Crib Advice - Kalamazoo,MI

Get the one that the sides don't come down. They are beautiful and convert into larger beds later so in the long run it will save you money. The only problem with this crib for me was that I'm a little short (5'1") so I definately had to stretch!

We never moved the side up or down when my daughter was young..... just lifted her in and out with the side up.

However, now that she is 2-1/2 she is still sleeping in it however with the side always down as she climbs in and out on her own....(essentially functioning as a 'toddler bed')

Later this year we will get her into a single bed so that the crib can be ready for a newborn :)

So we are happy to have the side that moves, but rarely move it.

We love our Soho crib from BabiesrUs. It's fabulous, our son loves it and it eventually converts to al of the things youa re looking for.

I recommend getting one that transitions with the child. It helped us a lot with our daughter. ours goes from crib to toddler to day bed to fullsize. But she only stayed in it as a toddler bed before we bought her a twin size just because we do have another one on the way.

I recommend this type because it saves money in the long run and can be converted back to a crib when you need it. It is harder to put a baby in a crib that doesn't have a slide down side especially right after it is born due to soreness. The one we have has a built on changing table with three drawers of which helped a lot on storage.

I would suggest going to a baby boutique and having a look at their cribs. I didn't like any of the options at any of the baby superstores but found a great crib that has a drop side and converts into a toddler bed. I definitly spent some extra money on the crib but I would do it again in a heartbeat with all the recalls going on. I am not concerned at all about the drop side is was made so well I don't see it ever falling on it's own. My crib was also custom made which made me feel much better as well.

We have two boys and a third on the way. They are both in toddler beds that were converted from cribs. Their room is tiny, so it's a great option for us.
With most cribs, even if the sides don't drop down, you can change the position of the mattress to make it easier on you to put a sleeping baby in a crib. Frankly, though, each kid is different and adjusts to changes differently. My oldest one, when he is asleep, a person could probably hold him by his feet, swing him around, and toss him up in the air and he'd sleep through it. My youngest, not so much.

We like the option of making a "big boy bed" that has a safety side. We also like that it is easy to make it a crib again just in case we mis-read their signals of readiness. Also, with our oldest, he was ready for his toddler bed, but when his little brother joined him in his room, he had too much freedom and would climb into his brother's crib every night. So it was more of a containment issue for us.

Bottom line: we love our convertible cribs. We are looking to get another for our next little.

I got one that didn't have a drop side, and was so glad I did. Moving parts means more room for malfunction. More things to put together properly means more chance of making a mistake and getting something wrong. More hardware means more things to break. When all the recalls started, I was glad I didn't have to worry about it.

I am short and yes, it was kind of a pain to put baby in it once you start lowering the mattress. Ideally, I would have bought a higher end crib that has a fold-down panel on the side. It has hinges and allows better access to the baby. Unfortunately they are quite a bit more expensive and I couldn't afford that. (USA Baby carries them if you want to see what I'm talking about, as well as other stores.)

Mine was a convertible bed, but I didn't end up using the toddler bed. I don't have another baby yet. But it got to the point where my son was really uncomfortable on a crib mattress. They are just not as comfy, I had a decent one too. So we just went straight to a twin bed on the floor for a while with an inexpensive crib rail that slides between the mattresses. I passed on my crib to a cousin that really needs it, and probably will not get it back. Next time I will not buy a drop side, even with the achy back putting baby into it, and I will not bother with convertible.

I would go for the convertible cribs. We bought a Pali for my first daughter (it goes from crib to toddler to full size) She is now 3 and using the toddler portion of the bed. When my youngest arrived we bought a new convertible crib. We figure both kids will use this furniture until they move out of our house. Since it goes from crib, toddler bed, full size. We also got matching chest of drawers with it. It was a little pricey up front but in the long run we will not have to buy any more furniture for their rooms.

i guess this isnt so much advice, as it is just some perspective. I got a Graco crib and the side slides down. I know there was some news that it could be dangerous if theres a defect or what not, but I've had mine for amost 2 years now with no problems. Now that I'm pregnant again, I find it pretty hard to get my son in and out of the crib w/out having to put the side down first. I have been relying on my husband to put our son to bed because when I do it, I end up plopping the poor kid down versus gently laying him in. (Not great for easing him into sleep!) However, during times when my hub is away, I find the option to put the side down very useful. (Btw, I'm not short.. and am 5'7, but the belly gets in the way!)

Ours also converts to a toddler bed.. we havent decided yet if we'll convert it or save it for the next one. It was fairly inexpensive anyway (around 100), so it wouldnt be a big deal to us if we have to buy another. In theory, each kid is going to need a place to sleep on anyway so maybe we'll just get the next one a convertible also, so the beds can just convert along with each child's growth!

I bought the bed that transitions into a toddler bed then youth bed. It has stationary sides so I do have to lean a little farther over to get him in it, BUT, after hearing about so many infant deaths and recalls due to the "sliding side" cribs, I am glad I bought this one and wouldn't buy the sliding kind now anyway.... My son is 14 months old and I am due with our second in September, so my son won't get to sleep in the crib as a "toddler bed" either, however, my second child will so it won't go to waste.

Personally, I feel safer with the stationary side. I don't have to worry about them breaking and suffocating my son (even though most of us grew up in those types of cribs and lived to tell the tale), I just would rather not have the worry. Plus, I don't have to worry about something breaking, the side sliding down and my son falling out. : )

Hope this helps. Congrats and good luck.

My advice would be there is no need to buy the crib with the side that slides down. Once you get your baby to sleep and put them in the crib, you don't want to be sliding the side and waking him/her up! Someone told me this before I bought ours and I wish I had listened. Besides with all the safety issues, it's just safer not to have a sliding side. Especially when your child gets old enough and starts holding on to the side and jumping up and down. (I personally think the ones with out the sliding side look better, too.)

We bought the convertible bed for our son. The drop side scares me, especially with all the recalls. I am 5'2" and had no problem putting an infant in there. My son is now two and I am 3 weeks from my due date. The belly does get in the way, but I can still put him down gently, and just pull the ottoman over to kiss his head. I don't know if we will use the toddler bed, or go straight to the full size bed. We tried to get an identical one for the new baby, but the company had some drop side issues, and now doesn't make anything. So, we opted for a different one. I think it may be more expensive than the first, but it is also convertible, and the quality is really worth it. Those that we found that were similar in style to my son's, were just so cheaply made now. I think of it as an investment. Whether we bought a new bed for our son, or a new convertible crib, we would still be spending money, and some of these turn into some really nice looking beds.

I have a very active big 20 month old and a 2 month old. We bought the Sorelle Regal Convertible Crib for my son when he was born and LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! It Does Not have a drop side and is very heavy duty--handles my crazy 31lb 20mo old very well. He was not ready for a toddler bed yet when my daughter arrived 2 months ago so we bought her the same crib and bought the matching toddler rail for him to use when he is ready. Such a wonderful looking set of furniture and very high quality. Then we can use the convertible rails to give him a big bed later and put the toddler rail on hers. We purchased ours through USA Baby but it is also widely available online. It is nice that this furniture looks very sophistocated and could be used for years and years and grow with the kids, doesn't look "babyish".

WE have this crib from Ikea http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00116005
Before getting it we have gone through couple different ones with drop side but they came apart after a while since our kids liked to rock it.
This crib is very solid even when you turn it into the toddler bed, we love it!!!!!!

We bought a convertable crib w/o a drop side. It is a pretty heavy duty crib (Baby Italia I think?) and I'm sooo happy we bought this one. It was the most expensive item we bought, but I think well worth the money. Our 2 yo son is a tornado and I think he probably would have destroyed any other crib by now. A drop side would have just been one more thing to think about. Good luck!

Even though our crib does convert to a toddler bed, we chose not to use that - partly because our kids are 21 months apart and we've never had a child not in the crib and partly because I want them to learn to sleep in a bed when they're ready to make the move.

We opted to go with a sturdy wooden crib when we had our son that could be used for either a boy or a girl depending on the sheets.

Initially, I was completely against buying a nice, expensive crib, but once we saw the difference in quality and realized how important it is, we went with a good crib.

My recommendation is to make sure you buy new and not used as you'll never be alerted to recalls that may take place - the rest is simply a matter of reputation, quality and price.

Good luck.