Anonymous wrote:I'm a mid-range kinda girl --- and love one recommended by the Baby Bargains Book that is about $500 at BabiesRUs. It's convertible so would also serve as a toddler bed and older child bed --- but I still feel like I should find something cheaper even though I know it's not that much in the grand scheme of things. Feel like I should be saving every cent these days, and like I could probably find something comparable for $200 bucks less.

Here's the thing... spend what you can afford, but don't convince yourself to spend more because it is convertable into a toddler bed or a full-size bed. Almost all cribs can be made into a toddler bed, but half the time you just want to move your kid to a twin bed. Secondly, you will never us it as a full size bed. Serioualy I have yet to see anyone i know who bought a bed that can be made into a full actually use it as a full size bed. They just look ridiculous and no matter what it converts into it still looks like a crib.

That said I think $300 is reasonable for a crib.

Get an unfinished crib with rocker base for about $150. It's the type the daycares have, that sits low on the floor and can be rocked with your foot.

Anonymous wrote:I got a $120 crib on sale for $99 and a $79 mattress. I've seen friends with more expensive cribs and it's not clear what they got for their money.

I spent a bit more, around $300-350 I think, but I totally agree with this. Ours was non-toxic. I think beyond $300 or so, they all pretty much look the same, have same finishes, same functionality, etc. My best friend has a $1000 I think that with some (not all) of the "luxury strollers" the quality, functionality, and durability is more evident.

Anonymous wrote:Ours was $350ish I think, and that was at the upper end of what I felt comfortable with. But I found it easy to find a crib that we liked and that was aesthetically pleasing to us (and non-toxic to boot). I considered the IKEA one as well and would have probably gone that route if ours wasn't purchased for us of the registry.

We did splurge on the Uppababy Vista and don't regret it at all. So I think it's all about priorities + what you can actually afford, of course.

Oh, we did get a latex mattress as well, but it was one of the cheaper ones.

Ours was $350ish I think, and that was at the upper end of what I felt comfortable with. But I found it easy to find a crib that we liked and that was aesthetically pleasing to us (and non-toxic to boot). I considered the IKEA one as well and would have probably gone that route if ours wasn't purchased for us of the registry.

We did splurge on the Uppababy Vista and don't regret it at all. So I think it's all about priorities + what you can actually afford, of course.

We had a 20% off coupon from buy buy baby and used it on a $300 convertible crib (I wanted the $600 crib that was made in the USA, but DH got his way).

Instead we splurged on the glider.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Skip the toddler bed conversion. I hated it and ended up just going to a twin. We splurged on a good crib for about $400 and good car seats. The wood on the cheaper cribs was not as solid - my mom had a cheap crib and the quality difference was huge.

Yeah- this is what we did too. If this is your first child, you may end up having a second while the older one is just moving into a big bed. Then your crib will be tied up in its toddler bed state.

This was not the case for us- and our child opted to stay in the crib until he was 3.5 (gasp- but he never tried to get out, EVER), and then we went right to a twin because he was so big he looked ridiculous on a crib mattress (and a toddler bed just makes use of the same crib mattress).

Ours didn't climb out either. He choose to use it as a trampoline instead. We moved about 2.5, maybe closer to 3. I hated laying next to him on the crib mattress. It was just too small. You can get a twin mattress for $100-150 at BJ's or Costco and a cheap frame at Ikea that is low till the kid gets better. (we'll use the crib headboard for a full bed later on). We ended up with one kid but if I was having two or more I would absolutely spend a little more for the primary crib.

I think ours was about $1000. I wanted made in the USA.

We spent a lot on her bedroom, more than we should've in reality, but we could afford it. If we could go back to that moment we'd probably spend a lot less, spending a max of $1000 for the room.

We did go with the Organic mattress, and the finish on our crib is non-toxic, completely natural (similar to the amish poster), converts into a full bed, etc, but still, probably not worth the crazy money spent.

Anonymous wrote:Ikea gulliver. We used it for dc1 and will use for dc2. Great value, and a sturdy nice looking crib. We got an organic mattress as a shower gift . Save the extra $$ for the college fund!!

Bought the Ikea Gulliver for my parents' house and we will go with that for #2.

Da Vinci Emily is a great crib, too, and it's around $200.

We paid $400 for a Munire and have used it for two kids now. Might have considered Ikea if they had something we liked but I thought all their cribs were ugly.

Anonymous wrote:Skip the toddler bed conversion. I hated it and ended up just going to a twin. We splurged on a good crib for about $400 and good car seats. The wood on the cheaper cribs was not as solid - my mom had a cheap crib and the quality difference was huge.

Yeah- this is what we did too. If this is your first child, you may end up having a second while the older one is just moving into a big bed. Then your crib will be tied up in its toddler bed state.

This was not the case for us- and our child opted to stay in the crib until he was 3.5 (gasp- but he never tried to get out, EVER), and then we went right to a twin because he was so big he looked ridiculous on a crib mattress (and a toddler bed just makes use of the same crib mattress).

1200

Ikea gulliver. We used it for dc1 and will use for dc2. Great value, and a sturdy nice looking crib. We got an organic mattress as a shower gift . Save the extra $$ for the college fund!!

I got a $120 crib on sale for $99 and a $79 mattress. I've seen friends with more expensive cribs and it's not clear what they got for their money.