Your Guide to Buying Baby Cribs

There are many factors to consider when buying your baby’s first crib. Being a father of two I know the many ups and downs that you will face in your quest to buy the right crib for your child. From an outsiders perspective this seems like it should be a fairly easy and straight forward decision, however, for a parent who wants the absolute best for their soon-to-be born child, it is far from straight forward and anything but easy.

Let’s begin by going over the many different aspects you’ll want to consider when shopping around. You want the baby crib to be: nice to look at, easy to assemble, easy to use, as cost friendly as possible and last but definitely not least; you want it to be safe! In this article I will be covering each of these different considerations in depth.

Appearance

You’ll want the crib to match its surroundings. What color are the walls? Do you want the other furniture in the room to match the crib? White is a fairly common first choice for new parents as it matches well with just about any other color the only down side is that dirt shows on white cribs more than any other color. Black could be a good choice if you’re trying to avoid dirt showing, however, some people might not like this color as it is too dark. Stained wood is also a good color for hiding dirt and it also has a nice rustic look to it. There are many other colors to choose from of course and again you’ll likely want to choose something that matches the rest of the room, just remember, light colors show dirt (and handprints), dark colors don’t.

Assembly

Most cribs are fairly easy to assemble and don’t require too much brainpower, you just have to look at and follow the instructions. You may want to have a friend or your spouse around as some parts of the crib can be a little heavy to lift or hold up by yourself. Be sure to fully assemble the crib as failing to do so may result in loss of safety!

Accessibility

There are a few different types of cribs available today: Stationary cribs don’t have the option of lowering either side of the crib. This may seem a little bit inconvenient for some people but it’s also considered to be safer which we’ll touch on later. Single-drop cribs allow you to lower one side and the other side remains stationary. Double-drop cribs make it possible to lower both sides if need be. It’s hard to say which option is easiest to use. I chose the single-drop crib for our situation as for the first couple months we chose to place to crib directly next to our bed with one side lowered to make feeding sessions easier on the mother. This was safe in this situation as if the baby rolled over she would go onto our bed. So consider what is best for your situation.

Cost

This may or may not be an issue for you. I think all of us want the best deal we can get but at the same time your child is worth more than money, right? You’ll want something that will last for at least the first year of your child’s life, maybe even longer if you plan on having more than one child, and not something that will break during the assembly (it has happened). If your crib did end up breaking, buying a second one would certainly prove a lot more costly than buying a better quality crib in the first place. Going for cheap baby cribs might not be the best idea as generally cheap cribs are of lower quality. If you do decide to go for a cheaper crib you might want to run a search on the name of the crib and cross check it with the word “recall” just to be safe.

Safety

This is likely the biggest concern for most people when buying a new crib, and if it’s not, it should be. Your child’s safety is paramount over any other concern! Having said that, let’s take a look at what makes a crib safe. It should be fully assembled with no parts missing (as mentioned above). It should have a firm, tight fitting mattress. The slats under the mattress should be no more than 2 3/8" apart (roughly the width of a soda can) and corner posts shouldn’t be any higher than 1/16". Another thing to consider safety wise is drop-sides. There is much debate on whether or not they should make new safety regulations in regards to drop-side cribs. Many people feel that they are unsafe while other people feel they are perfectly safe. New warnings from CPSC indicate that they could present serious safety issues and new safety standards are expected soon.

In Conclusion

Selecting a baby crib is no walk in the park, however, if you follow this guide you will make life easier on yourself and at least you’ll feel a little more confident about your decision. Good hunting!