Cot vs cotbed

[joosiewoosie]

Hi all. Only 21w with our first so just thinking ahead a little in terms of Bubbs' room.

What are your experiences of each version? Benefits and disadvantages?

I have noticed that few cotbeds have drop sides...this is a worry for me as I
have a dodgy back anyhow. But cots look awfully small in comparison. We have a crib for our room for the first few months, but we are just wondering which will be best for Bubbs when in his/her own room.

Opinions and ideas please!

we have a cotbed that we used for dd and will be using again this time. it doesn't have drop sides but the mattress has three different heights depending on age and mobility of baby, so is high for a tiny and you don't have to bend at all. we went with cotbed because it lasts them til their about 5 and then you have to get a big bed, which you would be getting at some point anyway, so it really made no odds to us whether it was sooner rather than later. it did mean that when the sides came completely off it was a lovely little height for dd to climb in and out of, especially good when she was potty trained and able to go to the loo in the night herself . i used to hear her over the monitor toddle off and get back into bed occasionally when she didn't take a detour into our room

we had a cot for our 3,

the reason was that we knew eventually we'd need to buy a proper bed, and so it made more sense to buy a cot (which was cheaper) and then move straight into a single bed (which we already had)

I haven't had any experience sorry but I was totally bamboozled too (39w). We ended up buying a cot, after the cot bed I ordered and paid for was out of stock in the end (Mothercare, don't buy from there!).

I picked it because we have a lovely full sized bed that is a family heirloom that we plan to use when bump is big enough to go into it! It was after looking on here I thought it would be ok, rather than shelling out for a cot bed when I don't like the high back and front you end up with.

With the drop sides, I think they've stopped doing them so much because of the safety problems. I'm not sure if America did do it, but they were talking about banning drop sides because of incidents with fingers getting trapped. However, for every one that does get trapped there's probably 30 others that don't!

In the end, you pick what you like but there have been some really helpful threads on here. Sorry about the long post. Good luck

Hi joosie! How are you getting on with that bump?! My little angel had a cotbed - and was fine in it (with sides removed from aged 2 and a bit) until she moved into a 'big girl's bed' (her words!) at age 3. Some of my friends who were planning on a small gap between babies chose cots instead and just moved the older one into a toddler or single bed, but for me - without oodles of storage space and a 3.5 year gap - a cot would have been a bit of a nuisance, either having to sell it store it or for 18 months in the interim.
Our cot bed (from Mamas and Papas) didn't have drop sides, and I can't say I've seen many that do, either, but the base could be at 3 or 4 different heights, so we could have it quite high while she was very little, which was a bit kinder on the back! Hope you're enjoying all the baby shopping!
x

A cot is plenty big enough for a baby/toddler. My ds was in his cot until he was 2.9 .
We then bought him a toddler bed because we didn't have the space for a full size bed. He was in it 4mths until we moved. He's now in a mid sleeper which will last him years.

If I had to do it again I would have bought a cotbed, just because of space and knowing that we wouldn't have been able to fit a single in there. However if we had another baby now, I would go for a cot and get a single bed when they are about 2.5.

Do whatever suits you better!

My dd is in a cot, but that's because its a hand-me-down. Cotbeds look vast in comparison but I'm pleased we've bought 2 for our twins (due for CS in 5 weeks 3 days, eek!) as she'll be tiny in a single bed and I'd love the toddler bed option (but not the extra expense). She's 17 months now so a little way off still, but we had to buy a chest of drawers for her to make space for twins' clothes so bought her a matching bed ready and i can't picture her in it. Especially if you've got a crib, I'd go cotbed. 5 years use for not much extra expense. We've just bought cosatto hogarth cotbeds as I wanted a one hand drop side one. Love it so far! (Ones built!)

I've just purchased the Anna cot from John Lewis, which has the most ingenious mechanism to drop the side down. It only cost £100 with free delivery too, oh and I've got the white one.

Oh, and the cotbed we've chosen has 2 split ends so doesn't look wierd as a toddler bed, it converts into a proper, low head and foot end toddler bed.

Thanks all...lots of votes for cotbed then!

Has anyone with back issues used one? This is my only big reservation.

Special hi to Biccies Hope all's good for you too! We are only window shopping at the moment and deciding what's what (I am so indecisive, it'll take me forever to choose, so thought I'd better start looking now!) x

I have a white East Coast Morston drop side cot (I got it off ebay for about £70) about 5 years ago. Used it for DS1 after he moved from a hammock at 7 months, changed it to a bed when he got to about 2, then bought him a high-bed when DS2 was ready to move from the hammock, and the cot-bed is now DS2s cot .The height is also adjustable. Honestly I didnt use the drop side much, but they can be very useful. I thought it made a lovely bed, although cotbed sized duvet covers can be difficult to buy (if your kids are into characters, they tend to be overpriced - I have always bought single sized and cut them down)

The reason I have a cotbed is because of the small size of the boys rooms. (DS1's room is v. narrow and a single is too wide - even his high bed is the extra narrow width) I know lots of people say just move straight to a single as its cheaper, but to be perfectly honest, for us that £70 means a bit more maneuvering room for a few years and therefore is worth it and we would have spent it on a cot as he was too little to go from hammock to single bed, so I dont see that its that much more expensive anyway.

if you are planning a DC2 then I would go with a cot as DC1 will probably move out of cot to accomodate a baby, so you would end up buying a single bed anyway

when they get to that 6-7month stage where you put them in one end of the bed and they starfish and make it down to the other end they get cold

my dds were both out of the crib at 4 months and looked tiny in a cot, never mind a cot bed

cot beds and bedding more expensive

but it's entirely your decision :)

yes our cotbed had split ends too, so had lower head and foot when a toddler bed. it's an m&p' one but we got a great deal on it and pay a fraction of what you normally pay for them

*paid

Most cots and cot beds have different heights as said upthread, so this should help your back as you won't be lowering a really wee one right to the bottom!

Cant help with the bad back experience Im afraid but another vote for the M&P cot bed here DS went into it at about 4.5months when he outgrew his Moses basket, and we moved him into the toddler bed version about a month ago (he's 2yr 1month now). He loves it and it's the perfect height for him to get in and out of and isn't too high on the odd occasion he's fallen out We know it will only last him another 3 years or so, but we'll have more than got the value out of it by then. In fact we're now looking for the same again for DC2 who will be with us in less than 4 weeks!

The one thing I would say is that you might want to think about what you will want to do after they've outgrown the cot/cotbed. Do you have room for a full size single, would you look at a toddler bed after a cot, how might you lay the room out etc. We considered getting DS a single bed, and giving the cotbed to DC2, but actually we'll struggle to fit one in his bedroom, unless we manage to get one that is the same width as the mattress (I've only seen about 2 so far)

Happy hunting

I got a bedside cot (a Cosatto one), as wanted to have the baby by my bed for easy feeding in the night etc. He moved into his own room in the same cot at 6 months, and has just moved into a proper bed at 18 months. Didn't see the point of a cotbed personally.

We bought a cotbed thinking it would last years and turned it into the bed bit when ds started climbing the bars at 20 months.

As a cot it was brilliant and had no problems with him sleeping in it. We lasted 4 months with it as a bed as he quickly cottoned on that he could get out and into our bed. I can count the number of times on one hand he slept through the night in it. Changed him to a proper single bed 4 weeks ago and thankfully normal service has resumed.

This is just my experience though and ds is perhaps just that type of child! I realise this is probably of no use to you as your baby is not yet born so renders my post kinda pointless!

If space isn't an issue in your room get a bedside cot. If it is then the morston ( as recommended earlier) is a good cot bed. Mothercare price matched it for me from precious little ones.

We had a lovely silver cross cotbed that went through two dc, two years apart. DS had it as a cot then a cot bed for a while. When dd came along she had my old cot for a little while until DS went into a proper bed, then went into the cot bed until she was 6.We used it for about 8 years all in all, which I think is very good value and it has now been passed onto my cousin.

Another vote for m&p cot bed. Ocean range. Pricey but worth it in my opinion.
Plenty going for next to nothing on eBay too. Converts to a lovely looking day bed when child old enough!

Best wishes.

We have gone down the cot bed route. we are hoping it will last DS until he is 4/5 as it is solid pine and we have bought a mattress that was more expensive then ours (king size)

I wouldn't worry about the drop side, when ds was a baby I insisted on a cot bed with a drop side, which we got from mamas & papas, and how many times did I use the drop side - never!! It was just simpler to reach in. I don't regret getting a cot bed it worked out really well and ds was in it until he was 4.