Drop Side vs Fixed Side cot beds

[wholovesyou]

Have seen lots of fixed side cot beds. Not many drop side. Theres a tutti bambini one in Tescos but Ive heard bad things about that make.

Im only 5.3, will a fixed side really be that bad for my back? Friends seem to think so, but Im unsure. They do have adjustable height levels after all?

Help!

[japhrimel]

The top height levels can only be used when your baby can't sit/stand up, so when they're bigger & heavier, you have to use the lowest level.

[keepingeverythingcrossed]

I bought a drop side cot as I too am 5'3 and was worried about my back blah blah but all the bastard thing does is drop to a certain point whenever it feels like it. The thing that irritates the most though is that it never looks absolutely straight either and if you are intending to have a cot bumper they go up and down with the drop side and so you're forever faffing to make it look nice again. My daughter is 12 weeks old and it has pissed me off every day since she was born. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that if I could go back and choose again I'd have got a fixed side one. Mine's from mothercare btw, avoid like the plague. Oh, and congratulations! Aside from the poxy cot, babies are great!

P.S Mamas and papas has a sale on at the mo.

[Ellie4]

I can definately see the advantage in having a drop sided one and I'm quite tall. When your older baby falls asleep out and needs to be put in the cot it really gets your back having to lean over,
However you would need to make sure it has a quiet mechanism. Babies can wake up if someone drops a pin in the room next door and if every time the cot side being put up wakes them you are not going to bother using it so you might as well save your money. Also I'm not sure if they make them or not but check to see if they make one handed ones to operate. I remember looking at a 2 handed mechanism cotbed and I could hardly stretch to do the 2 sides at once and I'm 5'7 with long arms to boot!

[thisisyesterday]

i have a dropside cot

don't think i have EVER used the dropside though. i am too lazy, just pop baby in over the side

[thisisyesterday]

actually agree... if it was one-handed then i might have used mine

[katiepotatie]

I am 5'2 and wouldn't manage without a dropside. The cot base has to be on the lowest level when they are older and heavier. I can't get ds in without lowering the side, and would really bugger my back otherwise.
I have a Mamas and Papas one, I think they have a sale on just now

[BagofHolly]

Mamas and Papas have stopped selling drop sided cots apparently! And they've been banned in some states in the US as they're not as strong as fixed sided ones and if they're not put together properly or get worn out then their shape loses integrity adn you can get a gap between the mattress and the sides, which can be dangerous.

[MummyAbroad]

My little boy is two and just moved into a big bed. We used a moses for the first two months and then the cot for 1 year 10 months!! Probably best to invest a bit of time on this investment.

I had a drop side one, the kind where the lower half is fixed and then you fold up the top half. I was very greatful as my son was very heavy and pregnancy left me with back problems. When DS was 1 then he learned how to undo the latch so we had to buy some child proof kitchen cupboard latches and glued them on, worked great.

[nymphadora]

With dds I had a drop side and dd2 managed to wreck it in many ways but one of them was to make the drop side open from the bottom so she could escape.

[whizzymummy]

I'm also 5'3" and bought a drop side cot - remembe being quite obsessed about needinb one - never used it! It's not laziness, I've just never needed to use it and both my DS ans DD have been in it. When they are tiny you have the matress level higher so the drop side is not needed, and when they get bigger there is less need to do anything (for me by then it's plonk them in their cot in a sleeping bag, quick stroke and night night and off we go out of the room!).
Thnk it may come in useful now though as we're going to take the drop side off altogether so DD who is 2 can get used to it as a bed before going into a normal single bed!

[WilliamItWasReallyNothing]

I'm only 5' and seriously regret not getting a drop side cot. I thought when DD got older she would stand up making it easier to pick her out but she's usually sitting down and it really puts a strain on my back. I'm now 34 wks pregnant and had to move her to a bed months ago as with my bump I just couldn't reach! If you think you might have another baby I would get a drop side one