When it comes to shopping for baby cribs, you need to think long term. If you make a wise purchase right now, you will never have to purchase another bed for your child until they are grown and out of the house. In fact, you may not have to purchase them another one even then!

A high quality convertible will grow with your child from infanthood to college, and then will turn into great guest accommodations. Some may just convert from crib to toddler bed, but the best savings are found with a full conversion into toddler bed, day bed, and eventually a full sized headboard and footboard.

These cribs are usually called either 4-in-1 cribs or Lifetime cribs. Some companies may use the word Stages as well.

If you are wondering what all of this might cost, it is more reasonable than you might think. There are some higher priced models selling around four to five hundred dollars, but there are also some great lower priced models that will last through the years.

The only catch you have to consider when making your purchase is whether the actual crib comes with the rail sets needed to make the conversions, or if you will have to buy that separately.

For toddler and day bed conversion you shouldn’t have to purchase a rail kit. It is usually a matter of removing the front side rail panel to create easy access to the mattress. Some require you to purchase a safety rail kit for the side to create the toddler bed, but there are many companies now including that in the original purchase.

The day bed is created by removing that small safety rail, so you can always choose not to purchase it and go with the day bed option from the start.

For a full sized bed, you will always have to purchase the rail separate. The trick is that some companies will want you to purchase a specific rail kit designed for that individual crib model. For the best systems, you should be able to purchase any full sized bed rail set to work with the headboard and/or footboard that is made from the crib.

Convertible baby cribs are an exceptional value in terms of time and money. They grow with your child from diapers to college so you never have to purchase another bed and never have to worry about finding something that fits the other bedroom furniture. Everything will always match!

If you are in a place where you need to shop for a crib for your baby, it can be very easy to get overwhelmed. There are lots of things to think about, after all!

You may also want to consider your design preferences for your baby’s nursery, other people that might need to access the baby in its crib, like grandparents, the available space, and your budget.

Let’s go over the different types of cribs available:

First, there’s the Standard Crib. This is the kind you are most familiar with and have seen in many places. Standard cribs typically have a single or double drop side. This means that either one or both sides of the crib can be lowered to provide easy access to your baby.

Only get a double crib when the crib is going to have both sides open to the room; it’s pretty useless when you are looking at a crib that is shoved against the wall.

One great way to save money in the long run is to look into the convertible crib. These cribs are a great way to save money because they will eventually be converted from a crib into being a toddler’s bed. Though the initial outlay of cash is going to be more substantial, you’ll find that it will pay for itself down the road. These cribs might turn into a day bed, a toddler bed or even a small full sized bed.

This can be accomplished by purchasing a simple conversion kit. Oftentimes the head and foot ends of the crib, can then be used as head and foot boards for the full-size bed. Something else you may want to consider when purchasing a convertible crib is to choose a more universal design, so that the crib can keep up with the decoration changes in your nursery / child’s room.

Want to add some elegance to your baby’s nursery? Then, you may want to choose a Canopy Crib. They typically have posts on all four corners of the crib to allow for a canopy frame on which the canopy will then sit.

You can either purchase fabricated canopies to go with your crib, or might even decide to design your own, using fabric you already used elsewhere within your nursery decoration. Canopy cribs may also be a viable choice if you keep your baby’s crib in your bedroom, or the baby shares its room with a sibling, as they provide a way to achieve privacy for your baby.

Another great design that we are only going to be seeing more of is the Round Crib. A round crib is exactly what it sounds like. It allows your baby to sleep in any direction that he or she pleases, and the drop side will let you reach in and scoop your baby up whenever you please. These cribs have no concussion points, unlike traditional rectangular cribs and they will not endanger your child’s safety. This can be a great way to give your baby a 360 degree view of the world around them.