Convertible Cribs

We got the Storkcraft Rochester Stages crib for my son when he was born. When we FINALLY received it, one of the side rails was cracked. It took 3 times contacting customer service to get a replacement. About 6 months after that, the front drop rail snapped in half!!! Another month after that, the bottom fell out of the slide-out underneath drawer. My son is still in this crib, all rigged so that it is safe, and we haven't used it as a toddler bed....and won't be. I've heard great things about the style.. just stay away from this brand! Congratulations by the way!

Congrats! So exciting!
I'm glad to read that some people love them - I don't know of a single mom who used the toddler bed nor the converted bed for more than a few weeks. It was not comfortable, or not practical when the next one came along, as a new crib cost more than a twin bed for the older one.

I LOVED my crib with drop down sides - something you can't get with a convertible crib. It was great to be able to drop the sides and not stoop when my baby got bigger. We actually would drop the sides and use it a bit like the cosleeper he had outgrown. That's my suggestion - although they are getting harder to find.

Hello,
We have a convertable crib that we love....my daughter is 15 months old and I still feel it was a great investment. We have a Carriagio Crib that we purchased at Baby Boudoir Outlet in New Bedford MA. The web address is: http://www.babyboudoiroutlet.com/
The staff is super helpful and we got an amazing deal. OUr crib came with the headboard, footboard, crib sides, full bed rails and the toddler bed rail, all included. EVerywheer else I looked the bed rails and toddler bed rail was extram, there it was included. I was able to get the bed, a tall dresser and the long mirror dresser for teh price of just the crib at other stores. It is worth the trip. Good luck and congrats!

Most people I know that have gotten them only used them as a crib. The toddler bed is higher from the ground than a typical toddler bed and nobody I knew wanted to go straight to a full bed too big for such a small child.

Hi M.,
Congrats on your future bundle of joy!! We bought a convertible crib when I was pregnant with our daughter. She is now 2 1/2 years and in the full size bed that it converted to. We loved it from the start. One thing that I made sure of is that the front part was a sliding bar as I am on the short side, so as the matress was lowered, it was increasingly difficult to lay her in there easily. I beleive that it is by Storkcraft. It was fairly easy to assemble and convert into the toddler bed (all we did was take the front bar off and put a mesh bed rail that we bought at Toys R Us on). The instructions were a little vague in converting it into a full size bed, but we figured it out. One recommendation that we didn't take when we bought it was to buy the full size rails at the time we bought the crib. We found it very difficult to locate the correct ones when we needed them, but eventually got it right. We are now expecting our 2nd daughter and I am once again looking for a convertible. If you have enough room for the full size bed when it is time to convert, then I think it is worth the money. Plus, you don't have to store or get rid of a crib. 3 beds in one - it really was worth it to us!!
Good luck - you are in for the best time of your life with your new baby. These moments don't last forever.

The only advice I heard that made us decide against one is to consider how many kids you want to have. If you are going to have more than one kid, you'll end up having to buy another bed or crib anyway...

Hi M.:

Yes, we bought a Regazzi (expensive, but well worth it) crib for my now 5 year old son who is still enjoying his full size bed. My 22 mos old girl is also in a convertible from Sorelle which we will be converting soon. I think for the price, your better off as if you were to spend good money on just a crib now, in a few years you will have to buy another bed for the toddler years, and then either a twin or bigger down the line. So when you look at the cost in this way it works out to spend the extra money now and not have to worry until the child is ready to go off to college!

Good Luck!
D.

We've enjoyed our 3-in-one convertible crib (with a rolling drawer underneath) for both of our children now. It made the transition to a toddler bed easy since only the side of the bed changed and we didn't have to buy another bed.
The only downside (if that's what it is for you) is I didn't feel like we could lie down in bed with our kids when they were toddlers because it was a crib-sized bed, but that hasn't been a big deal for us.

Dear M.,
Congratulations!! I love my convertable crib, just make sure that you order the conversion kit at the same time as the crib-we had trouble when we went back to order it-but I loved it at a toddler bed, and as a full size bed!!

Good luck!
M.

We used the crib, and then switched it over to the toddler/day bed thing & it worked for sure. I did end up having to buy an actual toddler bed though b/c I ended up pregnant w/my 2nd child & he needed the crib =0) By the time the youngest was ready to convert over to the toddler bed part of the crib - we decided to buy bunk beds for the boys & I never got to use it past the toddler bed phase. But I know plenty of people who've used it for as long as it lasted =0) Congratulations & good luck . Motherhood is crazy at times - but a blast for sure! Enjoy it b/c it goes by WAY TOO FAST!!! Even when you think the crying will never stop or they'll NEVER sleep through the night - they do - i promise! God bless!

Congrats!!! What an exciting time for you and your family! My suggestion depends on whether you plan on having more children? This is why:

We purchased a convertible crib for our first daughter (she is turning 2) and planned to use the stages, too. But it skips a step: the twin bed! What child needs a double bed after a toddler bed? And we don't have the room!

We realized how impractical it would be to use the toddler bed stage of it if we ever decide to a second child--like now. (We are due next month!) Our daughter was almost outgrowing the crib/toddler mattress already and it wouldn't be long that the toddler bed would be uncomfortable. So we'd have to transition her to a twin mattress anyway. So, we decided to head to straight for the "big girl bed" this winter. She helped pick out the bedding (butterflies) and we made it a very exciting transition for her. She's done great. So, now the new baby will use the crib and we didn;t have to spend money on a second crib!

So, instead of us spending money on a crib and then spending money again on a twin bed later, we saved ourselves some money. Seriously, once you get the safety bars for a twin bed, there isn't much difference and now our daughter can use the twin for years and years to come in her room.

Enjoy your pregnancy and good luck with ALL your decisions!! There is sooo many to make! :-> D.

Hi M.!
Congrats on your first pregnancy~ so very exciting!

We purchased convertible cribs for our kids and love them. My kids are now 3 and 5 but it was great to have the crib turn into a toddler bed and then a full size bed. We also tend to co-sleep quite a bit and it's nice to be able to climb into their bed to help them sleep.

The only downside for us is this: we have a small house with small bedrooms. The convertible cribs transition to FULL size beds, therefore, the bed takes up the majority of the bedroom. So they don't have a lot of room to actually 'play' in their bedrooms, but it's all worked out okay for us. After all, bedrooms are for sleeping right? Besides we've got a playroom to keep all of their toys stashed in.

hope that helps, good luck!

We have a 2.5 year old and we started and she is still in her crib.. we have a crib from Babee Tenda.. it is a convertible crib.. goes to a toddler bed and then to a "day bed" Babee Tenda has a great feeding table as well.. we attended a safety seminar before we had our baby girl.. and were able to get the crib, feeding table, stroller and car seat.. one stop shopping so to say.. all these items are without safety recalls.. they are 2.5 years old and holding up great.. we will have many more years with the crib/toddler bed and day bed.. the feeding table also converts to a drawing table and comes with a chair.. I recommend it.. our daughter will be in the crib for a while longer.. she started climbing out some time ago.. but after several "No don't do that.." she doesn't do it much at all.. it also has a little door on the side that opens that allows her to get in an out of bed when she is walking and wants to feel like a big girl.. convenient for not having to pick her up to get her out.. although she at 2.5 years old is only about 25-27lbs..

Best of luck..

Take care and congratulations!

Peace..

C. in Rhode Island

I love mine. It went from a crib to a toddler to a full size. The only thing they don't tell you is that you have to order the bed rails for when you convert it. I didn't do that and now I am having a hard time finding all my paperwork to find out who the company is to order bedrails. I would suggest doing that as soon as you get it and put them away.

We have a convertible crib and have had it since my oldest daughter was about a year old. She is now 6 and my 2 year old will be getting ready for the "conversion" :). I love it. It's still small enough for them to feel comfortable but yet you can call it the "big girl" or boy bed. You get a ton of use out of it. :) You can also use the same mattress for it too when you convert as well as whatever comforter set you have so those two things are money savers right there. :)