On the cot hunt!

Ok it's me again, with yet more questions. I had a good look at the cots at Baby Gallery recently - liked the look of the Melbourne Baby Furniture one.... but felt i could only just reach the buttons on either end to drop the side (bear in mind, I'm only 5"2'... i mean.. I'm a towering 5"2'!). So since then I've wondered if i'd be better with the one-handed drop. And it seems that the mechanism (and solidness of the wood) decides the price!

Also I'd been looking for something that converted to a junior bed, but i see KingParrot & Boori have one that converts to a single bed. Might be a stupid question, but do I need a junior bed in the interim, before going to a single bed? If bubba takes after DH (who is 6"4'), we might not need a junior bed for too long!

My inital thoughts by brand (pls correct me if I'm wrong!):
Bruin : lots of comments re mattresses unavailable due to unusual size
Childcare: all have a 2 button drop mechanism
Gro-Years: 2 button drop mechanism I think?
Bertini: one-handed drop, but don't have the colour I want.
Regent: one-handed drop, couldn't see if they convert to junior bed. Anyone know?
Boori: one-handed drop, ppl love 'em, but do I need to pay that much?
Kingparrot: one-handed drop, similarly good and more affordable, bit lighter construction
Mali: looks alright, not cheap tho

At the moment, my short list is:
Kingparrot Allambee B2T - converts to single bed - so cost more, but mebbe worth it?
Kingparrot Scout - seems a good price
I'd like to get a matching dresser, so I guess i'm trying to keep the price down!

What did you find good? Which brands would you avoid? Which would you get again?
Can you tell I'm a compulsive over-researcher of purchases? tehehehee!

Thanks!
Belfie

Hi, we bought the KP Scout for our DD and love it. Good price, well made, easy to use one handed drop sides and converts - easy choice for us really!
Our DS is in a cot from Babyco which is great but doesn't convert. We are now in the process of looking for a new bed for him. Wish we'd bought a convertable cot when we bought his, oh well, we got it right the second time...

I have the Bertini Renissance in white, I love it - really solid, one handed drop like the boori - converts to a toddler bed... I got it from Baby Bunting for about $499-ish (I can't remember the exact price)... Maybe have a look at thier website?

I have a Boori and love it. However I bought it secondhand (and the matching change table and junior robe) and the lot cost me less that that cot itself. The Kingparrots look great quality too, being made by Boori. If you have another bub then the conversions to junior bed etc don't really matter as it will be used as a cot. My SIL bought a Mali and I didn't think that it was great (but I never used it!!). You can always just go a cot then a normal single bed and buy the sides so they don't roll out. That's what pple have always done and still do.

We bought the Mali Euro, have set it all up and it looks great. (We haven't used it yet as bubs isn't here yet). It is not cheap though, but we were lucky, the factory where they make the furniture is up here in Qld right near us and they sell direct from the factory at heavily discounted prices so we got a whole nursery furniture package and saved over $600 on retail prices.

We have a King Parrot - forget which one but it's lovely and we're very happy with it. I didn't even know it converted to junior bed but nice to know!!

Hi Belfie

We have the king parrot "alice"and love it. The one handed drop side is great and its a very good quality cot. As someone else mentioned these are made by Boori, just without the Boori price tag. You can also get matching dressers and change tables if you want too.

Good luck with your shopping :)

Thanks for all your comments - sounds like it's a Boori/KP choice!

Re the Bertini, I'd missed that one off my list, so added it in. It's off for me only cos I can't get the colour wood I want (a lighter wood). Also, very good point re having another bub might mean that the cot would keep being used as a cot, as I'd like to, and I wouldn't be hanging around if I do... but then again, it seems that most (mebbe apart from the Regent ones) that have the single-handed drop convert to junior beds anyways.

I was also just looking at the Love N Care Vogue Cot - anyone had that? Looks alright...

The other thing is I read SOMEWHERE that there's something out there that the foot shortens (somehow!??!) when it converts to a junior bed, so it's not such a high end. Anyone else ever heard of a cot doing that?

Thanks!
Belfie

Can't figure how a foot would shorten except in comes with a second shorter foot to put on when the time comes or you can take a few slats off (as in unscrew them)?? To answer you, no I haven't heard of them. Bit of info that I didn't know but wouldn't have made any diff- the Boori mattresses are bigger than standard (so are the cots......) so when buying bed linen you check the measurements or buy ones with a sticker on them that say 'Fits Boori cots".