Band : Stork Craft
Model : 04588 43L
Product Features :
- It is built to last with side rail stationary
- It starts as a standard crib and transforms into a full size bed
- Nontoxic durable finish
- Made of solid wood and wood products
- Easy to assemble with permanently attached instructions
Stork Craft Ariel Crib in Oak
>> Pretty
Very nice looking crib not too hard to assemble Baby chewed on crib while teething and chipped paint
>> Crib
I love this crib It is very well built and a great value for the price We bought one for our first child and when we learned we were expecting again we bought the same crib for our second child Our older child now uses his as a hedboard and footboard for a full size bed and it looks great
>> Pros and Cons like every crib
Overall I really like this crib It looks great in our room and our son seems to be really comfortable in it I wanted to talk for a moment about the recalls The recall that affected this crib was the mattress brackets When the recall was issued I freaked out and obsessively researched the cause of the bracket failure all instances were due to either improper assembly upside down for example or the bracket had been bent or modified before assembly which was hard to understand because they re very thick At any rate I did request our new brackets and it took Stork Craft a while to send them Unfortunately crib recalls are not uncommon That doesn t make it better or acceptable but most of the major crib manufacturers Dorel Simplicity Caramia LaJobi Jardine Suntech Munire Delta have had recalls and that s just since 2008 Like I said that doesn t make it excusable it just makes it hard to find a crib from a manufacturer that hasn t had a recall That said on with the details
Pros
Fixed sides most of the crib recalls were for drop side cribs and this one is significantly safer
Beautiful looks great in nursery
Solid construction no worries about tipping or anything like that
Hard wood most of the other cribs we looked at in the baby store had a lot of dings and scratches and barely pushing the wood left a mark This crib s wood is nice and hard The finish has suffered a bit see below but the wood is nice and hard with no damage one year later
Easy to assemble really the directions are quite clear
Convertible that s pretty nice
Beautiful did I mention that
Cons
Finish can get scratched our son is teething and chewing on the side Although it hasn t damaged the wood he s taken off some of the finish Pro it s non toxic
Difficult for a bumper if you decide you want to use a bumper you cannot tie the middle tie due to the flat larger panel When we did use the bumper I had to shift it around and sort of make due with the other ties
Difficult for a mobile the curved sides of the crib make it hard to attach a mobile and you can t do it on the back rail either We were able to get it attached but not as high as I would have liked
Crib skirt doesn t fit when the mattress is at lowest position really it s worth considering skipping the expensive bedding set with this crib and just going for some cute sheets
Bracket recall that sucks It would be nice to find a crib that wasn t from a recalled manufacturer that didn t cost a million dollars
Heavy you won t be moving it around much
Big if you have a tiny room you might want to consider a slimmer crib This was as big as or a bit bigger than some of the sleigh style cribs we saw in baby stores
Convertible not so great if your kid has chewed up the sides sigh
All in all I give this crib 4 stars Would I buy it again Yes I love the way it looks and feels and it s going to last us a long time I wish I d been a little more proactive with a crib rail cover before the gnawing it doesn t fit the standard rail covers but I see Amazon has a fabric one you can tie on that would probably work This is a beautiful crib that will last for many years
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