallen out of bed twice, and both times it's been on the wall side! He somehow wedges himself into the crack until the bed pushes away from the wall. But both times we went in calmed him down and he went right back to sleep.
What I do recommend if the nursery is not near where you will be hanging out is a bassinet/changing table combo. We got this one from Graco, and loved it. At first I resisted because I figured why spend money on something we would only use for a few months, but it was a lifesaver on more than one occasion. It is a little hard to switch between the bassinet and table at first, but once you get the trick it's pretty easy.
Last place to put baby recommendation is a swing, I know every baby is different, but both of ours loved the swing. Putting them in it was the most likely way I could get a nap. We got this one.

BigBadWolf12 · January 2019

@EmilyA724 if baby is in the crib anyways, is there a reason you don't want to try them just in the crib with no hammock?

My toddler slept in his crib from the day he came home from the hospital and was fine. We also never had to deal with the transition from swing to still or incline to flat or whatever transitions everyone around us seemed to be struggling with. We plan to do the same with this baby.

(I realize some babies have reflux and medical reasons they can't sleep in a flat crib from day 1, but I think a lot of babies who could sleep in cribs don't for whatever reason and then have to adjust later when they outgrow whatever they were in to start)

EmilyA724 · January 2019

@oklahomak That was how I heard about them too

I'm so susceptible

@BigBadWolf12 That is a very reasonable question, I feel silly for overthinking it. DD did have some reflux issues and needed to sleep in a vibrating chair for the first 2 months of her life, so I just have it in my head that cribs seem too big for newborns.

wanderlustsoul · January 2019

@mkrel, thank you for that! We will definitely be travelling a lot (as is my life - nonstop travel) so I need suggestions like these. We already have 2 trips booked for the first 3 months of this kid's life.

WinchesterGirl · January 2019

We purchased a nice furniture set from BBB with DS1. He is now in the crib on the day bed setting. So, current plan is sometime before baby is ready to go in to let him pick out his own big boy bed and bedding & switch him over. But we think any time before baby is 6 months is fine.

My DS slept in either a rock n play, swing, on one of us, or in our bed the first 11 months of his life solid. So, I'd like to work on a crib transition sooner if possible but if not, ehh. It'll be fine!

So we will be probably doing some sort of sidecar situation for our room, as we definitely plan to cosleep again. I am open to suggestion to good sidecar options or bassinets that function as a side car!

We tried both the halo bassinest and arm's reach cosleeper with DS & sold both as he wouldn't sleep in them at all. The arm's reach was better but not the same height as my mattress so really didn't give the sidecar benefits.

purplg8r · March 2019

Is it okay to bring this thread up again? If so, can we talk crib mattresses?

This is what the lady at BBB recommended. It’s $350. No idea if it’s worth that or if there’s other great options out there

https://www.buybuybaby.com/store/product/colgate-monarch-ii-deluxe-ultra-high-quality-2-stage-crib-and-toddler-bed-mattress/1046745552

EmilyA724 · March 2019

@purplg8r My personal preference is not to have coils is that makes a heavier mattress and makes for a heavier changing bed sheets I would check out this list: https://www.babybargains.com/best-baby-crib-mattress/

thirdtimesacharm2019 · March 2019

@purplg8r Holy cow! $350 for a crib mattress?!? That seems really high. I think you can get a good quality mattress for $100 (maybe less on sale). I’m not sure how much “better” it gets for the additional money. It seems like I read an article lately about how all mattresses have to meet such a rigorous set of standards that the base model really is all you need. But I can’t remember where I read it (maybe on TB?), or if was for sure about mattresses or some other baby item (dang pregnancy brain!).

I would think about how long you plan to use it. Will the baby sleep in the crib right away or will you use a bassinet for a while? Do you plan to use the same mattress on a toddler bed eventually? Will you use it for additional children?

aecm · March 2019

@purplg8r $350 is a tad high. I’m pretty sure the one we got from PB Kids is selling for $300...and I always expect to overpay at PB / PB Kids.

sourlemon · March 2019

We paid 99 for dd1s crib mattress. It's a 2 sided thing too. She slept on it for 2.5 years (crib then toddler bed) then used it as a reading nook surface for another year. We will be using it for this kid. It's still perfect. Dd2s also was about that price. $350 is nuts! The full size set we have for dd1 now was about $350!

olivemomma · March 2019

Our crib mattress was under $100. I’ve had a kid on it almost nonstop for 5 years now and they both slept/sleep great on it. For $350 it better put the kid to sleep for you!

zamoraspin · March 2019

It’s funny y’all say that crib mattresses are pretty much the same... that is one product where to me there are big differences despite a certain level of regulation. For example flame retardant usage, organic or not, etc. To me the crib mattress is the surface baby will spend the most time on so it seems worth the research.

I am leaning towards this one.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WR958TA?colid=2P9MBPEHWGKPA&coliid=I3OMUTATZD176C&ref=br_mb_ov_item_detail

WinchesterGirl · March 2019

We went with a 2-sided organic mattress from Babies R Us. It was originally $200 but I believe we got it for $150 since we waited for a sale to purchase. It is still in great shape so we'll be using it again for this LO.

suzycupcake · March 2019

@WinchesterGirl Whats the brand? We will probably co-sleep for awhile. One of my SILs says the mattress is really not as important as I think but...

aukeev · March 2019

If anyone is interested in organic non-toxic mattresses, I found this blog helpful in researching what to look for and what to avoid.

purplg8r · March 2019

Thanks for all the advice!!

WinchesterGirl · March 2019

@suzycupcake Since BRU is closed I can't find it direct but this is the closest to the one we have I think.

We still put a waterproof allergy cover on it, even though it says it's waterproof.

https://www.buybuybaby.com/store/product/lullaby-earth-trade-super-lightweight-baby-crib-toddler-mattress-stage-2/1040063850?skuId=40063850&&mrkgcl=611&mrkgadid=3285454684&enginename=google&mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_furniture_local&product_id=40063850&product_channel=local&adtype=pla&adpos=1o15&creative=263122585641&device=m&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CjwKCAjwstfkBRBoEiwADTmnEHs-bSUWXWlZlSVSDukD0KpLzwb92fScxsp-WwWC8vy5NQReLt7xChoCmbUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Product Spotlight: Cribs, sleep surfaces

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