Baby crib

[GreenLantern]

Curious, when you bought your baby crib what did you look for? Are they all the same safety rating, like a national standard that has to be passed?

Did you buy a 3 in 1 and end up using it all the way through? Seems like there are a million different options from 100 bucks to 1000.

[Canehdianman]

I bought a solid wood one off Kijiji. Had a side that could drop down but I locked it in the up position.

[Flabbibulin]

Bought our crib from westcoast kids for about $500. Wife is currently at 8 months. Have no idea what you mean by 3 in 1 though. The Mrs did all the research on everything we bought and I just take her word for it- I just threw down the card and said yes ma'am.

[4X4]

Haha. You ask this as though there's any chance that you'll do anything other than what momma wants.

Truth is, second hand baby stuff is less than half the original (ridiculously overpriced) price, and it's still practically new. You just need her to agree.

If I were to have another kid, the only things I'd buy brand new would be car seats, helmets, and mattresses.

[OutOfTheCube]

I think ours was $150? Got it on some special sale. It's one of the convertible ones but he isn't ready for a toddler bed yet so we haven't converted it.

As with most baby things, you don't need to spend that much money on it. They're all more or less the same, just a wooden jail with a mattress in it.

I would budget lower on that and higher on something like a stroller. Also, those car seats that tighten up with the little knob on the side are life savers too, could never go back to the old one.

[Ashartus]

I had one of the 3 in 1 types. It's in some ways convenient to buy one piece of furniture that will last quite a few years; however the bed it converted into is a full-size which can be a bit big for a lot of kids rooms and I wouldn't say it's the best bed for a kids. We also need to buy a conversion kit (preferably when you buy the crib or they might not carry it when you want it) which included long rails we had to store until we were ready for it. You might be better off buying a crib that converts to a toddler bed, then just getting a cheap metal bedframe when they outgrow that. Or just go straight from a crib to a regular bed.

[GreenLantern]

Hrmm interesting, it actually seems a crib is one area you don't have to spend a fortune for a baby. A good stroller seems like a worth while investment, you can get the ones that go straight from stroller to carseat?

The wife has left me in charge of this stuff, but yes she will have the final say.. I need to get a few good options. At least I can influence the amount spent... somewhat

Any specific stores you guys recommend? I'm looking at Babys R Us and Costco right now. I am assuming there should be some decent sales black friday as well.

[snootchiebootchies]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

Curious, when you bought your baby crib what did you look for? Are they all the same safety rating, like a national standard that has to be passed?

Did you buy a 3 in 1 and end up using it all the way through? Seems like there are a million different options from 100 bucks to 1000.

We bought the 3 in 1 from Ikea. It was much cheaper than the other cribs we looked at but it ended up working just fine. We used it for both our kids. And for both kids, we only used the two different bed base heights. Never once did we turn it into the toddler bed. We found it to be too small for them when they became toddlers.

[OutOfTheCube]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

Hrmm interesting, it actually seems a crib is one area you don't have to spend a fortune for a baby. A good stroller seems like a worth while investment, you can get the ones that go straight from stroller to carseat?

Typically the bucket seat comes with the car seat, not the stroller. Most of them are designed to work together, but you can stay within the same brand just to be sure.

So, you buy the Graco car seat + bucket seat combo, and the Graco stroller. Then the bucket seat clips into the stroller when you take it out.

[Ace]

I bought 2 different 3-in-one beds, but now that we are converting I wish I never did. Just get a crib, and maybe one that changes to a 'toddler' bed; but having a full size as the next step really limits your options. Better off just buying what you need at the right stage.

[Flabbibulin]

Wife just smacked me for not knowing what a 3 in 1 was.

[indes]

We just bought a cheap crib at Walmart and it does what it's supposed to! We did splurge on the stroller though, highly recommend the baby trend that has a car seat dock. If you guys like walking definitely go with the 'bicycle' tires. http://www.babytrend.com/travel_syst...r/TJ68407.html

You might not need the shocks but we do lots of trail walking and they are worth it.

[calf]

Any reputable retailer will only sell cribs, car seats, etc. meeting the governments minimum safety standards (the minimum is still good) so you should be fine there if buying new.

We bought a 3 in 1 (crib, then day-bed style for toddler, then double bed) and are transitioning to the toddler bed in the next few months which should last a while. Realistically, we probably will never use the third step....so I would do a 2 in 1 if I were to do it over again, or a reasonably priced crib then buy a new bed...all comes down to budget and storage....and cinstruction time.

Also check the reviews for how easy it is to build. I have found that the us site for amazon.com has the most reviews and has most products you would be looking at, so a good sample size to look at for what you are getting.

I echo the sentiments about a good stroller. A cheap $100 umbrella stroller with 4 small wheels will crap out on you if you have to use it anywhere in the snow, and gives you zero storage.

Something better will move easier regardless of season, have storage, have adapters for your car seat for those first few months (just make sure, if this is the route you go, that they are compatible). We used the City Select Baby Jogger. Great for everything/every stage so far. Big wheels help to maneuver in the winter. Only real issue we have come across/have heard from others is the tabs you have to pull to fold it up can be hard to lift up.


When it comes down to it, for most things...get used or hand me downs. Your kid won't know, but your wallet sure will.

Originally Posted by Canehdianman

I bought a solid wood one off Kijiji. Had a side that could drop down but I locked it in the up position.

Just an fyi, these have been banned in the US for a few years, and will be banned for sale in Canada at the end of 2016.

[tete]

Judging from these comments, I must be one of the only women who refused to pay gross amounts for kid stuff. All of the major baby stuff we got for my daughter was either bought second hand or borrowed from friends, except the car seat. I wouldn't splurge on a crib, personally. Really good strollers can be found for about half price on Kijiji as well - those suckers are crazy expensive.

[afc wimbledon]

'The wife left me in charge of this' is in the same ballpark as 'does this make me look fat?', your doomed son, doomed!

[calf]

Originally Posted by tete

Judging from these comments, I must be one of the only women who refused to pay gross amounts for kid stuff. All of the major baby stuff we got for my daughter was either bought second hand or borrowed from friends, except the car seat. I wouldn't splurge on a crib, personally. Really good strollers can be found for about half price on Kijiji as well - those suckers are crazy expensive.

My next career is going to be in the baby industry for sure. Similar to weddings, you can upsell a lot of people using excitement, convenience and comfort, but people can upsell even more on fear.

We learned very quckly that there is a lot of good stuff in our social circle not being used and ended up saving a ton of cash after our little guy was born and our friends kids outgrew their stuff.

[You Need a Thneed]

Another thought on the 3 in 1 cribs, by the time you want to switch to a toddler bed, you might be thinking of having another kid, in which case, you will need a crib for that one.

[bizaro86]

I have two 3 in 1 cribs, our first was still using his crib when the second was born, so switching out wouldn't have worked.

We just switched our oldest to the double bed about a month ago, and it has been awesome. We have room to read to him in bed, and he has tons of extra space to move around when asleep. Has 100% eliminated getting up in the night to go potty, etc. Double mattress was a bit more than single, but we have the space in his room, so the savings on not buying a new headboard/footboard covered it.

My wife bought them both on crazy sales from bestbuy.ca, were 80% or so off.

[manwiches]

we bought one of them 3 in 1 beds from Toys R Us. Windsor brand i believe? Anyways, he hated sleeping in his crib, so he slept on the mattress we had beside the crib instead. We converted to a toddler bed last year thinking he would like it more, he hated it, and finally early this year, I converted it to the fullsize (with the extra conversion kit! yay money!), and he loves it.

In hind sight, I would have bought a cheap crib, and then when he outgrew it, go buy an actual full size frame that doesn't look like a converted crib. But oh well. To each their own.

[Hockeyguy15]

Having just gone through this a couple weeks ago, I would recommend that you and your wife go look at the floor models and test them out. You can adjust the mattress height up and down on a lot of them, but my wife found that on some she felt like she had to reach down too far even though they were on the highest level.

Also she found one she liked at West Coast Kids but it was going to take 12 weeks to order, so that changed her mind.