babi italia problems

[cara1]

I've raved about our babi italia crib in the past, but lately I'm having an impossible time raising/lowering the rail. The whole thing just isn't right...it's not just a question of lubrication. Anyone have any ideas?

[juliasdad]

Tough call without more details.

First, is it a symmetrical style where both side rails can drop? And is it on castors?

I think the easiest thing to do is to remove the offending side rail. Now examine both plastic tracks to see if there is anything stuck in there, or if there are any signs of the plastic being gouged or scratched. If there is a gouge in it, call Babi Italia or go to your local BrU as get a replacement track.

If everything looks reasonably ok, reassemble. Make sure that the corner posts of the crib (the ones that the tracks are recessed into) are the right distance apart so that the side rail isn't binding or being put into tension when assembled. Especially if the crib is on carpeting, it's possible that the feet of the crib are pushed too close together or pulled to far apart, creating stress on the side rail. It's an unfortunate consequence of this design, where the side rail must slide up and down and yet is also a structure member of the crib and plays a role in holding it together.

If the track and pins look fine, and you disassemble and reassemble the crib, and you try to make sure the feet of the crib are positioned in such a way as to not compress or put tension in the side rail, I'd give Babi Italia a call.

-dan

[cara1]

Thanks Dan. DH sort of figured that fixing this would involve disassembly/reassembly; I think he is just procrastinating. We'll try your suggestions...