We bought the europa baby Palisades Lifetime Convertible Crib when our old drop-side style crib was recalled.  Our daughter was about 10 months old at the time and we did not want another drop side as she would most likely only be using the crib for another few months before we moved her to a bed.  We decided on a convertible crib in order to get more use out of it. I really love this crib.  It's beautiful and sturdy.  We started with the mattress on the lowest position since she was an older baby when we got it, but it doesn't seem like it would be too difficult to lower from another position - at least no more so than any other crib.  Our daughter was a climber and a shaker and even throwing her weight around while holding the bars, she as never able to make it shake or move.  I'd check the hardware every week or so and she never even loosened it with all her gymnastics. It was very simple to assemble.  My husband and I got it together in under a half hour.  There's a large envelope attached to the mattress support for storing the instruction manual.  Very handy if you're like me and are constantly losing the things. Converting to a toddler bed was the easiest thing ever.  Just take off the front side.  That's it.  There's no new hardware to install or parts to change out.  For anyone worried about how sturdy this is, there's a support bar that you install when putting the crib together initially that keeps it secure when the front side is removed. When the mattress is in the lowest position, it's easy for a toddler to climb on and off the bed by themselves. If they roll out during the night, it's low enough to the floor so that they won't be hurt. There is a conversion kit that you'd need to convert it from a toddler bed to a full-sized headboard fro an adult bed.  As we're no where near that stage yet, I don't know how that stage will work.  Yet.  :)

GMRsMom

Oakland Gardens, NY