Infant travel Beds???

joycemom · Mar 20, 2007

I am looking into our travel options once we have the new baby in May and am wondering if you all have any suggestions or advice. My first thought was to get all the grandparents a playpen to keep at their house which we might do anyway. But I just foud out my dad took the bassinet we had stored in his garage to goodwill

So we are going to get a new playpen that has a bassinet with a changing table (I am looking for one that folds out of the way easy) for in our room. Our apartment is really small so i think this will work out better in the long run because we will have a place in our room to change him and my daughter will still mostly have her own room. Do you have any suggestions on ones that are good/bad/inconvinent? I am looking at the more expensive graco models at the moment because they have the changing table that flips out of the way with a push of a button. Any other suggestions. I was also wondering if any one has expirence with the small folding infant beds. I know that samsonite and eddie Bauer both make them. Is there any one else??? Are they very sturdy? Sorry for such a long post just wanting to pick all your brains for suggestions.

Patriot201 · Mar 20, 2007

I have used several different kinds of travel yards, including just about every variety of Graco Pack n Play they have ever made.

I would go with a Pack n Play-type playyard. I think it will afford you more flexibility than a travel bed will.

skaterbabs · Mar 20, 2007

Honestly, we had a wooden travel crib for Gregory and out of all the baby sleep gear we've had (cribs, playpens, packnplays, ect) it was our favorite. It folded COMPLETELY flat (so could store vertically behind or horizonatally uinder a dresser), had a bassinet/changing table height, and a more standard crib height, and Gregory used it probably until he was 2 1/2 or so.
Ours was very much like this one:
http://www.babyride.com/ket4-1056.html

Starlight · Mar 20, 2007

Are infants supposed to have beds?

LOL

When we travel, our infants have always slept with us.

They do so at home too.

LOL

No real advice, any playpen I've bought has been the super cheap model without the changer or the bassinet. But they do have some nice ones.

mominabigtruck · Mar 20, 2007

I was at bru this weekend and wandered through the playpen aisle and evenflo has a really nice one with the flip out changing table and I thought that their pad was a lot cushier then then graco one. I don't know how easy they are to set up and take down though, all I have right now is an eddie bauer one for the babysitter.

LuvBug · Mar 20, 2007

I love the pack'n'plays! Graco has some really nice ones! We used them in the daycare as the beds for the children until they were old enough for cots. It was easier being able to store them every day instead of having standing cribs everywhere.

broken4u05 · Mar 20, 2007

I like this one
http://www.specialtybaby.com/grpanplpopl91.html

Lara · Mar 20, 2007

I've heard GREAT things about the chicco ones! I've seen one irl too, and it seemed really sturdy. It's got a changer and bassinette.

http://www.specialtybaby.com/chluplwielin2.html

Yoshi · Mar 20, 2007

starlight said:
Are infants supposed to have beds?

LOL

When we travel, our infants have always slept with us.

They do so at home too.

LOL

No real advice, any playpen I've bought has been the super cheap model without the changer or the bassinet. But they do have some nice ones.

LOL!!!! I am laughing because MY newborn daughter NEVER liked sleeping with us, even though I wanted her to...She had a mind of her own (and STILL does) She also had severe reflux and only slept on a steep incline for the first 5 months. Actually, she napped in our bed with us for the FIRST time two weekends ago....and she's almost 4!!!

To the OP- I love, love, love those new pack n play's from Graco with the flip out changing tables.....The old ones you couldn't leave on there and had to put it somewhere...ARGHHH. Conrgats on your almost new arrival! They are GREAT for vacationing too- we used ours until DD was 2.5.

joycemom · Mar 22, 2007

Thanks fo all the input. I am definatly getting a pack n' play of some sort for at the house as babys primary sleeping spot til dd is out of the crib. She probably could now but our space is very limited. The reason i was asking about the travel bed is dd is not ready for a cot yet when we travel. I have seem the toddler beds that roll up like a sleeping bag but that means she will be on the floor which is fine except when we are at grandmas and it is freezing cold. so I was thinking if there was an alternative for baby till she could handle something else I would try that but i run into the same problem of the baby being on the floor in an infant bed. Who knows he might just end up sleeping with us most of the time like dd did til about 6mo. then she wouldn't go to sleep she just wanted to play! Now she moves around way to much for anyone to get a good noght sleep and definatly won't be in bed with us and the baby. Has any one seem the combi play pens in real life? the DX model has a bassinet that can be in the playpen of attaches to a stand. It is not very clear if the play pen would be avalible to use though. Also it doesn't show how much padding

I am torn between the chicco and graco and possibly this. the graco seems like it would be better for at home daily use because of the massive changing station but the other ones seem better for traveling because the add ons are slimer and more compact.

I don't know what to do????

nisi · Mar 22, 2007

I have seem the toddler beds that roll up like a sleeping bag

Do you mean this one?
http://www.onestepahead.com/product/osa/91763.html
Don't bother. We have it and it's pretty much useless. The sides are beyond flimsy. They do NOTHING to keep an active sleeper contained. After a couple hours, dd had rolled over and was curled up on the floor 4 feet away from the bed. The pad is very thin. I can't see how it would be any better than a good quality sleeping bag. Really, the only advantage I can see is for children who are sensitive to sleeping in an unfamiliar place and might find it comforting to have the same little bed wherever they are.

Want to know what we did for my dd after she outgrew the P&P but wasn't ready for a regular bed? Well, first we were suckered into buying the OSA travel bed, but after that didn't work for us, I bought a cheap inflatable kiddie pool with ~12" sides and some high density foam from the craft store. I cut the foam to fit the bottom of the pool. It was round, so I used 2 half-circle pieces. Then I made a cover for the foam pieces and that was the pad for the botton of the pool. Voila, toddler travel bed! The whole project cost me maybe $20 (hd foam is expensive but I caught a great sale). That was her travel bed until she was almost 4yo and was finally ready for a big bed. If you deflated the pool and put the foam pad in one of those space saver bags where you roll or suck out the air, it packed quite compactly. We even hauled it with us to Mexico.

Splash · Mar 22, 2007

I have friends with the Combi one who like it fine and use it as the baby's main bed.

I'd skip the PNP with flip out changers, though. Have you noticed the size of them? No child is going to fit on them past 2 months, and they're an $80 extra you can definitely live without! Just get a standard PNP with the bassinet, and change the baby on the bassinet. Or floor, or bed, or kitchen table... I rarely use our changer (formerly the TV stand... buy a changer for $100 or get a really nice entertainment center free from friends moving to Germany? Hmmm... I took the entertainment center and ditched the TV stand) for changing diapers anyway. It's more convenient just to change him wherever I smell him!

skipspin · Mar 22, 2007

I have the travel-lite pack and play and really like it so far. It wouldn't be great for you if you want to use it past a year or 18 months, however because it's small. It didn't matter to me since DD was in a bed around 15 months.

It has a basinette, no changing table, although it's really easy to just change a diaper in the basinette. It fits next to our bed, and I can actually get out of bed next to it without having to crawl to the end of the bed like I did with the big p&p we had for DD. (Crawling and stiches don't mix. lol) It also fits through our narrow doorways so I can move it around the house without taking it apart. We will also use it in our camper when DS is crawling and can't use a smaller moses-basket type bed.

joolsplus3 · Mar 22, 2007

nisi said:
Do you mean this one?
http://www.onestepahead.com/product/osa/91763.html
Don't bother. We have it and it's pretty much useless. The sides are beyond flimsy. They do NOTHING to keep an active sleeper contained. After a couple hours, dd had rolled over and was curled up on the floor 4 feet away from the bed. The pad is very thin. I can't see how it would be any better than a good quality sleeping bag. Really, the only advantage I can see is for children who are sensitive to sleeping in an unfamiliar place and might find it comforting to have the same little bed wherever they are.

Want to know what we did for my dd after she outgrew the P&P but wasn't ready for a regular bed? Well, first we were suckered into buying the OSA travel bed, but after that didn't work for us, I bought a cheap inflatable kiddie pool with ~12" sides and some high density foam from the craft store. I cut the foam to fit the bottom of the pool. It was round, so I used 2 half-circle pieces. Then I made a cover for the foam pieces and that was the pad for the botton of the pool. Voila, toddler travel bed! The whole project cost me maybe $20 (hd foam is expensive but I caught a great sale). That was her travel bed until she was almost 4yo and was finally ready for a big bed. If you deflated the pool and put the foam pad in one of those space saver bags where you roll or suck out the air, it packed quite compactly. We even hauled it with us to Mexico.

LOVE that idea, Nisi! I have that OSA bed, fortunately I bought it used...my, it IS a bit flimsy...

joycemom · Mar 26, 2007

Thanks,
That was my concern was if it was really worth it. The pool thing is a great Idea.

nisi said:
Do you mean this one?
http://www.onestepahead.com/product/osa/91763.html
Don't bother. We have it and it's pretty much useless. The sides are beyond flimsy. They do NOTHING to keep an active sleeper contained. After a couple hours, dd had rolled over and was curled up on the floor 4 feet away from the bed. The pad is very thin. I can't see how it would be any better than a good quality sleeping bag. Really, the only advantage I can see is for children who are sensitive to sleeping in an unfamiliar place and might find it comforting to have the same little bed wherever they are.

Want to know what we did for my dd after she outgrew the P&P but wasn't ready for a regular bed? Well, first we were suckered into buying the OSA travel bed, but after that didn't work for us, I bought a cheap inflatable kiddie pool with ~12" sides and some high density foam from the craft store. I cut the foam to fit the bottom of the pool. It was round, so I used 2 half-circle pieces. Then I made a cover for the foam pieces and that was the pad for the botton of the pool. Voila, toddler travel bed! The whole project cost me maybe $20 (hd foam is expensive but I caught a great sale). That was her travel bed until she was almost 4yo and was finally ready for a big bed. If you deflated the pool and put the foam pad in one of those space saver bags where you roll or suck out the air, it packed quite compactly. We even hauled it with us to Mexico.

joycemom · Mar 26, 2007

Do you know what the bassinet on the combi is made out of? Is it a whole seperate piece or part of the padded floor that you use when it is a full playpen? If I could use it as a bassinett on the stand and a pnp at the same time it would make traveling with two easy. This is my BIG decision factor. I really do want the changer though because it is so much easier to just change a thick towel on it or a nice absorbent cover. My daughter was explosive and would pee everytime you took off the diaper it would soak through ant thing and it is much easier ot wipe off the changer than chane the whole bed or bassinet. Other wise I would definatly go for something way smaller.

Splash said:
I have friends with the Combi one who like it fine and use it as the baby's main bed.

I'd skip the PNP with flip out changers, though. Have you noticed the size of them? No child is going to fit on them past 2 months, and they're an $80 extra you can definitely live without! Just get a standard PNP with the bassinet, and change the baby on the bassinet. Or floor, or bed, or kitchen table... I rarely use our changer (formerly the TV stand... buy a changer for $100 or get a really nice entertainment center free from friends moving to Germany? Hmmm... I took the entertainment center and ditched the TV stand) for changing diapers anyway. It's more convenient just to change him wherever I smell him!

joycemom · Mar 26, 2007

OK I finally found the users manual on-line and answered my own question. Thanks though. Now I just have to decide if I am ok with just th small bassinet or if i need the full.

joycemom said:
Do you know what the bassinet on the combi is made out of? Is it a whole seperate piece or part of the padded floor that you use when it is a full playpen? If I could use it as a bassinett on the stand and a pnp at the same time it would make traveling with two easy. This is my BIG decision factor. I really do want the changer though because it is so much easier to just change a thick towel on it or a nice absorbent cover. My daughter was explosive and would pee everytime you took off the diaper it would soak through ant thing and it is much easier ot wipe off the changer than chane the whole bed or bassinet. Other wise I would definatly go for something way smaller.

Infant travel Beds???

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