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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

What should I look for in a cot?

24 replies

LateBear · 16/08/2013 15:55

Starting to look at cots, what features are worth having and is there anything to look out for? Thanks :)

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FishCalledWonder · 16/08/2013 15:57

We went for the cheapest cot we could find but the most expensive mattress.

RobotHamster · 16/08/2013 15:58

2 or 3 different heights, and the ability to take the side off to turn into a cot bed.

Drop side is a waste of time IMO. I'm not particularly tall, but managed without ever needing to use it, so don't bother with that unless you're under 5' tall.

Drawers underneath are useful if you can find them.

Look at the Ikea Stuva cot.

Original poster

LateBear · 16/08/2013 16:02

Great, thanks for the quick replies :)

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Pinebarrens · 16/08/2013 16:08

depending on where its to be situated in the room, solid ends as opposed to bars.

gives you something to hide behind whilst willing your baby to sleep

we've seen real benefits of a cotbed. DC2 is now in the cot and it looks almost as good as new, despite a big DC1 using it for 3 years.

RobotHamster · 16/08/2013 16:11

Stuva cot

All the other ikea ones are fine too, I just like this one because of the drawers undernear. It is quite expensive though.

MortifiedAdams · 16/08/2013 16:13

We just borrowed one off a friend and bought a new mattress. Good benefits of it are that it turns into a cotbed and has two/three heights.

Thurlow · 16/08/2013 16:26

We've just changed from a cot to a cotbed. Luckily the cot was free so I don't mind, but if I had to buy one from the start I'd definitely commend a cotbed. We've got this from Kiddicare (only in bright purple, not sure why they are only selling them at the moment in sickly pink or blue ) and it's good for the money.

If you get something with quite a low base then a dropside is a must. Otherwise look for something that has 3 heights for the mattress. And cotbeds are better because they will last longer - the reason we changed was not because DC was getting too big, but we felt we were approaching that awful day when they climbed out, with a cotbed you can at least just take the side off that night to be safer. Storage would be handy but I actually use the underneath of the cot to store all our vacuum pack bags!

CruCru · 16/08/2013 16:37

I recommend a cotbed, preferably quite a sturdy one. I know people say a drop side is pointless but I am very pregnant with an almost 2 year old and couldn't cope without it.

AnythingNotEverything · 16/08/2013 16:48

If you want baby in with you for 6 months (as per SIDS guidance) measure up your bedroom! We want a cot bed for longevity, but a having to compromise on space in our room in the short term.

Baby may only be in a Moses basket a few weeks (if you choose to get one at all) and is unlikely to make it to 6 months in one.

TWavre · 16/08/2013 18:46

when I was looking I looked for:
-a cotbed over a cot - they just last longer & I didn't fancy shopping around for something else when she grows out of a cot.

teething rails.

-2/3 different mattress heights

space/a drawer underneath. the more storage space you can have the better in my opinion!

I also had a dropside on this list, but got put off in the end when a sales person explained to me that when your child is old enough they will also figure out the dropside & let themselves out the cot!

RobotHamster · 16/08/2013 20:04

I've never been able to find a cotbed with a drop side. I'd pick ability to change to cotbed over having a dropside.

Drop sides can be noisy too. We wouldn't have been able to use ours, it would have woken DS. If you do go for one check that you can operate it one-handed and that its quiet.

CruCru · 16/08/2013 20:28

Boori do a cotbed with a nice quiet drop side. Quite sturdy too. I think you get them at Mothercare and John Lewis. Only thing is, they are Australian cotbed sizes so you need to make sure you get a mattress and sheets that will fit.

Nigglenaggle · 16/08/2013 20:47

I went for the cotbed option, has three levels of base and is nice and sturdy. Now, 7mths pregnant and with a toddler weighing around 14kg, I really, really wish I'd chosen a drop down side!! Otherwise I love the cot. So my advice is to wait and see how big your baby is (he/she can stay in a moses basket to start with anyway) and also factor in when you plan the next one!!!

Kelly1814 · 16/08/2013 20:53

Ikea all the way, great value, great prices, safety standards etc.

Some cots cost more than our super king sized bed: I think not!

BigBongTheory · 16/08/2013 21:13

Both of ours have been in cots until well over 2.5 and then went straight into beds.

Most of their friends with cotbeds have been evicted to make way for dc2 so it's not as though they've been used for years anyway.

Under cot storage has been fab for us.

KirjavaTheCat · 16/08/2013 21:17

I had a fixed side and desperately wanted a drop side cot. DS would only ever fall asleep on me and transferring him down into the cot was a nightmare and sure to wake him up every time.

redcaryellowcar · 16/08/2013 21:46

I know lots of people are suggesting cotbeds but we have a cot which has the advantage of being able to move through doors without being taken down, so easy when ds moved from our bedroom to his own room and also smaller when trying to squeeZe him and us into one bedroom.

redcaryellowcar · 16/08/2013 21:48

P.s we bought cot from john Lewis and mattress too, together they were around weeks£160, I think mattress more than cot.

Original poster

LateBear · 16/08/2013 21:53

Thanks for all the feedback, lots to think about!

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peacefuleasyfeeling · 16/08/2013 22:10

I would warmly recommend a drop side cot! Then you can drop the side and pull the cot right up to your bed side and sleep really close to your baby with no barrier between you. It also means you never have to get out of bed to feed in the night, you can just pick up your baby and feed right there in bed -nice! I love my Cosatto "Close To Me" bed side cot which has afforded me the pleasure of sleeping safely close to my babies (although, in fairness, they have tended to migrate into my bed in the small hours). It is quite big, so lasts well and has about 6 different height settings so it is easy to find the right height to match the height of your mattress.
Good luck!

chosenone · 16/08/2013 22:27

I had a bedside cot, 2nd hand from e bay with a new mattress. The benefits were that it fit directly next to mybed so once the tricky first few weeks were done I could just wap my boob over to DD and she could havea night feed wwithout me even having to sit up ! After a few months I barely woke up. It was an easy way to sort of co sleep. Baby was in a baby sleeping bag within easy suckable distance to me.

FacebookWanker · 16/08/2013 22:28

Same as Fish

chosenone · 16/08/2013 22:29

Wow peaceful. ..amazing cross post

FacebookWanker · 16/08/2013 22:45

Ours was a cot bed with three different levels for the mattress. It didn't las too long once we took the sides off...it was too narrow. Did the job though. It was from John Zlewis but is now discontinued.

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