Stokke's Sleepi cot is stylish but spenny, so should you splurge?
I like to think I am the best person to pass judgement on Stokke’s Sleepi cot. After all, I had purchased exactly nine different cots by the time my baby was six months old.
There was a Moses basket. A second-hand wooden style. A subsequent Snuzpod because my baby wouldn’t go near said wooden cot. The Snoo I rented when the four month sleep regression hit, and a total of five travel cots. It wasn’t just the wasted money that hurt, but the assembling and disassembling – and waiting with baited breath to see if my baby would take to them – gave me serious fatigue.
The beautiful thing about Stokke’s Sleepi Cot is that the transitions are done within the model, so you don’t need to look elsewhere. If you do prefer a next-to-me crib for newborns, you can stick with this purchase from six months until they are five. If you’ve got a good sleeper on your hands, add the £130 conversion kit to your basket and you’re sorted from birth. So while the price tag might be off-putting at first, once you divide the RRP by five years, you’ve actually got a bargain. Factor in the quality, thus an excellent re-sale value, and suddenly you’re a sustainable mum with impeccable taste.
Yes, the Sleepi is pretty. Let’s not pretend that Stokke doesn’t elevate prices slightly based on its design-classic-status. The Scandi brand’s Trip Trapp chair – also one you can use from six months months until adulthood – is up there with an Arco lamp or a Bauhaus Wassily chair. They're spenny, but they last (literally, for decades) and they never, ever date.
In a world of fast fashion and flat-packed furniture that is made to be disposable, I have to remind myself of the phrase ‘buy cheap buy twice’ on a regular basis. It’s tempting to buy cheap of course, but if you can afford to, it pays long term to invest in decent baby bits.
But this cot is not just pretty, it’s very practical. It’s got the Scandi ethos as well as the aesthetic. It’s USP is an extendable crib that grows with your baby and has four different base levels, so you can lower the mattress as they inevitably achieve escape-artist status. It’s also on wheels, which is a God send if like me you’re short on space or live laterally in a flat.
I move my son’s Sleepi to the side during the daytime to make room for him to play on the floor, and place it in the middle of his room – brakes on, he’s a wriggler – for safety, away from shelving and hanging frames, during naps and night time. When he was littler, I moved the Mini version into the kitchen while I was cooking and doing dishes (the drape rod attachment keeping him occupied for an extra 20 mins). And when he starts crawling, it’ll double as a play pen as I’m trying to tick off chores.
There are some downsides to this oval design. It means buying specific mattresses and sheets. I have to shout about the Stokke quality here before suggesting alternatives: this is one of the best kids’ mattresses out there. It’s properly constructed, thick and squishy without posing any suffocation hazards, and breathable for ultimate temperature regulation. Most baby mattresses are so thin that they curl up when you put a fitted sheet on them, and the plastic protection layers they come with caused my baby to sweat profusely.
Still, if you’ve stretched your budget to invest, it’s worth shopping around for cheaper alternatives like these:
What’s the difference between the Stokke Sleepi V2 and V3?
Ok, so here’s the confusing bit. And I’ve been thrown off by this important detail when trying to buy secondhand (more on that below) and when buying accessories like mattresses and sheets. In 2022, Stokke switched up the design of its iconic Sleepi series to make things simpler, less wasteful and more affordable for customers.
Until September 2022, there were three lengths of this cot: The Mini, Sleepi and the Junior Bed. Anything made after this period involves just one transition. The Mini goes straight into the Sleepi Bed and you simply remove the wheels and side rail of the bigger cot to create a bed.
I can see why the V2 was appealing, the V3 is pretty huge for a six month old. But I love that Stokke has removed a step in the Sleepi transition, which means I don’t need to faff around with any extra pieces of kit for my next baby. Before, we were talking three different mattress sizes, which means you need to buy sheets, protectors, and store everything, too!
What ages does the Stokke Sleepi serve?
The Stokke Sleepi is designed for newborns and lasts right up until your little one is five – you simply remove one rail to create a stylish open bed.
Which celebrities have the Stokke Sleepi?
When Kim Kardashian was shot alongside then-husband Kanye West for her first ever US Vogue cover in 2014, North West's white Stokke Sleepi Mini also featured in the spread. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt allegedly bought one for their brood. Katie Perry and Orlando Bloom flashed us a peak of theirs when giving a nursery tour on Insta back in 2020. And Jessica Alba, Cristiano Ronaldo, Alesha Dixon and Joe Wicks are all fans, too.
Is it worth buying the Stokke Sleep secondhand?
This is a great quality cot built to last, so it makes perfect sense to source one second hand. However, you need to be incredibly careful to decipher between the V2 and V3 or risk ending up buying the wrong accessories or extension kit.
There are also people out there selling cots ‘as new’ in the official boxes but without all the parts. I learnt this the hard way, 39 weeks pregnant, trying, failing, puffing and panting while attempting to assemble one I’d bought on eBay six months prior (if you’re reading this, evil person who sold it to me, I hope you’re ashamed of yourself).
Because Stokke has technically discontinued the V2, hold out for a V3. However, factor in accessories (The Lullaby Trust says you should never buy a second-hand mattress) and shipping or the faff of collection, and you might not be saving much. Plus, if you’re buying for your first, remember you can pass it down to any other children to come.
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