As with any item of furniture, especially one designed explicitly for children, there are, of course, some important safety considerations that you are going to want to think about before you purchase your crib.
Things to keep in mind include the spaces between the bars, the presence of any cut-outs, the height of the mattress compared with the top of the crib, and the corner posts.
With regards to the spaces between the bars, these should be spaced no more than 2 and 3/8 inches apart to prevent your baby from slipping through. The crib should also have no cut-outs on the headboard or footboard, as these could cause your baby to get stuck.
The top of the crib rail should initially be at least 26 inches from the top of the mattress. You will need to periodically lower the mattress to prevent the baby from falling or being able to climb out of the crib as they get a little older.
The corner posts shouldn't exceed 1/16th of an inch in height, as they could catch on your baby's clothing and cause injury.
Before purchase, you are going to want to ensure that your convertible crib meets specific construction requirements and has the correct certification to ensure the safety of your baby. One quick way of doing this is to check whether it has ASTM approval.
ASTM has set out a list of Children's Furniture Standards to ensure that every item of furniture created for children has passed all safety regulations. You can learn more about this and see details on any product recalls here.
- Looking for something that's ready to go?
If you want to purchase something that you can simply set up and go, then it's best to opt for a crib that has a mattress included. This way, you know that the mattress already perfectly fits the dimensions of the crib.
To make your life even easier, ensure the crib has an adjustable mattress height option so that you won't need to be swapping out the mattress as your child starts to grow.
- Want to be fully prepared?
While some conversion cribs come complete with all the parts you need to convert them through every stage, with others, you will need to buy certain things such as the toddler bed guard rail and the bed extension rails separately.
If you are looking to ensure that you are fully prepared for converting the bed through each stage, and if you have storage space to house these additional items, it's best to either make sure that they are included in the initial purchase or to opt to buy all the parts in one go.
- Like a little versatility?
Some cribs are multi-functional, featuring additional surfaces and storage space for your convenience. These are great to factor in if you are looking for a few more places to store items in your nursery, especially things that you want to have to hand when putting your child to sleep, waking them, or feeding them in the night.
For those who are not blessed with the magical touch of being able to effortlessly put together furniture, many cribs come with the option of already being assembled upon delivery. This saves you the hassle of needing to do it yourself.
However, if you are buying a convertible crib, keep in mind that you will need to make specific adjustments to the structure of the crib when transitioning it from one type of bed to another. The crib should come with specific instructions and, in some cases, even video guides on how to do this.