using Baby Bjorn travel light for bassinet?

charmcity82

for mobile bumpers:  using Baby Bjorn travel light for bassinet?

I got the Baby Bjorn travel light crib as a gift.  I love how small, compact, and easy to use it is, I think it will be great for many purposes both in our small house and beyond.  But I was wondering - has anyone used it instead of a bassinet for the early weeks of infancy?  We want to start the baby in our room and are trying to figure out if this will be adequate, or if a co-sleeper or bassinet would be more appropriate.  Obviously the fewer things we have to buy the better, but I want to also make sure it's safe for this use.  I have been trying to find safety recommendations online and can't seem to find anything to suggest this is a bad idea, but wanted to put it out there. 

Anyone have this portable crib and use it for this purpose? 

cjelkin

I, too, wondered about this. We are getting the Lotus Everywhere crib to use as our full time crib (our apartment is really small - so small, that we have to use a separate bassinet type thing for the beginning, because even the travel crib won't fit in our bedroom!) - it and the Baby Bjorn appear to be the only ones out there with that mattress size. I can't purport to be a safety expert, but here are the things I considered. Perhaps others can chime in with potential concerns:
1) The thickness (or lack thereof) of the included mattress. There are regulations for how thick a travel mattress can be in the US, which require them to be thinner than the usual standard crib mattress recommendations. I am not sure why this is in place. For this reason, I am ordering a separate mattress for the travel crib (custom ... the mattress size is not common) that will be thicker and still have the appropriate firmness. I will only use the included travel mattress (2.5 inches thick for the Lotus) when travelling.
2) Material of the mattress: I was horrified at the kinds of materials used in many crib mattresses in the US. If this is a concern to you, see if you can find out if the included mattress is treated with toxic flame retardants or anything else that might be of concern. 
3) How far down the mesh extends on the sides. My Lotus will have mesh all the way down, whereas the baby bjorn, I believe, has the bottom portion not in mesh. You have to decide if you are comfortable with not having 100% mesh, and how breathable the sides are. 

4) Temperature: Remember that if your baby is closer to the floor like it will be in a travel crib, make sure you account for any drafts that can be felt at that level. 
5) Ease: Likewise, you are going to have to bend over and pick up the baby what is going to feel like a million times - and you are going to have to reach further down since the mattress will be more at floor level than higher up like in a bassinet. My Lotus will have a side opening to make this a bit easier, but it is still going to be a pain compared to a bassinet! 

Again, this is just my plan of action - I hope someone who has actual experience with this can comment. 

 

tnt7409

I don't have experience with either of those, but we used the upper portion of the Chicco pack n play for DD for naps and bedtime in our room. We used it until she was sitting up or strong enough to roll over and pull herself up, then we moved her down to the lower portion. She was in our room until she was 9 months.
Our PNP has a very thinly padded mattress with wooden slats, so we bought a PNP foam mattress to add in. It still wasn't as thick as a crib mattress but it was fine. When they're so little and light they dot need much padding to be comfortable. Both the upper and lower portions of our PNP were mesh sided, so I never worried about her in there. She enjoyed sleeping in it and transitioned to her crib well.
We'll use it again for DS. We never had the need for any other bassinets.

charmcity82

Thank you both for the insights - the lack of mesh at the bottom of the Bjorn travel crib is definitely something to consider - and the fact that he will be sleeping lower to the ground in this.