Need Crib Input

[mjwood]

I'm new to this website, but have been devouring the book. We are just starting the search for nursery furniture. This weekend, we went to Babies R Us and saw the Simmons Chateau crib and dresser pieces for 40% off. I know the book gives Simmons a C+, but the furniture seemed good quality and seems like a good deal (40% off means the $499 crib is down to $300 and the $599 dresser is $360, plus the optional rails and dresser changing topper are on sale too). Should we go for it (sale ends in a few days)? Should we buy a Baby Cache, like the Essentials Curved Lifetime crib, which is discounted from $389 to $299 (also at BRU)? Or, should we buy something online, like from Amazon or Wayfair? Other ideas? Thank you for your thoughts on this!

[maybeebaby08]

It depends on where you want to spend your money, we went with the Ikea Gulliver crib and have been very happy with it. If you want more of a classic, nicer look the Graco Lauren crib and the Mod Series from Walmart are recommended here too. I personally would invest in a nice solid wood dresser that will be used for the next 18 years or more. If this is your first child and you have 1-2 more babies you'll use the crib for at the most 6 years. My girls are both jumpers and the mattresses take most of the brunt, the crib was still in great condition. Congratulations and welcome to the Boards!

[mikala]

I agree with PP to get a budget crib. Cribs aren't used for very long, limited resale value and some babies are little woodchucks while teething.

I have mixed thoughts about dresser quality. If you find a great deal on something you know you'll want to use for many years that's great, otherwise I'd go with Ikea hemnes or similar.

[queenmama]

I agree 100% about IKEA for kid's furniture. Not only do they outgrow it quickly, you won't have to worry about them messing it up.

I will say, though, that our Simmons crib and dresser are superb quality. We "scratch tested" the floor models. That probably sounds awful... but we wanted to be sure we were getting our money's worth. We ended up with hard rock maple. No scratches, 13 years later. (We never really used the crib since we ended up bedsharing but the dresser is still in DS's room!)

Lara

[crl]

We had a very nice Pali crib for our first. By the time our second was born drop side cribs had been banned and I wasn't comfortable reusing it. So we got an IKEA Gulliver for her. Love it. Great price and in excellent shape after 3 1/2 years of use. I really recommend the budget crib route--wish I hadn't spent the money on the Pali first go around. I have never had a dresser for my babies or toddlers. They have had small rooms and I just used wire bin systems in their closets instead. Then I put a bookshelf out in the room to hold books and toys. i like that arrangement because it means the clothes that I don't want them messing with are put away behind a closed door and the toys and things that are for them to play with are out in the open. And it leaves little more floor space open for play.

Catherine

[twowhat?]

I second (third?) IKEA for cribs. We also had Gullivers and I LOVED them. I loved the smaller footprint, the lower profile, ease of assembly and really everything about them! You can still design a very cute nursery around them. And we re-sold them and recouped 35% of the cost of both the crib and mattress (we got the IKEA foam mattress as well which held up GREAT). So we essentially paid $80ish per crib/mattress for 4 years of use. BARGAIN! And that meant a lot more money to put into nice "big girl" beds from Pottery Barn Kids

IKEA cribs are hot items on our local CL. They sold FAST - I had multiple people wanting to come right away to pick them up and had to go with "first come first serve" to manage the craziness (I sold BOTH the SAME day I listed them!) and if you watch the listings, you see how quickly they disappear. Folks know you can get a good, safe, sturdy crib from IKEA on CL for a great price.

We never had a dresser either but if you need one, I also recommend going cheap with IKEA. Then once you're ready for more permanent bedroom furniture you can spend more and get a nice set.

[abh5e8]

welcome op!! and congratulations.

i also vote for an Ikea crib or a used lenny lind crib (that is my favorite style and what I would get if I was doing it all over). we splurged on a nice Munire crib...and it held clean laundry. dd slept in it maybe a dozen times (she loved our bed), but during that time managed to eat off all the paint. crib was later recalled....for lead paint. i had the replacement shipped to my MIL, who wanted one for her new guest suite. now, on baby #4, we still don't have a crib. i have been tempted by a pretty white jenny lind crib on CL a few times, but always at about the $50 price point.

i'd go with less expensive and maybe splurge on a nicer dresser, if you think you will use it. (although we didn't use dressers for babies either, small rooms and small clothes, so i gave 1 or 2 drawers from my dresser and a little closet hanging space).

[Pilotbaby]

Welcome and congratulations! As for cribs, whatever you choose, order early! We read that in BB and ordered very early from one company and the crib came three times damaged. It takes a long time if they have overseas warehouses, which many do. We ended up having to switch to a different company. Good luck.

[alirebco]

We got a Pali crib for our 1st. Solid wood, $600, beautiful but my son totally chewed it up when he was teething. We got an Ikea Gulliver crib for our 2nd which was $100 and it has been awesome!

[BabyBearsMom]

Honestly, I would spend as little as possible. We spent a good amount on convertible cribs and now we have no intention of converting them to beds. I wish we had gotten the Graco Lauren or IKEA crib. They all have to meet the same safety standards and it is something you only use for 2 to 3 years. If you have multiple kids you might use it twice (although in our case dd1 was still using her crib when dd2 came along so we have 2 cribs). You won't be passing it down to your kids as an heirloom because by then the safety standards will change and the cribs of today will be considered death traps.