Travel cribs: Two Questions

stine28 · December 2014

Hi everyone,

DH & I just got back from visiting my MIL, who lives a 5-hour drive away. While we were there, she told us that we didn't need a travel crib for visiting her because she kept the bassinet portion of DH's pram from the 80's. It looks like the pic below.

So question one is, would you use it? Is it obviously unsafe? I was wondering if because the sides aren't mesh maybe it doesn't meet today's safety standards. I literally know nothing about the safety of baby things from the days of yore.

Question two, assuming that you've all rejected the above death-contraption, do you have a favourite travel crib? If we're going to spend money on one, I want the lightest, smallest, safest, easiest to assemble one in existence. Our car, while adequate, isn't huge and I want to maximize space by minimizing the size of all the crap we have to haul around.

Thanks in advance.

bwftw · December 2014

I know nothing of safety, as a FTM, but that just looks janky as hell and I would not be comfortable using it. We received a Graco PnP for our shower that we will only use for traveling.

scrappypom · December 2014

Does a rock and play count at a travel crib? I hear they are magic, and seem easy to travel with. That's what I plan to use in the office.. But I'm a ftm, so I have no idea!!

BitsyBelle84 · December 2014

I don't know whether I would use the travel crib pictured. We never ended up using a travel crib with our son though, we just used the pack n play. Our pack n play has two height levels and folds down pretty small and was really easy to set up and fold down. My son slept in it every time we went out of town until we finally moved him out of his crib a few months after he turned 2.

AshleyS512 · December 2014

yikes, that would make me a bit nervous. I'm also a FTM but we'll likely use a PnP for travel as well.

stine28 · December 2014

Lol @cabauer9‌ , I can't remember the last time I heard the word janky. I think you might have found the perfect description for it though!

Just to be clear, the pic is from pinterest, but it's pretty damn similar to my MIL's.

@scrappypom‌ I'll have to look into how rock n' plays pack down, they're new to me!

BitsyBelle84 · December 2014

scrappypom said:

Does a rock and play count at a travel crib? I hear they are magic, and seem easy to travel with. That's what I plan to use in the office.. But I'm a ftm, so I have no idea!!

We used our rock and play for somewhere to put the baby down or for naps when he was a newborn. For overnight trips we always had the pack n play also for bedtime. The rock n play was really nice since it doesn't take up much room and is very easy to set up and take down. It worked well until my son started rolling over easily as he would spend his time trying to get out of it.

scrappypom · December 2014

Sorry, pnp totally makes more sense long term. The rock n play is more for when she is bassinet size (not that I know how many months that is yet).

stine28 · December 2014

@katydid2014‌ Yes, thank you. Wouldn't have thought of flammability but it's a really good point.

Bostonchelle · December 2014

That's a little scary looking.

We used a pack n play for travel. It can also come in handy around the house as a play yard to keep baby contained for a few minutes to play "quietly".

bwftw · December 2014

stine28 said:
Lol @cabauer9‌ , I can't remember the last time I heard the word janky. I think you might have found the perfect description for it though!

Just to be clear, the pic is from pinterest, but it's pretty damn similar to my MIL's.

@scrappypom‌ I'll have to look into how rock n' plays pack down, they're new to me!

This is what our PnP looks like broken down:

Ours, like @katydid2014‌ , just has the higher bassinet and nothing else.

stine28 · December 2014

@cabauer Thank you! That does look pretty small. I'm guessing it's pretty easy to set up if @cwbandthenewbie‌ can set it up on the fly. (Right?)

Skrittens · December 2014

I wouldn't use it either. I am also nervous about a Moses basket for the same reason.

bwftw · December 2014

stine28 said:

@cabauer Thank you! That does look pretty small. I'm guessing it's pretty easy to set up if @cwbandthenewbie‌ can set it up on the fly. (Right?)

Very simple. It's just popping a couple things in place and putting the mattress in.

stine28 · December 2014

Sooo, pretty unanimous. Thanks for comfirming my initial insticts. I think we'll pick up a PnP and if she sees it at our place then she might not be too surprised when we bring it along on our first visit.

Thank you all!

CoozieInMyPurse · December 2014

I would also be concerned how the bassinet was stored for 30 years. Repeated exposure to heat could cause what looks like the vinyl lining to break down. Thanks, but no thanks, MIL.

I'm a FTM, but have enough experience with my nephew and nieces to second a vote for a pack n play. The ones I've seen fold down to about 1 foot square in width and about four feet long.

071115 · December 2014

We used a pnp with the two older kids and it worked great.

jesslynnw90 · December 2014

Personally I would not use the one in the photo. We used a pack and play with our first baby when traveling and it worked fine. Our family is 12 hours away so we're just going to buy a Graco pack and play and leave it at my MIL house so we won't have to carry it while traveling.

genmccarley · December 2014

We had a rnp which was great for the first about 5 months especially traveling (our family lives 8 hours away). It folds super flat and can fit in a pretty small space in the car.

We also have a pack n play with the bassinet insert and newborn napper (which we never used for DS). I don't find it to take up too much room while traveling & it's easy to set up.

& I want to add that our nice graco pnp pops up and folds down much much nicer/ easier than the cheaper (Cosco brand maybe?) one we bought on the fly after forgetting ours at home one trip.

scrappypom · December 2014

BitsyBelle84 said:

scrappypom said:

Does a rock and play count at a travel crib? I hear they are magic, and seem easy to travel with. That's what I plan to use in the office.. But I'm a ftm, so I have no idea!!

We used our rock and play for somewhere to put the baby down or for naps when he was a newborn. For overnight trips we always had the pack n play also for bedtime. The rock n play was really nice since it doesn't take up much room and is very easy to set up and take down. It worked well until my son started rolling over easily as he would spend his time trying to get out of it.

How many months did you use the rock n play for, @Bitsybelle‌ ?

BitsyBelle84 · December 2014

@scrappypom I think we used it for about 5-6 months. My son was nearly 10lbs at birth and after he learned to roll over and sit up we had to stop using it. We were afraid he might fall out after that, even with the restraint in place, he was very wiggly.

rm2013 · December 2014

I wouldn't put a Chucky doll in that bassinet... Cue the horror movie music. In addition to safety I'd also worry about mold and stuff in there. Yuck.

I'd vote PnP - I have the same one as cabauer9 and katydid2014 and that's all we've ever used. And I swear it's even smaller than the picture looks, ours is in the trunk of my car right now because I forgot it was there! Never did the RnP.

Clobert · December 2014

I'm getting this:

https://www.guavafamily.com/products/lotus-everywhere-travel-crib

it packs easily into a backpack and has mesh all around.

I'm also getting the bassinet conversion kit and using it as our bassinet

Pack'n plays are huge and heavy and I don't want to store one or use one in our apartment.

This is more expensive but is light enough to bring on a plane or in a car or bring over to someones house and is really safe and well made.

genmccarley · December 2014

Clobert said:

I'm getting this:
https://www.guavafamily.com/products/lotus-everywhere-travel-crib
it packs easily into a backpack and has mesh all around.
I'm also getting the bassinet conversion kit and using it as our bassinet
Pack'n plays are huge and heavy and I don't want to store one or use one in our apartment.
This is more expensive but is light enough to bring on a plane or in a car or bring over to someones house and is really safe and well made.

I have a friend who got one of those, her baby isn't here yet but she said that it seems awesome for plane travel and easy set up / take down.

sweaver93 · December 2014

As a third time mom, I'm gonna go with team pack and play. I had a new one with each kid and am getting our newest one this Friday. Some do have the extra attachments which aren't needed so you can leave them out and make it even lighter. Boppy also makes this swing the folds pretty flat that we kept in the trunk of our car for traveling to my moms or to visit my husband that was retry awesome if that's something you'd be interested in. I feel you on the questions though, because dh's grandma not only saved everything from her first kid 40+ years ago, but also picks stuff up from the side of the road and tries to give it to us. Not safe, not sanitary. Hope you find a good solution!

scrappypom · December 2014

BitsyBelle84 said:
@scrappypom I think we used it for about 5-6 months. My son was nearly 10lbs at birth and after he learned to roll over and sit up we had to stop using it. We were afraid he might fall out after that, even with the restraint in place, he was very wiggly.

Thanks, @Bitsybelle‌ and @genmccarley‌ . Sounds like it will work for at least a few months once I'm back in the office, then I may want to use the pack and play. Did you guys think they were as amazing as people make them sound? And did you have troubles transitioning to non-incline sleeping? My current plan is to have her in the RNP during the day (naps, if you can call them that) and her bassinet/crib at night.

cafecreme · December 2014

It looks like it would be ok for when the baby's younger- 6 months and under. That looks unsafe for a baby who can pull themselves up, and possibly fall out. Invest in a pack n play. My daughter still uses hers for travel at 19 months, and hasn't even attempted trying to get out.

@katydid2014, we never got a mattress and DD is fine sleeping in it.

mandi195 · December 2014

katydid2014 said:
Did anyone who has a PnP also buy an additional mattress for it? I would like to get one to make it a little more comfy but then I wonder about traveling with the extra mattress and how much space it will take up in the vehicle.

I got a quilted/padded mattress pad/cover to put on the pnp mattress. Makes it softer without extra stuff to lug around

BitsyBelle84 · December 2014

@scrappypom‌ We had no issues with our son napping in the RnP and sleeping in the PnP or his crib at night. The RNP was particularly helpful in the beginning as my son had reflux issues and needed to sleep on an incline for the first few weeks after he was born until his throat healed. I loved it. Was really easy to move from room to room and allowed me to have somewhere safe to put him down throughout the day.

cafecreme · December 2014

mandi195 said:

Did anyone who has a PnP also buy an additional mattress for it? I would like to get one to make it a little more comfy but then I wonder about traveling with the extra mattress and how much space it will take up in the vehicle.
I got a quilted/padded mattress pad/cover to put on the pnp mattress. Makes it softer without extra stuff to lug around

This too.

genmccarley · January 2015

scrappypom said:

@scrappypom I think we used it for about 5-6 months. My son was nearly 10lbs at birth and after he learned to roll over and sit up we had to stop using it. We were afraid he might fall out after that, even with the restraint in place, he was very wiggly.
Thanks, @Bitsybelle‌ and @genmccarley‌ . Sounds like it will work for at least a few months once I'm back in the office, then I may want to use the pack and play. Did you guys think they were as amazing as people make them sound? And did you have troubles transitioning to non-incline sleeping? My current plan is to have her in the RNP during the day (naps, if you can call them that) and her bassinet/crib at night.

We didn't have issues transitioning to flat sleeping after using the RNP but DS had such bad reflux and even Zantac only helped him to an extent so the RNP was a godsend for us. When it finally improved and he outgrew the RNP we didn't incline anything else and he was fine with sleeping flat except for the occasional reflux problem.

Mic512 · January 2015

I will say I used my grandmothers wicker bassinet with DS & will use it again with LO. We also have a PnP that we use downstairs & when we are traveling. The bassinet has gone through most of my family so it has always felt safe to me, that being said it's only used at night when I am right next to it with an Angelcare monitor that measures the baby's breathing.

randomnames · January 2015

We have this travel crib. It's super light and easy to set up.
https://www.amazon.com/BABYBJORN-Travel-Crib-Light-Silver/dp/B002Q0Y8SM#

salmphil · January 2015

We headed off any potential awkwardness but just buying my MIL a PNP for Christmas. She's going to be babysitting DS once a week for us gratis and it made picking out a gift for her real easy

Found it on Amazon for $50 and free shipping, so it was a cinch. Hers is really the only grandparent house we needed to consider, so we found this to be an easy preemptive answer to any potentially awkward questions.

chelc32188 · January 2015

We live close enough to my parents that we visit frequently, but not close enough that we would be willing to drive back and forth or go home for the night - so my mom has been stocking up on larger things that we don't think we will have room for in the car to tote around. We found her a BASIC PnP - I think for like $50.

We've also had a lot of luck with the Baby/Kid swap groups on FB where we have found some really nice things to keep there that we won't need to use regularly that has saved us a TON of money when compared to new. If you live in a decently large area, they may have one you can look into?

Travel cribs: Two Questions

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