Choosing a Cot, particularly if you’re doing it for the first time is always a little nerve wracking. Where do you begin and how do you make a judgement? Luckily our handy guide is here to help you.
Features
As it is recommended that you use a new mattress for each child, many cots are sold without. Choose a firm one that fits snugly inside your cot - you don't want fingers getting trapped.
Choose a cot with drop sides. These can be lowered to make it easier to pick up and put down your baby, and raised to keep him safe (he will be pulling himself up before you know it). If you want your baby close at night, opt for a cot with a removable side that you can place next to your bed (ideal for those night feeds).
Cots with variable height base can be raised when your baby is tiny, so you can place him gently to sleep, then lowered once he becomes more mobile.
Over-cot changing table: some manufacturers make a changing table that can fit over the cot (perfect height for avoiding backache). This is a great solution if you're short of space.
Under-cot storage: again essential if your nursery is on the small side.
Safety teething rails: not essential, but could be a godsend if yours is the chewy type… These are just a simple plastic strip along the top of the cot which prevent a teething toddler from chomping off bits of paint or wood. (Many years ago, children biting the lead-based paints off cots caused tragic deaths. Now nursery paints are safe, but it's still an unsavoury thing to find your baby eating their cot!)
Cot beds
These look like cots, but are slightly bigger. Their biggest advantage is that they will last your child longer, as the sides can be removed when your baby is ready to make a small, child-sized bed.
However, if you have a second child before your first has outgrown this, you'll find yourself back to square one, and buying another bed. Also, because they are larger, your baby will look somewhat lost in it until they start growing.
So, now that you know the basics, get ready to click, surf and shop!
© Buy Beds.org.uk 2006
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BabyDan Wooden Bed Rail From Babyworld , >, baby, babydan, babyworld, beautifully, bed, child, cot, falling, family, firmly, fixes, folding, helping, little, natural, night's, nursery, preventing, rail, sleep, sleeping, tools, transition, white, whole, wood, wooden... £34.97 | Babydan White Wooden Bed Guard From Safetots , 18months, 25cm , 43cm, 7090cm, 90cm, baby, bedfeatures, bedguards, bedrail, beds, bunk, children, cot, cribs, dan, detaches, folding, frame, furniture, grade, hardwood, installation, mattress, measures, needed, pairs, panel, rail, safetots, side, sto... £34.99 | Babydan Nature Wooden Bed Guard From Safetots , 18months, 25cm , 43cm, 7090cm, 90cm, baby, bedfeatures, bedguards, bedrail, beds, bunk, children, cot, cribs, dan, detaches, folding, frame, furniture, grade, hardwood, installation, mattress, measures, needed, pairs, panel, rail, safetots, side, sto... £34.99 |
Summer Double Bed Rail - Pink From Tesco , assembly, baby, bars, bed, bedding, change, child, children, cot, double, ensuring, fit, fold, keeping, mattress, minimal, rail, rails, roll, secure, summer, tesco, toddler, toddlers, transition... £34.99 | Summer Double Bed Rail - Blue From Tesco , assembly, baby, bars, bed, bedding, change, child, children, cot, double, ensuring, fit, fold, keeping, mattress, minimal, rail, rails, roll, secure, summer, tesco, toddler, toddlers, transition... £34.99 | Summer Double Bed Rail - Blue From Tesco , 2yrs+, anchor, assembly, baby, bars, bed, bedding, change, child, children, comfort, cot, ensure, fit, fixing, fold, infant, mattresses, mechanism, mesh, mind, minimal, night's, panels, peace, rails, roll, sleep, sleeping, summer, tall, tesco, toddler,... £34.99 |
Baby Weavers Morston Toddler Bed - White From Kiddie Care , 70, 140, 145cm, 1725, 64cm, 79cm, base, bed, bsen, care, children, conforms, cot, curves, design, ends, guards, kiddie, little, lower, mattress, overwhelmed, practical, rails, security, side, single, slatted, smooth, strong, toxic, won't... £84.99 | East Coast Barton Cot From Sainsburys , adjust, attractive, baby, bedding, birth, clothing, cot, durable, furniture, hand, lowered, mattress, natural, pick, pine, protective, quickly, rails, sainsburys, side, solid, teething... £90.00 | East Coast Barton Cot From Tesco , 120x60cm, arlo, baby, base, bed, bsen716, conforms, cosatto, cot, heights, mattress, natural, pine, protective, rails, solid, teething, tesco, toddler... £99.99 |
Baby Weavers Jessica Cotbed - Natural From Kiddie Care , 18mths, 70, 140, babies, baby, base, bed, birth, care, converting, converts, cot, delicate, grooves, horizontal, jessica, junior, kiddie, mattress, natural, nursery, panels, position, protect, protective, rail, rails, split, starter, teeth, teething, ti... £109.99 | East Coast Anna Cot Antique From Sainsburys , adjustment, blankets, child, clothes, cot, equipped, furniture, hand, it's, lowered, mattress, natural, picking, pine, protective, rails, robust, sainsburys, secure, sides, sleep, solid, teething, warm, wood... £112.00 | Kiddicouture Ashby Cot White From Kiddie Care , 18, 60, 120, adjustable, alters, baby, base, birth, care, cm, cot, delicate, dropside, dropsided, ends, gums, kiddie, mattress, nursery, parent, peacefully, positions, protect, rails, sides, slatted, sleeping, teething, whitee, young... £115.00 |
Sebastian Cot Bed From Grattan , 146w, 63h, 795d, 925h, assembly, baby, bed, bite, cm, convert, cot, deserves, dropside, furniture, gloss, grattan, grows, guard, hidden, high, junior, measures, mechanism, nursery, painted, rails, safety, self, side, vanilla... £117.45 | Baby Weavers Angelina Cotbed - Antique From Kiddie Care , 140cm, 143cm, 61cm, 6yrs, 70, 77cm, 91cm, angelina, baby, base, bed, birth, care, converts, cot, cotbed, curving, ends, fixed, heights, kiddie, mattress, nursery, panelled, pine, position, practical, rail, rails, sides, solid, stylish, teething, timeles... £125.99 | East Coast Angelina Cot Bed Antique From Sainsburys , base, bed, conversion, cot, curving, divide, ends, fixed, footboard, furniture, head, mattress, natural, panelled, pine, practical, protective, rail, rails, removed, sainsburys, sides, solid, stylish, teething, toddler, traditional, wood... £128.00 |
East Coast Angelina Cot Bed White From Sainsburys , base, bed, clean, conversion, cot, curving, divide, ends, fixed, footboard, furniture, head, mattress, painted, panelled, pine, practical, protective, rail, rails, removed, sainsburys, sides, solid, stylish, teething, toddler, white... £128.00 | East Coast Anna - Pure White Finish Drop Side Cot From Tesco , adjusted, anna, baby, birth+, bsen716, chewing, conforms, cot, drop, fitted, grows, mattress, pine, positions, protect, rails, separately, side, teething, tesco, toddler, wood... £129.99 | Salisbury Cot Bed - Pine. From Homebase , 35kgself, 716weight, adjustable, assembly, baseconverts, bed1, bedmattress, bs, cots, en, furniture, h97cmsolid, homebase, junior, l145, light, mattress, nursery, pine, position, rails, sand, side, stain3, w76... £129.99 |
East Coast Anna - Antique Finish Drop Side Cot From Tesco , adjusted, anna, antique, baby, birth+, bsen716, chewing, coast, conforms, cot, drop, east, fitted, grows, mattress, pine, positions, protect, rails, separately, side, teething, tesco, toddler, wood... £129.99 | OBaby B is For bear Deluxe Cotbed - White From Kiddie Care , 140, 69cm, base, bear, bed, care, contemporary, convert, cot, ends, junior, kiddie, mattress, motifs, natural, nursery, panel, position, protective, rails, split, teething, toddlers, white... £139.99 | East Coast Bamboo Cot From Tesco , amber, bamboo, base, beautiful, cot, delicate, distinctive, drop, ease, ecofriendly, electronics, grain, handed, heights, nursery, operation, protective, rails, side, single, teething, tesco, tone... £139.99 |
Cosatto Tove Cot From Grattan , action, drop, grattan, heights, mattress, rails, safety, side, teething... £141.91 | Cosatto Tove Cot From Look Again , action, drop, heights, mattress, rails, safety, side, teething... £141.91 | Cosatto Tove Cot From Kaleidoscope , action, drop, heights, kaleidoscope, mattress, rails, safety, side, teething... £141.91 |
East Coast Angelina Cot Bed - Antique From Tesco , 716, adapt, angelina, baby, base, bed, birth+, bsen, child, coast, conforms, cot, east, extend, grows, heights, junior, mattress, panels, pine, protective, rails, split, teething, tesco, toddler... £149.99 | East Coast Katie - Beech Drop Side Cot From Tesco , baby, base, beech, birth+, drop, frame, heights, mattress, rails, separately, sides, slatted, solid, teething, tesco, toddler... £149.99 | East Coast Katie - Beech Drop Side Cot From Tesco , baby, base, beech, birth+, drop, frame, heights, mattress, rails, separately, sides, slatted, solid, teething, tesco, toddler... £149.99 |
Joanna - Natural Cot Bed From Tesco , 716, adjust, antique, baby, base, bed, birth+, bsen, chew, child, conforms, cot, ease, electronics, extend, grows, heights, joanna, mattress, newborn, panels, pine, protect, protective, rails, setting, split, teething, tesco... £149.99 | East Coast Angelina Cot Bed - Antique From Tesco , 716, adapt, angelina, baby, base, bed, birth+, bsen, child, coast, conforms, cot, east, extend, grows, heights, junior, mattress, panels, pine, protective, rails, split, teething, tesco, toddler... £149.99 | Saplings Lisa Cot Bed From Grattan , clean, curvy, footboard, grattan, head, lisa, nursery, rails, simplicity, solid, stylish, wide... £156.60 |
| Saplings Lisa Cot Bed From Look Again , clean, curvy, footboard, head, lisa, nursery, rails, simplicity, solid, stylish, wide... £156.60 | Saplings Lisa Cot Bed From Kaleidoscope , clean, curvy, footboard, head, kaleidoscope, lisa, nursery, rails, simplicity, solid, stylish, wide... £156.60 | Cosatto Scarborough Cot Bed From Kaleidoscope , bed, converts, heights, junior, kaleidoscope, mattress, rails, safety, teething... £166.38 |
Kiddicouture Hampton Cotbed White From Kiddie Care , 18, 140, 18mths, 70cm, 716, appearance, base, bed, birth, bsen, care, children, classic, conforms, converts, cot, cotbed, coverts, curved, draw, hampton, heights, kiddie, mattress, nursery, protective, rails, refined, starter, storage, substantial, suit... £169.99 | Baby Weavers Angelina Cotbed White - Including Precious Sleep Mattress 140x70 From Kiddie Care , 140cm, 143cm, 61cm, 70, 77cm, 91cm, base, beautifully, bed, care, childs, converts, cot, fixed, heights, kiddie, mattress, nursery, rails, sides, sleek, solid, teething... £169.99 | Kiddicouture Hampton Cotbed Antique From Kiddie Care , 18, 140, 18mths, 70cm, 716, appearance, base, bed, birth, bsen, care, children, classic, conforms, converts, cot, cotbed, coverts, curved, draw, hampton, heights, kiddie, mattress, nursery, protective, rails, refined, starter, storage, substantial, suit... £169.99 |
East Coast Dilham Cot Bed - Antique From Tesco , antiqued, base, bed, convert, cot, dilham, electronics, ends, heights, protective, rails, split, teething, tesco... £179.99 | East Coast Dilham Cot Bed - Pure White From Tesco , base, bed, bsen716, conforms, cot, dilham, electronics, fixed, heights, protective, pure, rails, teething, tesco, white... £179.99 | Cosatto Hogarth Cot Bed From Grattan , bed, converts, dropside, grattan, handed, heights, junior, mattress, rails, safety, teething... £214.34 |
| Cosatto Hogarth Cot Bed From Freemans , bed, converts, dropside, freemans, handed, heights, junior, mattress, rails, safety, teething... £214.34 | Cosatto Hogarth Cot Bed From Kaleidoscope , bed, converts, dropside, handed, heights, junior, kaleidoscope, mattress, rails, safety, teething... £214.34 | Cosatto Stratford Cot Bed From Look Again , action, bed, converts, dropside, heights, junior, mattress, rails, safety, teething... £215.32 |
| Cosatto Stratford Cot Bed From Grattan , action, bed, converts, dropside, grattan, heights, junior, mattress, rails, safety, teething... £215.32 | Cosatto Stratford Cot Bed From Kaleidoscope , action, bed, converts, dropside, heights, junior, kaleidoscope, mattress, rails, safety, teething... £215.32 | Europe Baby Como Cot From Kiddie Care , base, care, child, combines, cot, design, england, grows, kiddie, learns, panel, position, rails, remains, round, safe, solid, stand, sturdy, style, traditional, uprights... £225.00 |
Cosatto Stratford Cot Bed - White From Tesco , baby, bed, birth+, cosatto, cot, drop, electronics, marking, prevent, rails, side, stratford, teething, tesco, timber, white... £239.99 | Cosatto Stratford Cot Bed - Natural From Tesco , adapt, baby, bed, birth+, child, converts, cosatto, cot, drop, east, electronics, fixed, grows, hazlenut, junior, marking, mattress, pine, prevent, rails, removed, separately, side, sides, stratford, teething, tesco, timber, wood... £242.97 | Kub Madera Cotbed & Understorage Drawer - Maple From Kiddie Care , 70, 140, base, bed, care, castors, collection, contempory, conversion, cot/day, curves, d71, d78, deep, dimensionscm, drawer, ease, fits, h15, h94, kiddie, l139, l152, lines, madera, maple, mattress, position, protective, rails, sides, soft, spacious, s... £254.97 |
Kub Madera Cot bed with underbed storage drawer and delivery and build From Babyworld , >, babyworld, base, beautiful, beautifully, bed, cot, cot/day, cots, evolves, exactly, families, future, kub, madera, maple, money, nursery, panels, rails, seamlessly, side, sides, slatted, sofa/seat, team, teething, used, warm, young... £349.98 | Lollipop Lane Chelsea Cotbed inc Understorage Drawer From Kiddie Care , 140, 159, 70cm, 98cm, assembly, base, beauty, bed, birth, bs, care, conforms, converts, cot, delicate, delivered, drawer, elegantly, en716, feet, gums, junior, kiddie, mattress, nursery, oak, panels, position, protect, rails, self, sides, slatted, smoot... £428.97 | Mama & Papas Garda Package With Mattress - Oak From Homebase , adjustable, barrier, base, bed, bottom, converts, cot, cotbed, cots, doors, drawers, drawersize, dresser, furniture, h180cm, h94cmsize, h955cmsize, hanging, homebase, ivorymade, junior, l144, l835, l87, mdfsuitable, mfc, nursery, position, rail, removab... £649.99 |
Kub Madera Cotbed Roomset inc delivery and build From Babyworld , >, babyworld, base, beautiful, beautifully, bed, changer, cot, cot/day, cots, drawer, dresser, evolves, families, furniture, kub, madera, maple, money, nursery, panels, rails, removeable, roomset, seamlessly, side, sides, slatted, teething, wardrobe,... £729.96 | Cosatto Hogarth children's furniture set From Babyworld , >, assembly, babyworld, bed, child, children's, classic, contemporary, converts, cosatto, cot, cots, country, cream, delivered, drawer, finishes, flat, furniture, hanging, hogarth, junior, light, mattress, nursery, packed, pine, position, rails, set,... £749.00 |