How To Save $$$ on Sleep Gear
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Unfortunately, crib shopping is a minefield of safety hazards. If it doesn't seem solid, don't buy it!
Since your baby will be spending a lot of time sleeping (ideally at a stretch!), it’s important to make her sleep environment safe and comfortable, but it is possible to get high-quality sleep gear without paying retail. You have several options for sleeping, including a crib, a co-sleeper, or even a Pack n Play, so I’ll cover how to get each item in this post. You will also need mattresses, bedding, and blankets or sleep sacks to go with whichever sleep option you choose. Sleep is so important with a baby, so I may suprise you by recommending you actually pay for certain items that will help baby sleep better and longer.
The crib is the most popular place for baby to sleep, but have you kicked the tires on a few of these? I was shocked at the low quality of the cribs at Babies R Us, and my baby boutique only sold expensive Stokke round cribs that required special bedding. When I started looking for a crib, I thought I would buy one new, but after discovering that my top four choices for reasonably priced cribs had ALL been recalled for breaking slats or defective drop-side mechanisms or lead paint, I changed my mind. I was either going to pay out the nose for a high-end solid wood crib with non-toxic finish that was made in America, so I could feel confident that the second or third layer of paint down wasn’t chock full of lead; or I was going to find a gently used crib that checked out on the CPSC recall database as never having been recalled, and that was solid and not missing any parts.
I was on the verge of plunking down $800 for a crib (on sale!) that was one of the only new cribs I felt comfortable with, when a last-minute check of Craigslist yielded a whole slew of nice-looking cribs. I picked up a mission-style sleigh crib that was being sold with a dresser for $230, which according to the owners had retailed new at $1500 for the set. It wasn’t quite as nice as the crib I was looking at in the furniture store, but it was close enough–solid oak, cherry finish, minimal bite marks that could be covered by a teething rail, and no recalls. Score! If you have plenty of time to look for a crib, keep an eye on Craigslist, but ask for model numbers or model names and the year of manufacture when you contact a seller so you can check the crib for recalls.
- Pay attention to how solid a crib feels when you shake it a bit in the store. If the slats seem thin enough for a toddler to break, don’t buy it even if it has passed all its tests. Trust me: you’ll see it on a recall list in a matter of months. And check out the book Baby Bargains to learn how to buy a safe crib, which crib brands are generally reliable and which styles have the least problems. I wouldn’t be surprised if the general recommendation soon was to avoid drop-side cribs altogether, despite their convenience, because at least 80% of the recalls I’ve seen in the last year involved a defective drop side or a drop side that could be mistakenly installed upside down.
Now, you might want to consider buying other sleeping gear new, because they don’t last as long as a wooden crib. However, if you can find a gently used co-sleeper or a Pack n Play–which according to my pediatrician is a safe sleep option for babies if used with the standard mattress and a crib sheet–more power to you! Both co-sleepers and Pack n Plays can be checked in the CPSC recall database so you know you aren’t buying a death trap, and both need to be partially assembled, so you will have a chance to check that all the parts are present and working properly. We received a Pack n Play from a neighbor, and a recall check revealed it HAD been recalled, because a baby got his head trapped between the Pack n Play and the changing table that fits on top. We just never use the changing table on the Pack n Play, and certainly wouldn’t leave it on top with the baby inside, so the Pack n Play is safe to use.
Because it took us so long to find a crib, we also bought a co-sleeper, which was great to have next to the bed when baby girl was young because I only had to get up to change her diaper at night; I could comfort her lying down….
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