Rate My Crib!

[ladymoreta]

Thanks for the advice so far everyone!

Our logic for wanting the convertable bed has to do with our timing plans. (Yeah, we know what they say about the best laid plans...) We're planning to start trying for our second baby at the end or just after DH finishes residency. At that point, Baby will be around 2½, which I think will probably be too old for a crib. So we'd need a bed for him/her in the meantime. When #2 comes along, we'd like to be able to convert it back to a crib, and then we'd just move #1 into a twin or full bed. During residency, though, we don't have a lot of space to store the crib if we move #1 into a new bed, and we don't really have a lot of money to buy a new bed. I know it doesn't make as much sense in the long run, but it works with our timetable.

So it sounds like a lot of people go with the dresser/combo. Do you think it would be worth the almost $200 difference? I don't think we'll need it for the storage space, since the closet in what will be the nursery is fairly large, and DH is going to add some more shelves (and maybe some drawers) in there.

[houseelf]

At that point, Baby will be around 2½, which I think will probably be too old for a crib

Err, I hate to offer unsolicited advice, but I'm going to anyways. (Sorry).

This *completely* depends on the child and whether s/he is a climber. Otherwise, keep them in that crib as long as possible. They are contained, you know where they are. I only took my 3 year olds out of the crib in order to potty train. I'm always afraid of them wandering about the house, swallowing legos, etcetera.

Kelly

[migirl]

Err, I hate to offer unsolicited advice, but I'm going to anyways. (Sorry).

This *completely* depends on the child and whether s/he is a climber. Otherwise, keep them in that crib as long as possible. They are contained, you know where they are. I only took my 3 year olds out of the crib in order to potty train. I'm always afraid of them wandering about the house, swallowing legos, etcetera.

Kelly

ITA with Kelly here. Keep baby in the crib as long as you possibly can, it just makes life much easier!! DS#1 was in the crib until he was 2.5yo, and the *only* reason I moved him was b/c I wanted to put DS#2 in the crib (baby had been sleeping with me up until that point). DS#1 was not a climber, I probably could have kept him in the crib for much, much longer...

If you already have the storage space (we didn't, definitely needed some type of dresser in the nursery), I wouldn't say you *need* the combo. Changing baby on the floor/sofa/bed/whatever is also a perfectly acceptable solution!

[SuzySunshine]

I agree about leaving them in the crib, we just moved A because of #2 and we seriously considered buying another crib because she showed no interest in getting out but the toddler bed was so much cheaper. Also since you should keep bedroom doors closed for fire safety I don't have to worry about her wandering around the house in the middle of the night because she can't open her door yet.

We had a convertible crib -- it was a very nice gift from my in-laws and I don't remember having a preference for that versus a non-convertible one. The slide-out drawer underneath was the big selling point since we were short on storage space.

I'm a little embarrassed that I can't recall the reason we moved my oldest two out of the crib! My money is on them being climbers coupled with a younger sibling on the way. Anyway, we used the convertible option for my oldest until DD2 was born. We moved DD1 to a toddler bed and put the railing back on the crib for DD2. That was more cost-effective than buying another crib. So any extra cost for the feature of being convertible really isn't worth it IMO. The toddler bed has been great for transitioning between crib to a bigger bed.

Adding to the tangent, my youngest moved out of the crib around 18 months. She HATED her crib. Just hated it and I don't think I'll ever have an explanation. I was tired of it being such a battle and knowing of someone who really needed a crib, I decided to give it away. She has been sleeping in a toddler bed since 18 months and everyone has been better off for it. She couldn't open her door so shutting it kept her in. Climbing and bizarre crib-phobia aside, ITA about keeping them in the crib as long as possible. It is a nice thing to count on.

[ladymoreta]

Okay, so I did some more searching, and I found one that only does the conversion into a toddler bed (which sounds like the most we'd need, if we have a climber). What do you think of this one? I could get the crib, changing table, and dresser for only $50 more than just the Kalani crib and changing table. Thoughts?

Delta Duval Single Crib - Oak

[Flynn]

To quickly answer;

We always used the top of a dresser with a pad -- never "changing tables. YES on the "is it worth the 200$ more." Absolutely. Do it.

We never used toddler beds. To us, it was ONE MORE transition --- from TB to real bed.

We used a twin set (no frame) directly on the floor. It was cheap, we didn't have to change again - it was DD's bed for life and we got to buy normal bedding.

We did get a crib with a drawer under it plus the side went down and used it for all three kids. Totally worth the extra cost.

I agree. Get the dresser! You will be able to use it for years. We have a changing table but I only used it for a very short time before I just started changing DS on the floor, bed, etc. We recently had to buy another dresser to store clothes. Even of you want to use some form of changing table for longer you will still be stuck with a useless piece of furniture afterwards. Like ours is, covered in random items!