Stationary side rails on Pali or Sorelle cribs

[dbenz]

I have narrowed my crib search down to Pali or Sorelle but am stuck on whether to get a stationary side rail or the slide rail. Alot of the sales reps were saying the stationary side rail is the wave of the future. I'm concerned regarding lifting a child in & out and if that would be bad for your back as they got older and heavier and when the mattress was down further. Any feedback on this topic?

[amp]

We have a drop rail on our Sorelle crib. When he was a newborn, the mattress was at the top position, and he barely moved, so we kept the rail down almost all of the time. When he started moving around, we kept it up all the time, but the mattress was still at the top position, so I could reach in ok. In the middle mattress position, I could also reach fairly well, and he was more mobile, so he was usually lifiting his torso up a bit, or on hands and knees and therefore, easier to reach. Now that the mattress is at the bottom position, we move the rail a lot. If you were tall, you would probably be able to reach your arms all the way down to the bottom easily. I am short. When DS is awake, he is usually standing, so it's easy to pull him out without dropping the rail. When I put him in at night, as he's nearly asleep, it's harder to reach all the way down, although I can do it if necessary. So, it can be done, but I prefer the drop side. Also, when he was a newborn, he woke so easily when we laid him down, I liked not having to reach so far. Keeping him steady and supported while putting him down was key to not waking him.

PS - I have to put the rail down to change the crib sheets on the coil mattress. It's too hard to do if I have the rail up!

[cuca_]

I agree with Andrea, I cannot imagine not having a slide rail on dd's crib, both to put her in the crib and to change the sheets. As Andrea said, we also did not really slide down the rail when the mattress was in the top position, but now that the mattress is in the lowest position, there is no way I would be able to get dd in the crib if she is asleep. I am not short, so I imagine this happens to most people. I do remember seeing some stationary side rails when we were crib shopping, and thinking that these would be very uncomfortable.


HTH

Carmen

[Eloise36]

I absolutely need a drop side rail because I am short (5' 3"). Right now, we have the mattress in the top position, and the rail down most of the time. I know I will be sliding the rail up and down a lot as DS gets more active and we have to move the mattress to a lower position. I could not imagine changing DS or lifting him up in a crib with a stationary rail.

HTH!

- Louise and James (9/29/03)

[tigalig]

Hi Denise. I just wanted to echo what has already been said and mention that I did not use the slide rail on our Pali crib right away, but it became a necessity when I was lifting a 20 lb. 9 month old out of the crib who was already standing and the mattress was at the lowest position. I think the stationary rail is best for newborns, but unless you are very tall (I'm 5'5"), you may need the benefit of the sliding rail down the road.

Ida

[missym]

Granted, our child is a peanut (under 17 lbs) and I have long arms, but we never use the slide rail. Our matress has been at its lowest setting for months. Even when I change the sheets, it just doesn't occur to me to move the rail.

Missy, mom to Gwen 03/03