Cot or Cotbed?

[Stefka]

I am expecting my first baby and am trying to decide whether to get a cot or a cot bed. My aunt suggested the cot bed as it will last longer however a work colleage said they are not such a good investment if you are planning to have more children. Wondered what others would suggest.

The cotbed I was looking at does have a drop side - that will be essential for me as I am short too!

well i never found it back breaking we had a cot bed and the base fits at 3 levels high up for new born then middle for slightly older then it goes to the base when they can pull them selves up then you just take the sides off put a lower foot base on it and its just like a little bed.
hope that helps

my mum stuck me in a bed with no legs when i was a baby so i would get used to sleeping in a bed but couldnt fall out, i think its a good idea, then they just stuck they legs on when i was old enough to not fall off, i am going to have a cot but have got a double bed for DC when is old enough to not fall out

stefka - i had the same dilemna as you - plus i found cotbeds really huge. i have found the perfect compromise in the stokke sleepi - it is a fab piece of kit which is expandable up to junior bed size, but at cot size is perfect. doesnt have drop side but does have very very cute mini size also that you can use in place of moses basket. happy shopping!

I am having same dilemma Stefka, bought cot bed last time but not sure if I want another (Big age gap so its no longer around, hence having to buy for no.2) I had forgotten about the back breaking bit of cots. If you don't mind pointing me in the direction then where did you see a drop sided one?

The thing about cot beds which i dislike is that they can't be an occasional bed for guests if you need the space. Where as a single bed can be and lo can bunk in with you for the night.

However, dd loved her tiny weeny bed and looked sooooo cute in it....

i am in love with the stokke stuff. its the fact that you can buy the cot and the changing unit and it grows with the LO's into other pieces of furniture that they can use for years. Thats how i justified the price; plus i shopped about and went to a lovely family run nursery shop and they threw some bits and bobs in for free!

DD had a cotbed but we went straight from having it as a cot to a different bed. There isn't much advantage to cotbeds IMO - you'll need a proper single bed eventually anwyay so might as well get one straightaway. Besides, the bigger the bed, the more room DC has to move arounbd and not be woken by banging into the sides.

This is the one I am looking at.

www.toysrus.co.uk/Product.aspx/BruHome/BruNursery/BruNurseryCotsMoses/BruNurseryCotsMoses CotBeds/717347

I had not heard of the sleepi - it's adoreable but wow what a price!

Yes - I am a little bit in love with it - it looks so pretty.

OOHH, pretty, yes

i went for a cot for both of mine, at 2, they moved out of the cot into a full size single bed.

if they are ill, you can get in with them if its a full size single, cot bed too small to do that.

cot beds are small and they will have to move into a full size bed at some point and that involves making a transition 3 times instead of 2 iykwim

cot->cot bed->single bed or just cot->single bed

amby hammock! Mine is still waiting for PFB to use it. He's due next week. And they have good resale value - lots on ebay.

"mumsnet convinced me to get one"

cot beds too big, and your colleague is right a waste if you are planning more children without a big gap

my dd's cot is a bedside cot which i used next to my bed instead of a moses basket but now she is her own room i put the side all the way underneath for her to climb in to save my back

LD that's the cot my mum wants to buy for me, its great because its got loads of different heights, not just the two like most cots, and you can leave the side down at night and have it pushed right up to your bed, i like that idea

It is a lovely cot, one year on no probs, and having it next to the bed when she was a newborn was a godsend when breastfeeding in the night, in fact i think i put a few mappies in there and didnt get out of bed sometimes

We had a cot for our first two and someone kindly gave us a cot-bed for our third. Ds2 is now 3.5 and still using it very comfortably. He loves it and will be in it for a while yet. The good thing is that there's plenty of room in his bedroom for his toys. The others both went from cot to big bed at 2.5 yrs. This was fine too, but I really like the cot-bed.

i have the toysrus cotbed in plain wood and i like it.. i had this same dilemma and i think what swung it for me was that it was roughly the same price as the cots i was looking at anyway so thought i might aswell..

Gosh there are even more bed choices out there than I originally thought!

I think size of parents has a lot to do with it too. SIL thought she had a bargain cot from IKEA but her DS outgrew it so quick that they ended up getting a cotbed too as she still needed to be in a cot.

We had a cotbed given to us and will be using it on the next baby too but it is hard having no drop sides. If I was buying it myself I would have one-hand operated drop sides every time.

yeah, the toysrus one is a bit clunky re. the drop side mechanism.. i saw an almost identical cot in another shop that hand a one handed mechanism and it was fab but cost a significant amount more. You get what you pay for..