question about drop-side crib

[ehmom]

okay, we are now expecting our fourth kiddo. our crib is drop side from pbk that we got about 9 years ago. should i pitch it and get a new one? since we had our last baby, all drop side cribs seem to have been deemed deadly and capable or emitting radioactive death rays , right :)
it just seems like people freak over it and it has worked perfectly well for our other three kids. that being said, i don't want my baby in any danger. should i re-buy?

[mikala]

The whole whether to keep drop sided cribs thing is controversial and I definitely have safety-conscious friends who have elected to keep their existing high-quality drop-side cribs instead of purchasing something new just to have a fixed rail. The drop-side risks go down if you know the crib was assembled correctly, if it has sturdy hardware instead of a cheapy piece of plastic, etc.

Before you throw away the crib I'd at least check to see if PBK has a conversion kit available to switch it to a fixed side crib. You might also check to see whether there are any other crib standards that have changed in the past 9 years like slat distance or anything like that.

Congrats!

[edurnemk]

Before you throw away the crib I'd at least check to see if PBK has a conversion kit available to switch it to a fixed side crib. You might also check to see whether there are any other crib standards that have changed in the past 9 years like slat distance or anything like that.


Many manufacturers have conversion kits to "fix" the drops side cribs. That's what we did for the crib at my parents'

That said, my parents also have a European crib (at their other house abroad) in their house, it has a drop side and I feel comfortable with my kids sleeping in it. The mechanism is different than most drop-side cribs I've seen in the US, however, there is no way the rail can come off the way I've seen in the CPSC pictures.

[Tinochka]

I think it all depends on quality. Mine is not PBK expensive, but there is no way a child can drop the side down and the side looks like build in (no cheap plastic fixtures). I vote to keep it and my DS2 is still there (soon will be 3).

[crl]

This was a very controversial topic and there were some quite heated threads about it.

Here is one thread: http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=382496&highlight=Dropside

We had a Pali that was not recalled. We felt that it wasn't worth the risk to reuse it for dd so I gave it away as a toddler bed (I kept the infant rail and trashed it). We bought an inexpensive Ikea crib and are perfectly happy with it. It was very little money for our peace of mind. Others have come to a different decision and I'm not looking to restart the arguments, I just wanted to share our decision.

Catherine

[AnnieW625]

I would use it as long as there isn't anything mechanically wrong with it. Many companies sell immobilizer kits too.

Both of my kids have slept in a drop side crib with all metal hardware. It is more than 10 yrs. old and a total of 7 kids have slept in it. We were comfortable using it. The thing is solid, it was truly built to be used by generations. If I had issues with the hardware I would have stopped using it immediately, but I didn't. Sometimes I do have a BBB concious, but in the end I just do what I feel is right for my kids. If I were in your shoes I'd use it and get an immobilizer kit.

[nfowife]

I have a very nice baby's dream dropside crib from DD1. I am reusing it for DD2 right now. It is very solid and well-made and was $$$. Also the dropside is terribly difficult for me to do- I barely used the feature with DD1 because it is so hard. I only really used it in the beginning when they were newborns- I just left it set "down" all the time. Once they started rolling and sitting I set it back to "up" and it hasn't moved since, and I've since lowered the mattress.
If you feel comfortable I say use it. My crib was not recalled but they no longer make it or sell the replacement hardware. Though, I was still able to get replacement hardware when I was putting the crib together for DD2 and couldn't find the bag of hardware from moving. Her crib turns into a nice toddler bed (I have the rail) so I plan to use it that way in another year or 2 (no rush).

[citymama]

We kept ours and reused it with DD2.

Ours is a 9 year old Bellini Annie Italian dropside crib. All wood with wood and metal dropside mechanism. It belonged to a friend, who sold it to us when DD1 was born 6 years ago, and we have used it for the past 2 years with DD2 (same mattress even). We have not been using the drop side mechanism at all, so the side is just in one place all the time. We should get the conversion kit, I guess, but haven't gotten around to it. It converts into a toddler bed, sans sides.

You should research your specific crib and try and get a conversion kit.

[ehmom]

i looked into it and was able to order a conversion kit so i think we're good to go. as long as it feels sturdy and in good shape, i'm planning on installing the kit and using it. thanks for all of the opinions and direction :)