You’ve been sitting in the rocking chair with your baby in your arms for almost an hour.
Your arms and back start to get hurt but your baby is still awake, with his eyes open and looking around.
He is calm and ready to go to bed. It’s his nap time.
You get up, swing him a little bit, and gently put him down to his crib.
And he starts to cry.
Why?
He is nice and tightly swaddled, you check his diaper - clear, you check his neck and back and the room temperature - he is not hot.
So why is he crying?
Aww that little punk wants attention. He knows that you are about to leave his side, and he doesn’t like that.
You think he is way too young to understand it?
Nope.
He knows it as soon as you put him down.
Even with his swaddle nice and tight, he misses mommy’s scent. He doesn’t feel safe without it.
What do you do?
Pick him up and restart the rocking process again, or walk away and let him cry it out, or soothe him, or just say screw it and get inside the crib with him?
I personally don’t like the rocking thing, because my arms and back get tired really quick. I don’t like hearing him cry, it makes me stressed. I also tried to soothe him, but sometimes it takes hours and hours of waiting and soothing, and I’m also not a fan.
Many times, I say “screw it” and pick him up and let him sleep on my bed.
But as many parents who want their babies to be independent, I also want my baby to be able to sleep alone on his own bed later. So isn’t it the best thing to do is to lay down with him on his crib, so that he will get used to it?
And that’s exactly what I did.
As his crib is convertible, I lay him on his crib, while half of my body lay down on the bed. After all, I don’t want to break his crib and hurt him.
As I was patting his butt, I wondered, how much weight can a crib hold? What if one day I chase after him from the bed to his crib and put all of my weight on it, will it break?
How much weight can a crib hold?
Actually there is no fixed answer to this question. Depending on the crib’s material and design, each crib has a different weight limit.
Generally speaking, the manufacturers’ recommended weight limit is 50lbs. Even after being converted into a toddler bed, it will not increase its weight limit.
In fact, the recommended weight limit is always much less than the actual weight that crib can hold. This ensures the crib’s safety. Even the disclosed weight limit is 50 lbs, many cribs are strong enough to hold up to 250 lbs, which is good for adult weight.
However, you are advised not to risk it, because it might be dangerous if something comes loose and the crib gives way when your baby is in it.
Ways to strengthen the crib
In case you think that your baby’s crib is quite fragile, here are a few ways to strengthen it.
Add extra bars at the bottom of the crib
The key factor that decides if a crib is strong or weak lies on its bottom. If the bottom is strong, the whole crib is strong.
If you already own a crib and want to strengthen it, you can think of adding extra bars at the bottom of the crib, make sure those bars are as close as possible.
Make blocks to support the bottom
If you are not very handy and not comfortable with putting extra nails to the crib, you can build some separate blocks and put them under the crib.
Make sure those blocks create a flat surface and the height nicely fits in the bottom of the crib.
These blocks can be made from strong wood, metal or some simple bricks also work well. For safety reasons, remember to create a smooth and flat surface.
Use good wood or strong material
Some parents are incredibly handy and versatile. They can craft a lot of things from scratch.
Clearly I'm not one of them.
But I've seen many people build cribs for their own babies. If you plan to do the same, remember to use some strong wood (like ash, birch, maple, for or oak) or strong material like metal.
Pay extra attention to the crib legs, you need to make them as strong as possible, since they are the only thing that can prevent the crib from falling to the floor.
Special concern regarding crib safety
Remember your baby is always active. Maybe right now he doesn’t crawl around or start to climb yet, but he will soon.
In this case, your baby’s crib needs to be strong enough to be able to handle the weight, the imbalance and the shaking when he tries to climb on one side.
How to not worry about weight limit of a crib
Choosing a crib can be tricky and troublesome. And sometimes, your perfectly chosen crib doesn't work as it promises. There are always risks.
So what are the alternatives? How can you rest assured that your baby is safe sleeping?
Sleep on the floor
The first thing you can do is to let your baby sleep on the floor. Use a thick and supportive mattress to prevent your baby from getting cold while laying on the floor.
When your baby doesn't know how to crawl yet, a simple mattress works well. However, when he starts crawling around, you can use some big bed rails to wrap around his mattress so he doesn't get out of it to the floor.
As always, your baby will learn to grab the bed rails and try to get up or lean on them, so make sure you find a good strong supportive rails.
Use a full size bed convertible crib
A full size bed converted crib is one of the strongest types of cribs. Because they are made to support the weight of your baby until they become bigger.
Therefore, this type of crib is generally very strong.
However, for a little extra safety, you can always try to strengthen it.
Use a normal bed with bed rails
I used to put my little one to sleep alone in his room since he was 2 months old.
I wasn't worried about him falling even though I didn't have bed rails, because he didn't know how to flip or crawl yet.
I slept in my own bed, not having him beside me, not smelling his scent nor listening to his breath.
And it lasted for about 2 hours.
Until he woke up and cried to call me.
My husband woke me up, "mami, Ethan is crying".
I immediately got up and took my pillow and cover to his room to sleep with him.
I learned to love bed-sharing with my little boy. So I went for some bed rail sets.
If you are like me, enjoy bed sharing but sometimes want to close your eyes on the bed while your baby is up crawling, some bed rails work perfectly.
Ours are strong and able to hold my baby's weight when he leans on them. They are tightly screwed to the bed slats, so I'm confident that they will not give way.
Final thought
Now that you have known how much weight a crib can hold, hopefully, you also decided on how you want to put your baby to sleep.
Your little one's bed is meant to provide security and comfort, for your little one and even for you.
Imagine no more climbing on the crib and wonder how much weight a crib can hold and if it can survive after you sit your big butt on, or worry about it will give way when your baby is in it.
Let your little angel sleep safely.
Your job is to provide a safe bed. And then you can sit back and relax.
Or even better, lay down next to your little one, smell him and sleep with him.