Portacots

Can you please give me your recommendations for portacots? There are so many around i am not sure to just get a cheap one or spend the extra to get the extra little bits... did you use the different heights/change table attachments?

I have a Steelcraft Expressions which has a change table, basinette and a mobile. I love it but you don't use the basinette or change table for long (a few months) as our gorgeous bubbas get so big so quickly!! IMO I would go for the extras as they make life easier when you go away ;)

i have a basic porta cot with no fancy bits at all.. It was 1/2 price at a target sale.

Unless you are really going to be using it alot i dont think you need to havea ll the extra bits. You can always change a bubs nappy on a bed, so dont need the change table bits, and bubs is only in a bassinet for a short time..

Totally up to you, i have had no probs with my port a cot.. baby club brand .

We bought a Babylove (i think!) one second hand for $20! Its good and quite easy to put up. It lives at my mums house for when we go over there and Claire needs to sleep. We dont have all the extra bits and peices, but we dont use it all that often so they arent really needed for us.

We have a Mothers Choice one from Kmart that was about $100 - it doesnt have the bits and pieces and when we have been away I have just changed her nappy on a bed or on the floor which I do alot at home now anyway. We had orignally been bought a $200 with all the extras and found it too heavy and hard to assemble so we swapped it for the cheapy which is great!

we have a steecraft one - it was mt dp's nephews.

we have used it 3 times, so im so happy we didnt buy one!

We have a steelcraft one that has all the bits and pieces but we don't use the change table anymore cause you have to flip it over every time anyway and it's quite low. The porta cot is fantastic and it has 2 levels which is great for when baby is small - Mackenzie still sleeps in top part - much easier to reach her.

To be honest & this is just my opinion, when we first have bubs we get caught up in all the "extra bits" & later think "we didn't really need that". I would just go with what you can afford, they are great for going away, but you can always change bubs on the bed, table & by the time they start moving prob easier on the floor. Ours does have the different levels, we got it from target on sale for only $80 & has been great, has a fly cover also. That part is good as we've used it when outside etc.

We bought a relatively cheap oe 'just in case' but have never actually used it. Any time we were away she just lsept with us or on a bed, so unless you know you are going to use it, it might be a waste of $$$ for all the fancy stuff.

We bought a simple one that was on special (and I love it - we use it heaps, particularly in the early days for DD's day sleeps), but then a few weeks after buying it I saw one with the attachments for the same price! :doh: Sometimes I thought it would have been super having the bassinette attachment because I used to pat DD to sleep and that involved bending over the cot for a while! Having her higher up would've made life a little easier on my back, methinks ;)
Having said that, we did do ok without them and now they'd just be something else I'd have to find a storage space for.
In any case, keep an eye out for specials! Sometimes you can get a really good deal.

I have a 3 in 1 cot (cot / bassinette / changer) and find the bassinette level really useful for me. My DS doesn't transition from upright to lying down well and I am short so getting him to the bottom of the cot would be a challenge at the moment :) Having said that, I haven't used it much but we will be using it for half a week for the next month which will make the investment worthwhile.

We're planning on getting a Kinderkot... the big thing for us is that it is very light and transportable. But then how much that matters to you depends on whether you will be carrying in a car or using it for OS travel, camping etc. I also like that you can put baby in from the side and don't have the bend over the sides. All the change table extras etc. don't matter to us- I'm sure we can live without those.

depends on ho woften you are going to use it if using for first bed go the whole hog if using for travel basic will do

I actually have 4 :redface: port-a-cots

• at IL's we have a steelcraft (bigw) $120 good as quite small in height and width therefore fits in their spare room :)
• love-n-care $110 (baby shop) this is the best one we have this at our holiday home as his bed there, it has nice padded mattress
• babylove 1 at my mums and 1 here for travelling else where is nice easy construction but is quite heavy also they were 1/2 price at target $60

I think mine is a steel craft one (its a winnie the pooh one from target). Its a 3 in 1 & the few times she used it as a baby it was good..didnt have to bend right down to put her asleep etc. She now uses it at PIL's place if she is staying over or just having a nap while we are there.

We bought a Kinder Kot. One of DP's brothers has a similar style one. We saw the kinder kot at the recent expo and thought they were great. They only weight about 3kg and are so versitile. Plus junior will be able to use it up til about 4 years old.

we're thinking about getting a kinderkot too. it's light at 3kgs so easy to pack away into a carry bag when we go away. We'll be going overseas in June when bub will be 4 mths, so it will be handy to check it in at the airport. Plus I have a bad back, so carrying the kinderkot will be heaps better than then the big ones.

Wow thanks for all the advice everyone! you are all so helpful!

We have a kinderkot too, it's been great.

Thanks for all the great opinions. DH and I have been searchig different brands and styles and found it hard to know what we needed and what was a good price. We'll be getting a three in one - because we need the bassinet attachment because we'll be having baby away from home (and I don't fancy putting newborn bub close to the floor). Kinder kots do look great though - I'm sure older babies love sleeping in them!