Buying a Travel Crib
Don’t allow having a new baby in the family stop you traveling. One essential baby item that you need to have if you ever intend to spend any time away from home with your baby is a travel crib. All the major baby equipment companies such as Graco, Baby Bjorn and Chicco make travel cribs and there are many different designs available with various different functions.
Some traveler cribs incorporate a bassinet for younger babies that can be removed as the child grows. Others are self inflating to provide a speedy and safe area for your baby to sleep. There are lightweight portable cribs which look very much like a smaller version of your baby’s main crib but are easy to assemble and take apart. Still more travel cribs are designed to double as a play pen and these can be very handy to take with you when you are visiting friends or family whose homes may not be child-proofed! Why take a bulky play pen, when you can get a portable travel crib play pen that weighs less than six pounds?
Some travel cribs are not particularly comfortable for your baby and if you want to get a good nights sleep when away from home, comfort should be one of the first things you check. Take a look at some reviews for travel cribs online to get an idea which sort to buy. Examine the mattress closely as a thin, hard mattress is unlikely to help your baby sleep well.
After comfort, the next point to consider is how portable the travel crib actually is. Does it fold up small enough so that you can easily take it with you wherever you go and do you have room to store it at home when it is not in use? Look at the weight as well. There can be a huge variation in the weight of one traveller crib when compared to another. You want to get the lightest one possible that is suitable for your baby’s needs.
There are advantages and disadvantages to buying travel cribs online. Although buying via the internet is likely to get you a better price, you will not be able to examine the crib before you buy, so make sure you go to a reputable online store and check some reviews of the particular crib you intend to buy. If you are buying a used travel crib, for example from eBay, then check the feedback of the seller and especially their return policy, just in case when the crib arrives it is not suitable.
You may think that if you are staying at a hotel which provides a crib then you don’t need to invest in a travel crib. Bear in mind that not all hotels check their cribs safety standards or cleanliness regularly. Why risk putting your baby in a crib that may not be either very safe or very clean? A good quality, comfortable travel crib is a good investment for your peace of mind.
