Cot beds...

[Flippa]

Anyone have any advice re which is the best cotbed to buy?

we have the ikea one which is great. Can't remember name or price but I think the bed was about£60 and the mattress about the same? It has ends which are 'up' when it is in use as a cot bed (age 18 months+) then you can let them down one by one as the child gets taller, and remove the side bar. Its more a bed than a cot, no good for wandering babies! But solid and flexible and looks nice.

I'm looking for one also. My ds is 21 mths and is trying to climb from his cot in a sleepy stupor!! I'm terrified he's going to crack his skull.

I was looking for a second hand one and I'd just buy a new matress... but no luck. People seem to be hanging to them.

I saw the Ikea one in the catelogue and it was £90, but I think you had to buy the matress as well.... not sure though.

Yep mum2toby - if I am thinking about the same one as you, you need to buy all their mattresses separately. The bed frames in Ikea seem good value but i reckon it is worth shopping around for the mattresses as they are much more expensive than other places. As children are so much lighter, I think i am right in saying that they don?t need high quality mattresses in the same way that adults can benefit from them. if they pass the health and safety fire regs etc. that is good enough.

We got our stuff from Argos and it is cheap, functional but of surprisingly firm quality. £199 (I think that is right) for a bedframe, mattress, wardrobe, chest of 5 drawers and side table. It came in natural pine ready to be stained, oiled, painted or left alone. We painted it in a lovely cream, changed the handles and it looks brilliant. Much cheaper than anywhere else. I know it is a fullsize single bed rather than a cot bed, but worth considering if budget is an issue. It was the cheapest deal we found.

mum2toby I have an Ikea junior bed for both my girls, and I put my youngest in it at 21 months. It starts really small and then extends to become a normal sized single, albeit low. It cost about £150 for bed and matress, but it is really sturdy and great. For the first couple of days I tucked a duvet on the open side (other side to the wall) and she never fell out. I personally wouldn't buy a cotbed after a cot.

Flippa, I can't help you on straightforward cotbeds, I don't think there is a 'best' one. It all depends on budget, as you could spend £100 or £400!

We bought a Rita cot-bed (check Argos). My large, heavy- handed son used it from birth to present(hes 3 next month but hes the size of a 4 -5 year old). Its still in great condition and we are just about to set it up for our second baby. We've got a lot of use out of it, but I advise you to get the best mattress that you can afford as they lose their shape quickly.

DD has a 'Pauline' East coast cot bed which was about £159 inc matress from kiddicare.com.
I wanted one with a drop side - not many cot beds have this, but the 'Pauline' does. It also has 3 matress positions and comes with separate low bed head/foot for conversion to a bed.