Free Crib from Friend?

[pirate_wench]

Hi all,

Baby on the way, woops. My friend is offering me her old crib (and other stuff). At first I was like, "woo hoo!"  Then I thought, hmmm...it's six years old, been through two kids, and is from IKEA (cheap stuff in my mind).  Any thoughts as to potential safety problems? Anything obvious I should look for? Also concerned about transporting it to my house, as I've heard IKEA products are not disassembled and reassembled easily. Any input much appreciated. Thanks!

[FrugalFan]

We have a solid wood IKEA crib that we bought used and it's been great. We didn't have to completely disasssemble to bring it home. Most of the solid wood pieces are well made and their safety standards are often better than in North America. That being said, older mattresses have been linked with SIDS. Also, I think some of their mattresses were recalled in the past because they did not fit snugly inside the crib (needs to be no space at all between crib and mattress).  So it may be worth getting a new mattress. Used baby stuff is great! If you buy it used, you can often resell at the same price. Even better if you get it for free. But crib mattresses and car seats are worth buying new in my opinion.

[brycedoula]

If you can figure out the name of the crib you may be able to contact IKEA & confirm if that particular crib was recalled or anything. If it was then they may send you free parts to correct any issues. My experience with IKEA is that they're pretty good with stuff like that.

[bonjourliz]

Ikea cribs are awesome!!  We have been using ours for 7 years now, and it is just as solid as the day we set it up.

Much easier to set up than most of their stuff.   And for recalls, i seriously doubt there will be any isues. Slat spacing is one crib safety thing, but that hasn't changed in the recent past.  the big safety thing in the last few years was no more dropsides. But Ikea didn't sell dropside cribs anyway I don't think. 

BTW Ikea is also really great for crib mattresses.  But I would probably buy new rather than inheriting it after 2 kids from another family.


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[Kitsune]

... It's not like babies are heavy, or doing activities that would wear out a bed frame.

Seconding the mattress suggestion, wth the suggestion that something plastic-covered, or getting a plastic-coated mattress cover (ikea sells some that work well). Puke, poo, pee - multiple times over. Guaranteed. And washing puke out of a toddler mattress at 2am is ZERO fun, trust me on that. Prevention is key. ;)

[seattlecyclone]

We got a free Ikea crib. We had to replace one of the bolts because it was stripped, but it is otherwise rock solid.

[meerkat]

Like others have said, I would take the crib, call IKEA to be sure it hasn't been recalled, and get a new mattress for it. Edit: I did the same thing with a used car seat. I know the person I got the car seat from or else I'd never have done a used one, I'd be more likely to have a used crib though.

Unsolicited advice: put a sheet on the mattress, then a mattress protector, then another sheet. If there's a diaper leak in the middle of the night you can pull off the top two layers and still have a sheet on the mattress.

[Ricksun]

Most baby items are made to the same high standards because they're regulated.  No issues with IKEA cribs vs other brands in my opinion. 

[charis]

We got a used crib, and have now used it for both of our kids.  They don't really go bad.  It was a drop side, which was recalled, but my husband rehabbed the drop to stationary. No issues.

[pirate_wench]

Thanks everybody! Exactly the kind of guidance I was hoping for. I think my only experience with IKEA was buying some really crappy stuff when I was in college, so I guess that's where my bias came from. Will definitely happily accept it, and look into a new mattress and recalls. Also, appreciate the unsolicited advice about all the bodily fluids ;)