Travel beds from birth to three
If you are planning a holiday away, a quick weekend break, or visiting a friend and you have a young child then you will be looking for a sleeping option suitable for their age and escape abilities.
Here are some solutions on the market.
Infantino Travel Bed
This travel bed is designed for very young babies age 0 – 5 months who are not yet mobile. It is a lightweight and easy fold and go design, perfect for travelling and camping. With a machine washable sheet and toy bar it is practical for you and the baby. It has side pockets to hold baby bits, and the end folds out so you can change the baby without having to move them out of the cot.
Samsonite pop up cot
This pop-up cot is perfect for travelling with young babies. It is very light to carry and folds up into a very small size in its own bag. When taking this cot out of the bag stand back and make sure no children are around as the pressure will quickly ping it into position. Placed on the floor for the baby to sleep in it is ideal for babies around four months who are not able to wriggle or roll out. Don’t get too precious about it as they will quickly grow out of it. Use it as a small play house and put it in a clean, safe environment for them to play in as they learn to crawl.
Graco Travel Cot
The traditional travel cot is great to live at Grandma’s house. Suitable for children aged newborn to three years (though this will depend on whether you have a toddler who can tip travel cots at two years).
The travel cot folds up and down easily providing a safe and secure place for a baby to sleep. This type of cot is more suited to holidays away by car rather than train to Brighton.
It has four mesh sides which is great for being able to see the baby easily from where you are sleeping, and it improves ventilation.
Travel cots are also great to use as playpens once your baby gets mobile. If you need to go to the loo, answer the door or make a cup of tea and your baby could get there faster than you, having the travel cot double as a playpen makes good sense.
http://www.graco.co.uk/en_GB/product/9G98/OCN/
Thomas My First ReadyBed
This fun inflatable bed has a soft sleeping bag cover with Thomas the Tank Engine on. It easily inflates with a foot pump, and folds up into an easy carry bag.
We tested this product out on a two-year-old. The bed inflates to a good size and has a protective headboard and sides to keep the child from rolling off. Though we were initially concerned that the child could wriggle down inside the sleeping bag and overheat, this just isn’t the case. The cover is thick enough to be cosy in the summer, and in the winter a cellular blanket would be ideal. The cover is also machine washable and would dry quickly. This is an ideal product for occasional nights away once the travel cot is past use or too bulky to take. Take care with the inflatable, it comes with a puncture repair kit but it’s a good idea to veer your young trampolinist away during the day.
http://www.worldsapart.co.uk
Dream Tubes
Chopsy Baby tried out the brilliant Dream Tubes, a sleeping solution for toddlers and young children making the potentially dangerous leap into the big bed.
Find out how we got on: http://chopsybaby.com/mag/?p=1906