Before you buy a crib for your baby's nursery, particularly a used crib, you should learn a thing or two about crib safety and today's standards.
Your baby's crib is one of the biggest purchases of baby furniture you will make as you decorate an infant's nursery. Unfortunately it is also one where parents can easily make mistakes with regards to their child's safety. While new cribs have to meet safety standards, many people will purchase a used crib or have one built for them. You'll need to be aware of today's safety standards in order to ensure these cribs meet them.
Safety standard vary according to where in the world you live, but in Canada you should avoid using a crib made prior to September of 1986. Standards were revised after this time. You can check the label found on the frame of the crib, often on the underside of the mattress frame, which wll show the date the crib was manufactured. Although the crib that has been in your family for generations may be a very sentimental thought, chances are it has been painted at some point with lead paint, which is highly toxic. Resist the urge to use an antique crib.
Crib Sides and Rails
Many cribs have drop sides on one or both side that will lower to make it easier to place your baby in the crib. These drop sides need to lock firmly in place. The mechanism for lowering the side should be something a child couldn't accidentally trigger, so it should either be a two-part action to lower the side or something that needs a heavier force than a child is capable of. You will need to always remember to raise the sides and lock them in place whenever your baby is in the crib.
When raised, the top of the crib rails should be a minimum of 26" above the top of the mattress when it is in its lowest position. This is an important dimension to check on a homemade crib or an older crib. You should also check the width between the crib slats. These should be spaced no more than 2-3/8" apart.
Mattress
You may assume that all crib mattresses are the same size, but that is not always the case, especially if you are getting an older crib or an older mattress. The mattress needs to fit snugly against all sides of the crib. It should be firm, not soft, with no rips or tears.
When you have a newborn, you will want to set the mattress at a higher level so that you don't have to bend over so low to put your baby to sleep. However, once your baby can sit up you should move the mattress to its lowest level. This should keep your newly mobile child from climbing up out of the crib. Many surprisingly young babies can master this skill. For this same reason you should remove all mobiles and toys that attach to the sides of the crib as soon as your child can pull themself up.
Other Considerations
You should always check the screws holding your crib together periodically, and tighten any that are coming loose right away. In addition, what you place in the crib, and where you position it in a room can be just as important. You don't want to put anything in the crib that could smother your baby. Use only a crib-sized fitted bottom sheet. Don't put any pillows, stuffe toys, fluffy comforters, or pillow-like bumper pads in the crib. And make sure the crib is not placed by any windows, curtains, cords of any kind, lamps, or electrical outlets.
Now if you can only figure out how to get your baby to actually fall asleep in the crib!
