Nursery Progress: Crib Notes
Ok, here it is. The much anticipated crib post. First we have to talk about how giddy we are to have a mini-me mattress going on. Let me explain. Remember back when John and I talked about saving our pennies for an organic mattress (after sleeping on a sketchy old hand me down for far to long) back in June of last year? Yeah, we actually had a “mattress fund” going until we could take that baby home. And pretty much ever since the day that we sprung for our own Organic Serenity Natural Dunlop Latex Mattress By Savvy Rest we dreamed of someday getting a mini version for our offspring in the form of a totally organic crib mattress (p.s. don’t you like my mattress pageantry below?).
After all, if John and I didn’t want to go to bed with just anything (my obsession with all things eco made me yearn for a pure and organic mattress free of fireproofing chemicals and made from 100% natural materials that are just as good for the planet as they are for people) we certainly wanted the same thing for the beanette. So imagine our sheer delight and amazement when the thoughtful and generous people at Savvy Rest contacted us and offered to send over an organic crib mattresses for our big nursery makeover. Yeah, it was enough excitement to make my bladder almost burst (this reaction might also have something to do with all the kicks I’ve been getting lately- we have a little can-can dancer in there).
So when The Savvy Baby (isn’t that an adorable name for a crib mattress?) arrived a few weeks later we were still pinching ourselves. And Burger fell in love too. In fact here’s a video of us catching Burger in the act of enjoying the new mattress (or you can watch it here on YouTube).
And fear not, that puppy’s cleaner than we are. And of course we’ll be adding an organic all-wool waterproof mattress pad along with an organic fitted sheet so please don’t worry that our baby girl will get some sort of dangerous chihuahua-borne illness.
But back to our baby… er, I mean the mattress. What makes it so covetable? Well it’s totally free of any chemicals and made from five inches of firm all-natural latex. The top and bottom of the mattress are also covered with flame-retardant quilting made of organic wool fiber and organic cotton fabric (it meets all the fire-proofing standards here in the US without being sprayed or dipped in any chemicals). Plus wool is naturally repellent to dust mites and keeps the mattress’s inner environment dry so baby P will sleep cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.
Doesn’t it sound like the Ferrari of crib comfort? Seriously we were thrilled and we can’t thank the sweet folks at Savvy Rest enough for their amazing gift. Of course we haven’t taken it for a spin since it’s a bit too short for us, but we can definitely vouch for the comfort-factor and durability of our own personal Savvy Rest mattress which we’ve enjoyed for almost a year now (check out an update on how we like it right here). And we haven’t mentioned that Savvy Rest is based right here in Virginia so it’s sort of a “local” company too. Gotta love that it didn’t need to travel far to arrive right at our door.
So that’s the rainbows and unicorns (read: happy-go-lucky) part of the story. Then it was time to figure out where we’d be putting our lovely new mattress… as in, locate a crib. This is easier said than done my friends. It was a major challenge to straddle the line between “we’d like it to be reasonably green and non-toxic since that’s the way we live” (we compost, have a rain barrel, use non-toxic cleaning products, etc) and “our budget isn’t in the $700-1500 range so all those entirely eco crib options sadly aren’t within reach for us” (with things like strollers, car seats, cloth diapers and other big ticket items still on our must-buy list we unfortunately had to set a crib budget and stick to it).
We quickly realized that we’d be happy to find a crib that was somewhat of a compromise (a bit more eco than most super cheap cribs with a few great non-toxic features but obviously nothing in the sadly-unattainable-for-us $700+ price range of those amazing industry leading green crib makers like Oeuf, Cariboo, Pacific Rim, DucDuc, Spot on Square, Argington, and Q Collection Junior). So after a bit of research and soul searching we arrived at a decent little “must-have list” that we thought would work best for us in order to narrow down all the contenders and hopefully leave us with something perfect for Baby P. Here was our required criteria:
- A crib that was constructed entirely out of solid wood (since pressed wood and MDF can be held together with off-gassing glue and formaldehyde)
- Something with a non-toxic finish (since babies are known to inexplicably gnaw on their cribs)
- A price tag under $400 if at all heavenly possibly (our initial budget was actually in the $200 range but we scored such a good deal on a secondhand nursery chair that we had a bit more to put towards the crib).
- A crib that meets or exceeds all of the established US safety standards
- Something modern-ish with clean lines and a white finish (to work with the rest of the room and feel gender neutral enough to reuse for future bambinos)
- A solid well rated stationary crib (we wanted to avoid anything with a drop side since there have been so many recent recalls)
We also had a bonus list of “it would be nice” characteristics that weren’t necessary but were definitely welcome:
- A crib with some sort of pull out storage underneath it (we’re all about maximizing our stash-it space)
- Something that can be converted to a toddler bed or daybed (we’d like to work with what we have for as long as possible)
- A splash of darker wood to balance the clean bright white finish on the rest of the crib (we actually found ourselves loving the dual-toned look but it wasn’t that easy to hunt down)
- Free shipping (because that’s always a nice bonus when purchasing such a big ticket item)
Our minds swirled with a ton of possibilities that we carefully considered as we went…
Idea #1: Could we make our own crib to meet every prerequisite? After a bit of deliberation we realized that with all the safety features, testing and industry standards we’d better leave crib-making to the experts.
Idea #2: Could we grab an unfinished solid wood one (made from birch, maple, oak?) and use a no-VOC stain or paint to finish it ourselves? Well, after hunting down very few totally unfinished solid wood options (many were already stained or sealed so we wouldn’t be able to easily alter the finish) we realized that unfinished cribs were generally in the $500-1200 range (a bit to a lot out of our budget) and usually had country-ish lines due to their raw and unfinished nature (we were interested in something a bit sleeker and more clean-lined).
Idea #3: Could we hunt down a used one? After all, that would be the greenest thing to do. But a bit more consideration had us thinking about those ever-changing safety standards and a slew of recent recalls so it seemed like getting something new that meets all the current safety standards was the right choice for fearful first time parents like us. Especially since my mother generously offered to foot the bill and kept mentioning that we should get something new that we could use again and again and again (somehow she thinks we’ll end up with seven babies since she herself is one of seven). The good news is that we’ve actually purchased an awesome thrift store nursery chair so we were as green as it gets in that category… stay tuned for those details.
Anyway, with all of that pre-hunt brainstorming out of the way, we dove headfirst into active “crib shopping” mode armed with our handy little list of boxes to check off and all the confidence of a nervous eight pound chihuahua (we have to be honest, it was quite intimidating and we were super worried that we wouldn’t find anything at all). But we did manage to dig up this good-looking crib made with solid wood and non-toxic finishes. The only downside: it doesn’t outright say there’s no MDF or pressed wood so there probably is. Plus the $379 price is very close to the top of our range (as in scraping right up against it) so we were hoping to find something that checked off all of our boxes and not just most of them for that price point. Back to the drawing board.
Then we came across this chic looking $419 crib, which was also made with solid wood and non-toxic finishes. But again it doesn’t outright say that there’s no MDF or pressed wood (something that cribs with this feature like to shout from the rooftops) so it also fell a bit short of checking off that last box (and was also a bit over our max budget). That’s ok… maybe the third time is the charm?
Spoiler alert: nope. We then stumbled upon this crib by DaVinci. We actually heard through a few online reviews that DaVinci cribs were usually made from solid wood, finished with non-toxic paint/stain and even came with BPA free crib guards- but there was hardly any information for this particular model except for the super vague “made from Asian hardwood” line (which could also be true if the thing was riddled with MDF) so we’re not really sure it met much of our criteria at all. The styling was also a bit less clean-lined than we wanted, although there was definitely something charming and undeniably “classic” looking about it. On the upside, it did come in white (our desired color) and was priced extremely well at $267… but it just didn’t do everything we hoped that our future crib would do. Moving on.
We began to wonder if we were (pardon my language) being hard-asses. Was our wish list akin to J Lo asking for nothing but white candles in her dressing room? Were we tirelessly trolling for something that just didn’t exist? We allowed ourselves just two minutes to wallow in self pity before deciding that we had work to do. Back to the search.
Next we came across two potential Ikea cribs, but the first one wasn’t the white color that we hoped for (although it did seem to be made mostly from sustainable solid wood). Sadly it also didn’t boast keywords like “non-toxic” or “low-VOC” when it came to the clear acrylic lacquer finish, and we learned along our little researching tirade that any crib with these features likes to highlight them in bold (so we always assume that if it doesn’t say something is: no-VOC, non-toxic, sustainable, completely comprised of solid wood and nothing else, etc- then it probably isn’t). Too bad because the price was pretty fantastic at $159. But that’s ok, there was another affordable Ikea option to evaluate.
Our second Swedish find (priced at just $99) also mentioned some nice solid wood & plywood materials (no word of pressed wood or MDF) but again neglected to describe that the “tinted clear amino resin lacquer” finish was anything especially non-toxic or low-VOC. Que the wop-wop sound effect.
Admittedly they were both amazingly priced and we actually know of at least three happy babies with these affordable and stylish Ikea cribs so by no means are we saying there’s a thing wrong with them (or the other cribs that we found along the way)! They just didn’t quite check off all the little boxes that we established going into our big crib hunt. We quickly learned that selecting a crib is definitely a subjective and surprisingly personal decision. What’s right for one person might not be right for the next mom and dad to come along so we definitely believe that ironing out what’s most important to you (and acknowledging that it won’t always be as important to the next person) will help you locate something perfect for your family, your budget and the way you live. To each his own, right? But back to our search…
Next we found this crib. At $490 the maple finish was the only one that we could *almost* afford (it was still nearly $100 over budget). Since the tone of the maple is a bit shy of the deep chocolate color that we lean towards, the white finish would have been our preference… but at $700 that option was out of our price range. And although the maple coloring didn’t really work with our ever-evolving nursery scheme, there was something intensely charming about this guy. He’s actually the cream of the eco crop (Argington is one of those fancy top-of-the-line green companies) and is made entirely of solid wood, touted as one of the most eco-friendly options out there, and constructed with all materials (glues, stains, and finishes) that are 100% non-toxic. Too bad it wasn’t the color we were looking for and the price was ultimately still a bit cost prohibitive for two savers like us. Oh well, back to the drawing board.
This crib was also super appealing thanks to the eco-advantages that it boasted (made entirely from sustainably grown wood with non toxic finishes). But the $700 price tag was just too steep for us, and the rounded corners wouldn’t fit our lovely new mattress. So we gave it one last look and clicked that window closed as a single tear slipped silently down my cheek (ok so I’m exaggerating, but this entire exercise was kind of an ooh-this-might-be-it-nope-keep-looking roller coaster ride).
Then we found this write-up which honestly helped A TON (update: we have been forced to unlink to the write-up, which has since been hacked and is redirecting people to a scandalous site and setting off virus alerts- we’ll put it back once things are running smoothly again). It reinforced that affordable eco cribs were few and far between (especially in the white coloring and clean-lined styling that we were looking for) but there were a few non-budget-breaking options that were still a bit “greener” than the average crib in that price range.
Ahhhhhhhhmmmmmmm.
Yes, that’s the sound of us breathing a long, deep sigh of relief. The affordable reasonably-green-crib-roundup that we had tracked down was insanely helpful! And the last crib they featured not only met all of our initial criteria but also checked off all of our bonus “would be nice” boxes too. And at $299 it was definitely within our budget. Were pigs flying? Could it really be? Oh sweet victory. It was described as “made from New Zealand pinewood with a non-toxic finish” and “the solid wood and wood veneer construction means no toxic VOCs or formaldehyde associated with pressed wood.” It also met or exceeded all US safety standards and received one of the highest user ratings we’d seen (over 85 people had weighed in after purchasing it and it earned almost five full stars out of five). Plus the $299 price tag even includes the rail to convert it to a toddler bed or daybed, there was free to-the-store shipping, it came in white and had a splash of darker wood, it was clean-lined and sleek looking and it even had a handy little storage drawer (talk about a few nice little bonuses).
It really was one of those miracle moments. Perhaps it’ll be up there with actually meeting our baby girl for the first time in May. Ok so that’s probably pushing it, but after hours (literally at least four solid ones) spent looking for something that consistently eluded us it seriously felt like a major coup to click the “buy” button and exchange a few nerdy high fives that we save for special occasions like these.
We could hardly wait to get it home, put it together, add our awesome new mattress, and test it all out with The Burgette. And about a week later we found ourselves doing just that. Nice, right?
Oh, maybe we should stop to explain who Burgette is. She got her name because she’s sort of a hybrid between Burger + The Beanette (we whipped her up thanks to this Burger zoonie and a recently gifted newborn sleeper… just so someone could take our new nursery addition for a spin). Look… she likes it!
And although we luckily were able to assemble things pretty quickly, we sped things up even more for your viewing pleasure (watch it below from Vimeo, or over here on YouTube):
So there you have it. The mind-numbingly exhaustive play by play of how we ended up with an amazing organic mattress and a solid clean-lined white wood crib without any pressed wood or MDF and a non-toxic finish. Of course we realize that one comes from a small Virginia based company and the other comes from a giant big box store (and yes, that it could be even greener if we had twice to three times as much to spend on it). But one thing we’ve already learned about impending parenthood is that it’s all about balance. And we love that we were able to add a thrift store nursery chair to the mix (stay tuned for those details). Balance really feels like it’s the key. We won’t be able to keep our little one away from certain things (like boys for instance) or feed her a completely organic diet until she’s 25, so we did the best we could and set out with a few simple “goals” for the bean’s sleeping situation. And we lived to tell the tale. Whew. Now there are only 579,088,989 more dire decisions that we’ll have to make before she graduates college. This should be interesting…
Psst- Wanna see our nursery progress from the very beginning? Here’s our painting post and here are a bunch of accessory-hunting details.
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Comments
We have a couple of resources that can help while you’re outfitting your nursery. Visit The ParentHood section of JPMA.org for product safety tips while you’re shopping for baby gear and a room-by-room guide to prepare for bringing the Bean home. Also, follow us on Twitter for ongoing tips and updates @JPMA.
I have the same crib!! The whole time I was reading your post I was thinking: I know I know! Pick me!!!!!
Your blog is hilarious! Keep up the good work!
Your nursery is looking great! Mine still doesn’t look finished and the youngest is almost 2…oh well, there’s always next time.
As another tiny mama (I’m 5′2″) I wanted to tell you to consider some sort of step stool for when the crib mattress is lower. Since your crib side doesn’t drop, you may find it is hard to reach the bottom to get the baby in and out after you drop the mattress the whole way. Nothing more frustrating than finally getting the 20+ pounder to sleep and then waking him (her) up putting them in the bed.
Best wishes for healthy baby-cooking! Hopefully I’ll be in your boat again soon. We have two little boys, but we need some pink around here!
Thanks so much for the tip! We actually never thought about a little stepping stool but it sounds like a great solution if I have any issues reaching into the crib once the mattress is lowered when the bean is bigger.
xo,
s
love the post but the one thing that really stands out for me is how excited you must be :-) thanks for sharing the love!
First, I love the crib!
Second, the amount of “disclaimers” you put in your posts is unreal. I assume it’s to head off negative commenters at the pass — but I would assume that if people are going to share their 2 cents, they’re going to do it anyway, regardless of whatever explanations you give…? Maybe I’m wrong. But for the record, I’m one reader/commenter who wishes you didn’t feel the need to explain your reasoning behind every move. People will always have negative things to say. You are well loved and supported by this community! :)
(I’m left wondering if I’m the only one who feels this way!)
Thanks, Beth! I guess after all this time we’ve learned to anticipate various types of comments and questions that come up, so we tend to try to provide as much as we can upfront. So whether they’re disclaimers or just details about our thought process, we plan to keep on blogging like we always have. Oversharing, going on tangents, using phrases like “do tell” way too much- all of these little quirks really are “us”. Of course it’s always nice to know that we’ve got folks like you behind us!
xo,
s
The DaVinci are nice cribs. I seriously thought about that one until my bosses offered to buy me a crib. So, um, I went with the more expensive Nurseryworks Loom crib. It’s a great crib, we love it, it’s all nontoxic, built with sustainable materials, and our daughter is now 16 months old and it doesn’t have a chip, it looks the same as when it was put together. Although the baby slept in a bassinet her first four months or so, I hate seeing tiny little newborns in huge cribs.
Great post, not so much for the particular purchase, but for sharing your methods on decision making. I really admire the two of you for taking your time, sticking to your budget, and not being obstinate in needing to have that “perfect” whatever. I know I am learning to slow down and taking time to figure out a room and save money while I do. Sometimes the waiting helps for the right season or the right trend to hop along for things to come together.
Anyway, a little off topic, but thank you for sharing, it reminds me that I don’t need to have everything right away to make the perfect room (although with a baby, you do need to hurry things up a little bit when it comes to getting a nursery together).
It’s looking great! Also, where is the bed in your master bedroom from? I really love how simple and modern it is!!!
That’s a malm bed from Ikea. It was such a steal and it looks as good now as the day we got it (over three years ago). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I have the same crib! I really like it. I ended up putting a crib skirt on it because when the mattress is on the top or middle setting you can see down into the drawer – and since I’m using the door for spare bedding and the next size of cloth diapers I needed to hide the storage :)
I would love to share pictures, but I don’t have a blog…
This is the same crib I was planning to buy! Great taste! I was worried about a few of the reviewers who said that most standard mattresses do not fit that great and it was hard to change sheets daily because of the bolts that were on the inside of the crib. Apparently, the awkwardness of the bolts sticking out made it difficult to move the mattress easily. Do you find that will be a problem?
P.S. Burger is soooooooo cute.
Hey Jaimee,
We did read those few comments about the bolts but apparently they must have updated the design since we have no issue with our standard sized mattress at all. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Wow. What a search, with an awesome result!
I’m excited to hear that you’re planning on cloth diapering. It’s not only so much healthier and easier on the planet, but can be so much fun, too. I made most of my children’s cloth diapers. Newborn diapers are the most fun to make, as they’re tiny and incredibly sweet. Here’s one of the last batches I made before my last baby was born: http://thepassionatemind.blogspot.com/2008/04/catching-up.html
I also embellished some prefolds with second-hand clothing: http://thepassionatemind.blogspot.com/2008/04/more-sewing-embellished-prefolds.html
It’s completely possible to sew up every diaper you could ever need for less than $50, especially if you source most of your fabric at thrift shops. There’s a WORLD of info out there (as you may already know! lol), but cloth diapering is as simple or complex as you make it. (I prefer simple. :o) I’m pretty sure you’ll never lack for help, but I’m happy to answer questions if you’d like input from a loyal reader.
I can’t wait to see what you come up with as far as cloth diapering goes . . . with your design abilities, you could create a really fun and sweet “stash”, as the cd’ing community calls it. Just think . . . diapers that coordinate with the nursery. :o)
Take care!
I wish you could hear how hard my two year old daughter was laughing at the Burger video! She loves animals and he is just too cute!
Hey guys!!
SO excited for you.. thank you for sharing your journey with us!!! What a great gift for your baby… documenting your excitement, preparation, etc. Awesome.
My hubby and I are hoping to get a room design from you very soon!!!!
We’re cloth diapering as well… it’s so great!!! We’ve saved a TON of money, eco friendly, and they are so darn cute!! :)
Good luck with all of your adventures!!! You two do a FANTASTIC job! You comment on so many posts; it really makes for a “personal” experience on your blog! Impressive!!!
Kate : )
Wow. This post is so thorough. The Jenny Lind crib by DaVinci is my favorite for style. You’ve given me a lot to think about, as I hope we’ll be looking for a crib in the next year or two.
No topic of discussion brings out the snarks more than that of parenting. Your decision to buy an eco-friendly crib reminds me that I didn’t make that choice – what does that say about me and my parenting??? And so on.
We all choose our battles with parenting and SOMEONE will always have something to say about what we’ve decided to do. I learned the hard way that listening to all the voices will drive one mad, as will comparing myself to the choices of other parents. Do what you feel is best for your child/family and don’t make apologies for it.
The crib is adorable and the room looks fanstastic so far. Congratulations. Decorating my daughter’s bedroom has been one of the most fun and creative experiences for me. Enjoy it! Soon enough she will have her own opinions – mine is almost 6 and she knows what she likes!
Thanks so much for sharing your crib-finding journey! I’ve been going through the same issues, and this post was like a gold-mine!
John & Sherry – bless you. I would have strangled Barbara for her rude comment.
I think you guys are great and I admire what you are doing. What a lucky Bean!!
This may have been covered, I only read about half of the posts, but I would just say the one concern of Burger being on the mattress would be allergy reasons. I have 2 kids, my first has 0 allergies and the dog was bff with him from the time he came home from the hospital. The second child however has more allergies than I thought possible! No one in my family has allergies and she was allergic to wheat, eggs, and peanuts and now a whole slew of environmental allergies. We had to get rid of our dog for her health and as devastated as we were, when those babies come along they are #1 for sure. Anyway, I’m not trying to be preachy or annoying, I would just say to keep it in mind. She’ll probably be perfect and have no problem at all, but I would be amiss to not share!
Thanks for the note! Burger ran around on the mattress for about 30 seconds three weeks ago and hasn’t been near it since we put it in the crib. We even vacuumed it to remove any little pup hairs just in case of any allergy issues. We’ll also be adding a waterproof wool mattress cover and an organic sheet (which we’ll wash quite regularly) so we’re sure the beanette will be a-ok! Thanks for the thought though!
xo,
s
Love it! As I watched the video, my dog jumped up on my lap and started whimpering at the computer screen. She really wanted to play with Burger!
Love your nursery! So darn cute. I’m on my way to reading the curtain tutorial next. :) Any help with sewing would be fantastic! A little off related, you mention using only green (non-toxic) cleaning supplies .. curious which brand you use? I’ve done some researching & can’t make up my mind which to choose. And does one cleaner do it all? Counters, bathtubs, floors or do you have different cleaners for each? Thanks for any advice you can offer!
We love Seventh Generation, Mrs. Meyer’s, Seventh Generation and Dr. Bronners- all of which you can get at Target. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Curious if you would mention Seventh Generation … I absolutely LOVE their Lavender & Mint Dish Soap!! Thanks!
This is out of total curiosity and regarding your response to the question about the fur throws and leather chairs in your house.
Since you have already paid for the throws and the animal has already died, doesn’t it make that animal’s death even more pointless if you don’t put them to use? You bought them under a false assumption (one that I assumed, as well, until this post!) and had no intention of contributing to that industry. Now that you have, who is benefiting by them being in the basement?
It’s like my friend the Priest said after I told him I had left bacon on my plate on a Friday during Lent (after ordering my breakfast without bacon). He said that it was worse for me to waste perfectly good food than to eat it when I wasn’t supposed to.
Honestly, I’m just curious and wondering if you had thought about it that way. If you have and you couldn’t bear the thought of a real animal fur in your home, I completely understand! I’m not trying to judge or tell you what is right or wrong. :)
We’ll definitely Craigslist them or donate them so they have a second life instead of sending them off to a landfill. That way we can live without them in our house (since we recently learned something new about them) but someone else with different sensibilities can enjoy them for years to come! Heck, we may even gift them to a friend or family member who covets them- we just don’t feel right cozying up to them anymore but it’s a totally personal thing and we know what’s right for us isn’t what’s right for everyone. They’re just sitting in the basement until we get around to it. We hate waste and we hate not using things, so they’ll get the same “recycle or donate” treatment that an extra toaster or an unused collection of old towels would- we’ll be sure that they find a happy home. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Wow! I’m late on this one but I have that exact crib for my daughter (who is now 1 1/2) and never really knew it was at all eco-friendly. I can vouch for how durable and light it is and she loves it. She’s started teething on the rail so a little paint gets into her mouth but I checked and it’s non-toxic so she’s fine. We’re having another baby in August so we’ll be using the same crib for him/her as well and hopefully getting to convert it to the toddler bed eventually. It’s comforting to know my taste is backed by the YHL seal of approval. :)
I, for one, appreciate your sharing of your findings about eco-friendly baby things. I feel it’s very important to know what sort of things are in your environment (lead, VOCs etc) and to limit what you can. And I can’t wait to cloth diaper myself – they are so cute! And I won’t feel guilty putting those diapers in the landfills…
Hi,
Your nursery is looking just divine so far. I have a question for you re: the crib. We were thinking of purchasing the very same one, but we were wondering if the top-of-mattress to top-of-railing height is the same as that of other cribs? It just seems a bit short to us, and one of the reviewers on walmart.com said that it was very short and that her 9mo. old could easily climb out of it? Did you by chance have your niece/nephew try it out? I am just really nervous to buy a crib that isn’t going to be safe or practical.
Thanks!
Beverley
Hmm, we certainly have had John’s sisters over (with babies in tow) and they’ve never mentioned that our crib was any different than the ones they have at home (and by our eye they’re all extremely similar as well). Our crib actually has lower mattress settings for larger kids (we can see how a small child could climb out at the top setting, shown in the post above, but the mattress can be lowered nearly all the way down to the drawer on the bottom which is a good three feet below the top of the crib). That seems like a really nice depth to us. Of course it also meets or exceeds every safety standard in the US, so we’re sure that even though the crib isn’t a tall set-off-the-ground design, there’s still a standard height from the bottom setting of the mattress to the top of the crib that it adheres to along with every other USA manufactured crib. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
i love this post and your open style of writing and responding. i’m expecting my own little pea in august : ) but im so busy till june with my studies and exams – i hardly can find time to really look for what i want – plus i will only have 2 months at most to do most of the preparing! so it was lovely of you to share your research and cut my work in half – i love your suggestions and your final choice – i just hope that by the time i order it it wont have been sold out!
looking at some mattress options- most of the manufacturers recommend a hard surface underneath the mattress instead of springs – what could be done about that since this crib has springs?
Good question! They actually address this question on the mattress site by recommending that you just place a piece of plywood over the springs so the mattress is on a more rigid surface. Easy fix, right? They can even cut the plywood to size for you at Home Depot or Lowe’s. Hope it helps!
xo.
s
Hey kiddos,
There is a great website http://www.moolka.com that has wonderfully original and eco-friendly toys, storage, and decor. You can actually choose which country you would like to receive your products from. The only thing I would say is to check the size measurements, I have ordered a few toys that were smaller than I expected (but still oh so cute!)
Hey Barbara,
As we said in the post, this is definitely a subjective topic and it’s all about personal preference. We believe that every parent has the right to make informed decisions that work for their family (knowing full well that what appeals to one mom might not appeal to the next one). We also do our very best to respect everyone’s right to their own opinion and we hope that you can do the same. We look forward to cloth diapering and keeping lead out of the bean’s mouth! To each his own, eh?
xo,
s