Bedside cot bed and cribs - any reviews?

[Lotster]

Hi there,

I've struggled with our cotbed with my first child, now 2, due to a bad back. Really wish I'd got a dropside as lifting him in and out is a strain. In hindsight a dropside which goes down to mattress level would realy help him to shimmy in and out to help me.

Now pg with my second am now considering either getting a dropside to use straightaway with my oldest and keep the other for the baby - or whether to get a bedside cot or bedside crib for the new one and put bed rails up for the toddler on his cotbed.

So does anyone have any experience of the bedside type cots or cribs please? I can see the benefits for the first few months with nightfeeds etc, especially as I have to have a C/S.

But are the sides heavy to drop away completely each time once they're in their own room? They don't seem to have the normal dropside functions - just an all or nothing function...

thanks!!

The bedside idea is great, really easy for night feeds, morning nappy changes etc. But to be honest a normal cot with one side taken off would be just as good - I've not had the need to put the side up at all yet.

Sorry can't advise on older baby stuff - haven't got there yet!!

I've got the Mamas & Papas bedside cot and its fab.

For the first 6 months it was used as bedside cot and was invaluable for minimising sleep deprivation during those early days. I bf (well still am) and it was so good just to roll over and latch on. I also had a c-section.

At 6 months he went into room with his big brother and just had the side up. To be honest i've never quite seen the point of a drop side - its not exactly hard to lift him out but i may be missing something.

I had the Mamas and Papas bedside cot to, was great. The side goes all the way up, half way up or totally under, it has a saftey bolster cushion thing to bridge any gap between cot and adult bed is on wheels so that you can rock it, or move it around - very usefull. Only draw back I can see is if you have a small room as this is a big cot! Saying that it is probably a plus point as you could easily use as a bed until about 4 years old.

Thanks for all your help ladies, that's great!