First Beds

[LissaQ]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good first bed - DS is just about dangling his legs through the cot bars, and though I am keen to keep him in his cot for as long as possible, at 2.5 and 96cm the time is fast approaching when he'll need a bed. I don't want to spend a fortune and I do want something that will last. Also best mattresses? I seem to dither over countless articles about cots before he was born but can't find any advice on moving on to the next step.
Any ideas? Thanks.

We got ours from IKEA. I don't know if they have the same sort at the moment, but you can put both ends up to form a short bed with ends, and there's a low rail that you can put on to start with. It's not fantastically good quality, at least the mattress isn't, but it has worked very well in terms of taking things one step at a time.

Lissa, why not just get him an ordinary single bed and a safety rail?

I recommend getting a good quality single bed, will last for years whereas they'll be out of a junior in a trice. You can buy a bed rail if you are worried about them falling out. Remember that there is often a waiting period for beds so order one now...our dd1 suddenly refused a cot at 2.5 and insisted on a bed - it took us ages to find one so she slept in a camp bed for a couple of months!

Ours is from John Lewis and its a nice white painted pine, simple and solid with drawers underneath for critical storage (although this means you lose valuable hiding space!) It cost about £140. They do good mattresses too, I ordered a very decent one as I like a good mattress personally so didnt like the idea of dd1 sleeping on a poor one...

The Ikea one appealed to us too but we know three families that have it and they all moaned about the mattress...also they didnt have any in stock when we called and visited.

We just went straight to a single bed. Well, one of those mid-height beds. DS1 had a futon matress for some time as this was thinner which meant the surrounding bars were higher to stop him falling out. He was 2y8m and we've never had a problem.

I quite like to little junior bed from Mothercare and it is only £50, and has built in bed guards.. Hoping to get it for DD before Christmas as she tends to get tangled with the cot bars!

We are going for a junior bed for space reasons. Her room isn't huge now that it is full of her toys (how many toys can a 16mo DD accumulate?!?) As DD is quite young it'll still last her a few years anyway.

We went straight to a single bed as well. If you put one side against a wall and pillows on the floor on the other side for the first week or so it should be fine. He may fall out once or twice but that will be it.
I think a decent mattress is very important for their bones and back etc.
Its difficult to find nice beds, isn't it? I did a huge amount of research a little while ago because I was sure there must be nice, well made stuff somewhere that didn't cost £800 and these are what I recommend -
Wigwam (www.wigwamkids.co.uk) - I've got a lot of children's furniture from here and it is really solid and well made. As well as being beautiful and probably some of the best choice around.
And also aspace - (www.aspaceuk.com), but you can't order from the site, you need to phone for a catalogue (the site has quite good pictures though). The catalogue is really worth having a look at. They do really nice children's beds with pull-out beds underneath, which are great for when they start having endless sleepovers.
The white company does very good quality children's mattresses (www.thewhiteco.com).
None of these are dead cheap, but if you go for a single bed then they'll potentially be sleeping in it for 15 years or so if you buy a good one, so I think they are good value. Around the £300 mark. About the same as the ATP buggy I bought today thinking about it - now that is good value - !!!

We got a futon cabin bed from Take. It was supposed to be for my 9 year old step son, but my ds (just over 2 at the time) insisted on sleeping in it from the day it arrived and it has now become his. It has a pull out desk and cabinets underneath and a 3 rung ladder to get into it, so it's got lots of hiding places and amusements for a 2 year old. Because it's higher than a normal bed, it has a built in rail. It's the size of a normal bed, so can be used until a child is bigger too. I would have never thought of it originally for a 2 year old, but it has been a massive success. They have them pretty constantly on 50% sale to around 280 including the futon.

SofiaAmes I always assumed that Take was a money laundering place as I have never seen anyone in any of their shops (used to live around the corner from the Chiswick one) I am pleased to hear they have customers!

We went straight to a single bed. We got ours from Argos, who have quite a good range. Most are lowish to the ground, you can choose which type of mattress you want and free delivery, Bargain!

SamboM...I too think it's a money laundering front. I work just down the street from the Chiswick one (which is where we bought our bed). The only person I have ever seen in there is me!

Hi, i got a single bedfrom Mothercare and a really good matress which was about 3 times the price of the bed but the whole top layer zips right off and goes in the wash if there are any accidents. I also got a safety rail from B+Q just a little net for now to stop her rolling out! I find the washable matress a Godsend!

Another vote for the Ikea bed. We too were worried about the quality of the mattress...did some research and it's just over £100 to have a custom made mattress for the bed. Plan on having one made when potty training (yet to start, dd is 23 months) is declared a success!