Best crib to sidecar??

[happydaymomma]

We're expecting our second baby in late September, and since I have a toddler I'm trying to get things taken care of earlier rather than later when I'm giant and it's insanely hot (we live in Austin, TX).

We're wanting to sidecar a crib so that the new little one can have some space in the family bed that is not right next to big sister. But I don't know anything about cribs since we never even had one for our first.

So, I'm looking for tips and advice about what kind/brand of crib works well as a sidecar.

Also, I'd love to see pictures of your set up... we have a pretty small bedroom already, and I'd love to get ideas about how to make it all "fit".

Cheers!
Annie

[ErinYay]

I've heard that Ikea's cribs sidecar very well.

Are you looking for cribs specifically? We have both a crib (a gift that is a lovely laundry hamper right now) and a Universal Co-Sleeper by Arm's Reach.

If I can get the bedroom picked up, I'll snap a pic for you.

[cileag]

After looking at other people's set up/researching, two recommendations kept coming up.
1. Seems that a toddler/convertible crib offered more stability without a 4th side, and might be easier to set up in the side car arrangement.
2. The more settings there are for the mattress, the easier it will be to find one that fits your bed height.

That being said, we bought a used Gulliver IKEA crib from a friend and like it.
The pros are:
Aesthetically pleasing with a simple design.
Toddler convertible bed
Cheap
Relatively small.

Cons:
Only two settings and neither worked well for our bed, so we have two mattresses stacked right now.
Very low to the ground in its bottom setting and I'm not sure how exactly we're going to make that work when our daughter gets older.

Good luck!

[Jayray]

I just bought a Gulliver and was thinking it would be difficult to side car because it's so low to the ground. Before it, we had a drop-side crib with three height settings. It had to be on the highest setting for us to effectively side car it. I have heard of people stacking crib mattresses, though, to meet the adult mattress.

[clumsyraine]

I would love to see/hear how everyone set up their sidecars as well. I joined just to get in to this discussion when I saw that it was current - almost everything I find about sidecaring online is years old.

I just had a dropside crib given to me that I was excited to use as a side car until I realized it was recalled. When I called to order the replacement hardware they told me they are no longer sending out just the hardware but sending all 4 sides new as well - it's no longer dropside but they said it is still convertible to a toddler/daybed so I hope we can still set it up as a sidecar.

[noobmom]

We sidecar out convertible bed (in it's "toddler bed" configuration) and it's great! Very rock solid and it happens to be at exactly the right height on the highest setting.

One thing I would change would be to get a crib where the ends are as high as the back. Our crib (in regular configuration) has a high back, but the front and sides are lower. With the mattress at the highest setting, the rail on the ends and front are only maybe 8 or 10 minutes off the mattress. Not an issue now that DS is old enough to not fall and not an issue with a new baby, but it's a safety hazard in that intermediate time when they can pull themselves up, but don't understand that they can't lean over the edge.

Edited to add:
My explanation is kinda confusing, but here are some pics:

Mine is more like this crib:
http://www.cribs.com/cribs/convertib...collection.cfm

But I think something like this would be better:
http://www.cribs.com/cribs/convertib...inicribset.cfm
(with higher end rails.

[happydaymomma]

So, I went out of town for a week It was lovely, but now I'm all back to the business of getting ready for this baby!

Good to hear that the IKEA cribs work well, since they are affordable and very simple and nice looking... not to mention we have an IKEA here so I can actually check them out before I buy one... having a local store also hugely increases the Craigslist used market Yay!

I'll see what I can find.

Thanks for the advise everyone!

Whenever I get something finally set up I'll be sure to come back and post pics.

Cheers!

[happydaymomma]

Has anyone ever used the IKEA Leksvik crib to sidecar?

I'd like something with solid wood ends so I can still have my night stand next to my bed without little hands reaching through the railings to dump glasses over, etc Does that make sense?