Have you bought a cot/cotbed for your grandchild?

Hi KPEvie.We bought our dgd a cot bed from mothercare can't remember the name of it, but it has been very good and lasted until she was 3, when it was passed down to her baby sister.We all went to buy it together, dh and I stayed in the background and let them decide which one they wanted, then paid at the end.I wouldn't have wanted to choose it for them.

I offered to pay for the cot/bed but I did not actually choose which one as I thought it better the parents decide what they wanted for their child. They actually bought from Ikea, with a new mattress for the 2nd baby which came along quite quickly as the current advice is a new mattress for new baby. They then went on to buy the child sized beds from Ikea also. Both seem reasonably well made & reasonably priced.

I bought a small cot from Asda because I wanted a compact one to fit in my study/ spare bedroom. It’s been fine, although my two and a half year old grandaughter is a little big for it now. The parents bought their own cots for their houses- marks and Spencer for two, and a very expensive Danish one for the other.

We used a travel cot when they were small but when DGD was promoted to a bed we bought a toddler bed, I think from Amazon. I chose it because it looked lovely, white with flowers and butterflies on the headboard and end bit. Now DGS has to use it for his naps but he doesn't seem to mind it's girliness!!! I did buy a new unisex duvet cover for him.
We will have to upgrade again soon to accommodate both so will look at bunks I think.

We bought one for both of our DS when they had their first child. As others have said, we didn't get involved in the choice, leaving that to the parents, we just paid the bill! I think the UK one was £300 and the NZ one (everything is more expensive there), £400. Both considerably more than the second-hand one they slept in!!

We bought DS1 a cot/bed when he comes to stay over (not often). It fits into our smallest bedroom which used to be a study until it now, it looks likes a toddler's bedroom . We bought cot and mattress from J Lewis. It's looks good and DGS1 just loves it and now goes to it immediately when he visits and settles for a story! He has slept in it a couple of times with no hesitation whatsoever. Good luck

I've bought all the cots,the last one was a Stokke make that could be used from moses basket size up to a normal single bed ,it wasn't cheap but great value..it eventually can be used as a small sofa so loads more years left in it .
New cot will be needed for the baby expected late summer ,I'm waiting for the bill .

KPEvie having just been looking to replace a cot with a cot bed and seeing Evie Cot Beds advertised I'm wondering if your interest is commercial?You don't say why you're asking.

One point: please don't offer your AC a very old crib or keep one yourself, even if it was the one you used for your children. Cribs made before 1985 or so usually have bars that are too wide and a baby's head could get stuck. Drop side cribs can be very dangerous.

My parents funded a crib for my sister and BIL when their first was born, and I think they may have done the same for my brothers, too, though I'm not sure. They just provided the money and my sibs chose what they liked.

I got a 2nd hand Mama and Pappas cot from a friend but then had to buy a new mattress. I got that in Mothercare.
It's been fine.

My mother actually paid for the cots when both my daughters were expecting their little ones.
The first one picked one for £400 which was a little on the expensive side but, it was really lovely and, as it's a cotbed it's seen 2 children through the last 5 years.

When the second daughter was pregnant, again her grandma told her to pick whichever for she wanted. She went for the same one.

I've always had the children over to sleep and, I just got a travel cot for my house. The were fine in it until they were turned

My dad has a book on making children's furniture. There is a really neat project called "a room that grows up". There's an adjustable height table and desk and a really cool bed. The bed is a platform with a chest of drawers. When the child is a baby, the chest of drawers goes on the end of the bed. The space left will fit a crib (cot) mattress, and there's a set of bars that goes around the mattress. When the child gets older, the bars can be taken off, the chest of drawers put on the floor, and the whole platform fits a youth mattress.

^I got a 2nd hand Mama and Pappas cot from a friend but then had to buy a new mattress. I got that in Mothercare.
It's been fine^
We were given a Mama and Papas cot as well which we kept at our house and bought a mattress from JL.
Spending £200 - £350 for a cot for an occasional night's stay at our house seemed a lot and we were very grateful to our friend. It was a very good cot.

out of the co-sleepers? what are they?

If you're buying one for your DC's house then let them choose which one they want.

My mum picked up an amazing cot bed from her works intranet and it’s lasted 5 years and about to be used on the 3rd baby.
It’s so sturdy and has outlasted our brand new cot that we bought.
She’s offered it to us as it’s larger and more sturdy.
It was such a relief having it there as well knowing that if we had an impromptu sleep over the baby/child had a lovely place to sleep.
(And they slept better at hers than ours!)

I have never used toddler beds I always went straight from cot to single with bedrail.

For other peoples house a travel cot is fine just get an extra travel cot mattress as the ones they come with are a bit flimsey

My daughter is called evie....

My daughter is called Evie...

Cotbeds last a lot longer. We got ours from JL and our 6 yr old grandchild still sleeps in it if he stays.

Thank you so much for your comments so far. It seems to be that the bank of granny and grandad comes in, either for the purchase for the baby at home, and for when the baby comes to stay. Travel cots seem like a good idea if the grandchild isn't coming too often- and it can be stowed away when not in use - seems like a good option to me!

forgot to comment on the co-sleepers- these are the new things that attach to the parents bed to ease with sleep and breast feeding for the first few months or so- think they are the new moses baskets- clearly not for attaching to gran's bed!

Travel cots seem like a good idea if the grandchild isn't coming too often- and it can be stowed away when not in use - seems like a good option to me!

They also double as a playpen for brief periods e.g. while cooking!

But look into the extra mattress liners as they are quite hard the way they come

All my DC and DGC went from a cot to a bed.

I bought a travel cot for my DS and his family to use when they visited us. It was second-hand, but had only been used once (still had the labels on). They had 2 babies close together, so the first was still in the big cot we bought when the second came along. So, they took the travel cot to use with the new baby. She slept in that travel cot for three years! She was so attached to it that they never moved her out into the big cot and she eventually, recently, moved into a single bed. I think they certainly got my money's worth out of the travel cot!

We bought a travel cot, used by both Gdcs in succession when staying. As a pp has said, though, they do really need a proper mattress - I bought one from John Lewis. Cot has now been passed on to a charity shop and still-little Gdcs share a double sofa bed in a spare room.