Buying a convertible crib

Two years ago I found myself pregnant with my daughter fantasizing about what type of mom I would be. Surely I would only dress her in soft organic cottons, nurse her until she was 100 and never go near store made baby food. Fast forward a year and a half and I find myself chasing around a 15 month old while being pregnant with my second baby. Most days my biggest challenge is deciding if it’s worth getting off the couch to wrestle my daughter for the day old raisins she found somewhere on the floor and now decided to eat. I’m far from being the crunchy mom I once aspired to be.

Being pregnant with my second baby is a lot different than my first pregnancy. I am not spending all my free time perfecting my registry, deciding between glass bottles or bpa free plastic, researching the safety ratings of every car seat ever made and taking strollers out for test drives. Instead I am agonizing over how I will fit two kids in one bedroom and will they really be able to coexist and not wake each other up? This mama really likes to sleep! By the time baby #2 comes my daughter will be 20 months old and my biggest dilemma is where will she sleep? I of course only have one crib and the idea of transitioning her into a toddler bed where she can happily climb down and wreak havoc sounds awful. It’s times like these I am glad I obsessed so much over everything baby #1 would need.

When deciding what crib to buy my daughter I was overwhelmed with the options. Ultimately I chose to go down the convertible crib route and here’s why I am so happy I did:

1. I literally will not have to think about buying my daughter another bed until maybe high school. The convertible crib is designed to go from infant to toddler to full size bed in a matter of minutes. The key is to make sure you buy all of the accessories such as the guardrails, screws, moldings etc. when you purchase the crib. The worst thing is being ready to convert your crib and realizing the manufacturer no longer sells the accessories you need!

2. I don’t feel guilty about buying another crib for baby #2. This is most probably going to be my last baby and nothing feels like more of a waste than buying something your baby will stop using in a year or two. With the convertible crib I know it will last for years to come so biting the bullet and investing in my second crib is a bit more tolerable.

3. You don't have to buy a separate box spring. While kids are resilient I don't want to waste precious sleeping hours wondering if my toddler is going to fall out of her bed. The convertible crib has a headboard, footboard and frame which allows her to be close to the ground in case of accidents. Having the toddler guardrail helps with that too!