Dropside Cot bed advice for FTM?

[MamaMeela]

Hi,

I'm about to switch my baby to a cotbed from our old 'next to me crib'. It's a bit overdue as baby is 7 months now and massive! I'm a FTM and have no clue about cotbeds.

I've been looking at the Silver Cross Westport, or the SnuzKot type ones, but they don't have drop sides. Do you think I will use drop sides now he's older? I'm not sure if drop sides are really for newborns? Bearing in mind my baby is reeeally heavy... should I only go for a drop side cotbed or not worry?

(The ones we are looking at convert to toddler beds and beds suitable for small children too, if that's relevant).

Secondly, will it be scary for baby to suddenly have sides as we have been using a 'next to me' until now?

Thanks x

[Heartofglass12345]

It's up to you what you decide obviously, it's good to have options hehe

[MamaMeela]

All really good points, thank you! @Fiddlersgreen @Heartofglass12345 @MyNameHasBeenTaken

It sounds like the priority should be longevity and that the drop sides might not be that useful anyway. Certainly don't want baby to work it out!

[MyNameHasBeenTaken]

I am happy to be corrected.
I had a cot bed for dd. She loved it.
We got given it. So even better!
She would have worked out the mechanism for a drop side. And escaped every 30 seconds.
We stayed in France when dd was a toddler. The french cot had 2 removable bars in the side. So the child can release themselves safely in the morning.
I never missed having a drop side.
But I put them in awake
They would wake the second you moved them

[Heartofglass12345]

Cot beds are good as they last, my son has only just gone into a single bed and he's 5, and the only reason for that was because his cot bed broke

[Fiddlersgreen]

The one you’ve linked to doesn’t convert into a toddler bed as you mentioned in your op.
It’s a cot so only 120x60 and will only last you until the child is 2ish.
A cot bed will be bigger and converts to a toddler bed without the sides, these are not usually available as a drop side

[MamaMeela]

@MyNameHasBeenTaken @LIZS @MoveAsideCherry @MixedUpFiles

No they are not banned in the UK, only in the US. They are available to buy in the UK, for example I am looking at one on John Lewis website. The UK has more stringent safety measures than the US according to Which.

I just wondered if they are useful / helpful or not as baby gets older.


www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-partners-anna-dropside-cot-white/p2053368?tmad=c&tmcampid=7&sshare=jlappiosY29tLmFwcGxlLlVJS2l0LmFjdGl2aXR5LkNvcHlUb1Bhc3RlYm9hcmQ

www.which.co.uk/reviews/cot-beds/article/using-cot-beds-safely-adlri8j5kOBw#are-dropsided-cot-beds-safe

[LunchWithAGruffalo]

You can still find dropside cots if that's what you want. There's one at John Lewis which looks identical to the one we had when the children were smaller.

I wouldn't say it was an essential feature though, I did tend to drop the side once we'd moved the mattress down as I'm quite short and it's not that easy lowering a sleeping baby. DH never bothered, as he was tall enough to reach over.

[Greendoonan]

Don’t spend a lot. I bought a fabulous cot that converted to a toddler bed, good brand, good quality, looked lovely. Child refused to lie in it because he wanted to be next to me (he was used to being beside me after using a next to me crib). Ended with DH sleeping on the sofa, me with DC in the double bed, and the beautiful cot stood empty until I gave it away!

[MixedUpFiles]

You can’t buy a drop side crib anymore, even second hand.

[MoveAsideCherry]

Drop side cots were banned because of safety issues some time ago. Are you meaning convertable cotbed where the side can be taken off?

[LIZS]

Aren't dropsides out now due to safety concerns.

[MyNameHasBeenTaken]

I didnt think you could still buy drop-side?
You can make things less scary by having his cot in roughly the same place for a few nights. So he can still see you and get used to it.
Put his familiar things in there too.