Choosing a Crib

2007.2.22.howtocrib1 There is something about having to choose a crib that is really making this whole parenting thing seem....real. As in, a real little person is going to be living here soon, and right now, their sleeping options are a choice between 'bottom drawer of the bureau' and 'on the dog's flop-and-drop'. Time to maybe do something about that, because frankly, that dog isn't much into sharing.

Our plan is to cruise garage sales in upscale suburban neighbourhoods, looking for modern homes that might yield a sweet Ouef or Stokke, gently used and substantially cheaper than retail. But in case those high-end dreams doesn't materialize for us, we need to come up with a game plan to figure out how to find a crib that is both safe and beautiful.

When in doubt, turn to Consumer Reports.

Unfortunately for us, they say to buy a new crib, so that we can be sure it conforms to current safety standards. Some of the best suggestions we saw, outside of the safety recommendations, were to assemble the crib in the room in which you intend to use it (in case it doesn't fit through your nursery door!) and to give serious thought as to whether or not you really need a crib that converts to a toddler bed and/or full size bed before committing to a very expensive 'sleep system'.

2007.2.21.howtocrib2 Obviously, Consumer Reports is the gold standard, but we thought it might be helpful to see what other people had to say about buying a crib.

Other great resources for learning about what to look for in a crib:
• eHow
• BabyCenter
• CanadaSeek

All of these resources stress that you don't have to spend a lot of money to get a great crib, and that buying a high-end crib is a personal choice, not a safety necessity, which is a nice counterbalance to most advertising aimed at new parents, which seems specifically designed to reinforce the notion that we have to spend a lot of money to outfit our nurseries.

How did you decide which crib to buy? Is yours a hand-me-down or garage sale find? Did you comparison shop online and find a great deal? Are you happy with the crib you have? Not happy with it? What should we be thinking about that the experts above didn’t address?

Comments (1)

Pregnant with my first, I bought a beautiful $700 iron crib and put together a nursery. Baby #1 did not sleep one night in that crib. She would only sleep right next to me or sometimes in the Arm's Reach co-sleeper.

We put the crib back together and created another nursery for baby #2. Baby #2 had colic of death. She wouldn't sleep anywhere for very long. I often ended up on the floor with her. She did sleep in her crib some nights for a few hours, with me collapsed on the floor in her nursery. She did nap in the crib though. After the hell of baby #2 we sold the crib and all nursery furniture and accessories because we thought we were done. Except now I am pregnant with baby #3.

This time I'm going to pick up a Gulliver from Ikea and put it in our bedroom and possibly try a bolster in our bed for the co- sleeping that I know will happen.

The moral of my story: Expensive cribs are a ridiculous waste of money.