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Childproofing a small home - playpen?

Jan 2008

hi, our baby is quickly growing, and we need to childproof. unfortunately, our home is less than 600 sq ft, so we pretty much have no space. and childproofing is pretty much impossible since our living/dining/kitchen area has an 'open plan.' (our bedroom is filled with all our beds.) so we thought about maybe getting a superyard XT and make a circle in the middle of our living room area.

is that big enough for a baby to roam in? do i need to get multiple interlocking playpens? it's tough to watch the baby constantly, so i need some advice on:
- how to handle childproofing a small home.
- how much you liked a playpen situation.

please no comments about moving to a bigger home, as it's already quite expensive to live around here. thank you in advance for your replies. kim


I can relate to having a small home with a toddler. I don't recommend a playpen, because that will just take up precious real estate in your living room. You will need to keep an eye on your child pretty much all the time - that's just part of parenting a toddler. That said, there are a few things you can do in a small space to help keep your little one safe and occupied. First, move all of your unsafe kitchen items to a few high/locked cabinets or drawers. Let your child explore the rest freely - your child won't be harmed by kitchen towels, table linens, tupperware, pots and pans, plastic utensils, etc. You can do similar things in your living room. Lock up unsafe/breakable/valuable things, but let your kid have fun with books, magazines, old cassette tape cases, etc. Once you've done a little childproofing, try to create mini play areas in each of the spaces you spend time in that have appealing items for your child to play with and show these areas to your child to encourage him or her to play there. We have mini play areas (eg. the bottom shelf of a bookshelf)in our kitchen and living room areas, and our child usually goes to those areas first to find things to play with. In terms of further childproofing, what you need to do depends so much on your specific home environment and your specific child - observe your child to see which dangerous things he or she is attracted to and deal with potential problems as they arise. On those occasions when we've needed to restrict our child's movement, we've found the high chair or crib (with toys or books for distraction) works just fine for a few minutes. Fellow Mom of a Toddler
I also live in a small house (1-bedroom with crib and bed in the same room). We set up a play yard in our small living room using those Super Yard XT gates and it worked great. I think we ended up buying two boxes. We have a futon mattress in the living room which lays in front of the sofa. The gates completely surround the futon and the ends of the gate are stuck in between the futon and the sofa to create one large circle. Our son is now 19 months old and we are just thinking about taking it down since he spends more time outside of the yard than inside of it. He never liked to play in the pack and play, so this play area worked great for us. All of his toys are in there, and during the day when I work from home, we keep the play pen gate open so he can walk around where he wants to with the nanny. I think around 15 months, my son figured out if he pushed on the fence hard enough, he can get out, but that was out only issue with the yard. I hope this helps. anon
I would try it without the playpen first. We have a small house, too. It never occurred to us to not let our child (now 2 1/4) move freely around our house--it's his house too! Take some standard precautions: block electrical outlets with covers or heavy furniture; secure bookcases (or other things a baby could pull over) to the wall; bundle up electrical cords and get them out of the way as much as possible; get cabinet locks for low cabinets that contain things you don't want the baby to get into; move sharp/chemical/fragile items up high or into high cabinets out of reach (and move innocuous things like toilet paper, tupperware, towels, etc. into unsecured low cabinets/drawers); put corner protectors on sharp table corners. As your child grows, you'll see what else they get into and address it. In our case, for example, we discovered we needed to move the cat's food and water (irresistible!) onto a dresser for half a year or so, until our son was old enough to have the self control to obey our ''no'' and resist playing in the water. If I really needed to secure my son for a few minutes, e.g., to keep him back while I took something out of the oven or to take a shower, I put him in his crib or high chair. Then, as your child grows in their understanding and self control, you teach them what's okay to mess with and what's not, with time and repetition, by saying ''no'' and taking them away from stuff until they get the picture. It helps if you can redirect them to something similar that's their own. For example, when our son tried to take books from (our) bookshelves, we redirected him to HIS books on HIS bookshelf. In the kitchen, we have a whole cabinet of drawers. Rather than secure the drawers (but with dangerous stuff removed, of course), we designated a few of the drawers as his (marked with stickers and filled with a rotating assortment of this toys and safe things to play with), and every time he opened one of the drawers that wasn't his, we said ''that's not your drawer, that's mama and papa's drawer; which is your drawer?'' He learned quickly what was his and what wasn't. Don't worry!
A playpen is dependent upon how adventurous your child is - which is probably very. I found that mine just climbed, sometimes right in front of me! Now, the interlocking type playpen works much better. It supports you in utilizing the space you have for multiple purposes. You can easily move, adapt, expand, etc. to meet your child's & your needs. Also, it confines your child to a pre- determined safe area versus trying to foresee every possible danger over the whole home.

Besides, there is no such thing as child-proofing a home: children are naturally inquisitive & can make the most non- threatening & seemingly innocent thing into an object of destruction. They are just inventive & intelligent. They are here to create & learn, so it will save you a lot of stress to ''do what you can & can (throw away) what you can't'' as Sister Mary Margaret Pouncil once told me when I was a young mother.

Also, keep the play area stocked with toys that teach, like tried & true manipulatives for their age range. But introduce only one or two at a time, so they don't get bored as quickly. And take something out as you place new things in, so it can be recycled as a new toy later. It keeps them interested & gives you a moment to focus as well. Lastly, music music music. Different rhythms for different times. You'd be surprised at how it will keep them busy, focused & occupied, not to mention preparing them for learning & teaching them how to keep a schedule. I pray this helps. Peace & blessings!


Childproofing and deciding whether or not to get a playpen/yard are not the same thing in my mind. The playpen worked for my active girl for about 3 months, and only for short periods like I needed to saute something or take something out of the oven or grab a shower. They take up a lot of room, so I don't see how they would work in your space. Maybe a pack n' play for temporary restraint. But you will have to have your home be kid accessible for at least 2-2.5 years. You need to do things you can live with.

Some of the stuff we did: We put caps on all the outlets and the movable gaurd ones on two that we access all the time. We put kid-thwarting covers on the light switches to prevent ''lights on, lights off, lights on, lights off'' play. We earthquake tethered all of our bookcases and appliances (don't forget the TV) so they didn't move when climbed on, we took off all table cloths and decorations that were under 4 ft. We took off books from the lower shelves and used them for toys (so you aren't constantly reshelving) or used a piece of fabric we liked to look at for 2 years and used it to cover the lower shelves (one corner had velcro so we could lift it up and get at the books, but out of sight is out of mind for tiny tykes). Then we got safe, sturdy step stools and kid chairs and taught her how to be safe because they WILL climb, you can't stop them, but if they get used to doing it more or less safely , it helps. have fun with your kid!


Don't stress about the size of your house. It is actually perfectly sized for keeping the baby safe. Personally, I am a childproofing minimalist. All chemicals go into a cupboard that is locked. Anything breakable goes up into higher cupboards. The non breakables (pots, pans, tupperware, etc). Permanent baby gates go at the bottom and top of stairs. Otherwise, I don't worry about it. I keep an eye on my kids obviously, but not for every second. When they were little, they never played with electrical outlets. All wires went into big flexible plastic tubing. I made sure that nothing that I had was a pull down hazard (tv is on a big enough base, etc). My kids are hardly the type that parents hope for (they are spazmatoids with A LOT of energy), so it isn't like they are quietly walking around the house all day. They are turning my living room into a mosh pit and jumping off the sofa arms into it.

I think that a big playyard is fine (pack and plays are way to small -- at least for mine). My kids probably wouldn't have like d it, but I guess if I worked at it (ignored their screams?) for a few days then they would have quit. -anon


We have a small house as well - 2 adults and 2 toddlers in 750 sq ft. And moving was not an option for us, either!

I think the playpen or fenced-off areas are not good long-term solutions. No baby or toddler wants to play *separately* from where the adults are. Unless you have an unusually independent baby, my guess is that s/he is not going to be willing to stay in a playpen very long alone. And that goes for a fenced-off area, too - no matter how big it is and how many toys are in it, s/he will object if you are not in it too! (Say if you are in the kitchen cooking dinner.)

A better long-term solution is to work on your house to make it more baby-friendly. This does take some time, but you don't have to make all the changes right away. Do all the obvious safety things first (i.e., cabinet latches), and then see what kind of specific trouble your baby manages to get herself into (or looks like s/he is headed for), then make other changes. You'll probably have to rearrange your furniture/possessions somewhat - just resign yourself to it and remember that you can have a ''grown up'' house again when the kids are bigger. For example, we got rid of our open CD rack (too tempting to pull all the CDs out over and over) and replaced it with a lockable dresser from IKEA to hold all the CDs. Lots of other stuff (wine rack, books) went up to higher shelves and we bought new, lower shelves that had lockable doors. So in the end we managed to switch out old furniture with new stuff (and made a looooot of trips to IKEA) but didn't need to lose any of our existing floor space. (That ended up going to all the toys, anyway!) Fellow tiny-house dweller


We have a similar set up: Small, open plan apartment, with bed in the living room. Glass and breakables go into upper drawers/cabinets in the kitchen. Lower cabinets are baby-locked OR have safe stuff in them: plastic tubs, pots, pans, screw-top storage jars of rice, flour, sugar. Baby needs to explore. Use a pen, swing or exersaucer for when you have to take a shower or are flambeeing something in the kitchen, but I wouldn't pen baby into such a small area at all times--house is small enough of a pen. Exploration also teaches baby: Oven is on? when baby touched it, it was a huge teaching moment: Don't touch, baby ow! By the time he/she needs to wander more, he'll know not to touch garbage pail, oven, glasses (still working on that with 2- year old). Babies like exploring with pans, small metal bowls, plastic bowls. Regarding drawers: ''Fingers! Baby ow!'' use those teaching moments. It'll be over pretty soon and your baby will know stuff and be confident, feel safe and be an explorer.

Don't forget teaching teach crawler/cruiser how to climb down a step or climb/slide off bed, a key skill.

Basics: put the garbage out of reach (pail resided for several months on the piano and/or diaper changing table), electrical plugs covered, extension cords covered or clamped to baseboards, bookcases screwed to wall. Every few months (or even weeks) as baby develops, check what new babyproofing needs doing, since it comes in stages. small house, big world


Playpen for 6-month-old?

May 2002

I am wondering if I should buy a playpen for my six months old baby girl. I hardly know anybody who has a playpen anymore and I wonder what the reason is. Do most babies like it in there or not or is the playpen more for traveling ? My babie is trying to sit up right know but after a while she falls over and she could of course hit her head on the ground if I would.'t sit with her all the time. I think in the playpen this wouldn't happen because everything around it is soft. I would just put her in there if I do some house work and cooking and I certaintly would always be close by but if I turn my head and she falls over at least she wouldn't get hurt. I would like to know what other parents have to say about playpens. alexandra


We went back and forth on the playpen question for quite a while. In the end we ended up with two. We got the Kidco Play Den, which we use in the study so we can do bills & computer stuff without our daughter getting too bored and we got a travelling one when we went away for a weekend. She only tolerates the small one for a short period of time regardless of what toys are in it. The Play Den worked out really well - lots of room & vertical bars which are perfect to practise pulling up & standing. She first went in it around 6 months & we had the same concerns about her whacking her head. Until she had good balance, we just put pillows against the bars & propped her against them - but only when we were in the room with her!! (Being worried about suffocation.) Now that she is a year old, the big one is still a good place to be, provided she has a good selection of toys & books & she isn't left too long. The only drawback to it is that it isn't very easy to move, even room to room, so you really need to decide where it will be most useful before setting it up. KBracken
Our now 9-mo. old is very physically active. We got a travel playard when he was about 5 mo. old thinking we would use it as a playpen when we were at home. We were advised to get him used to it before he became mobile so he wouldn't feel, well, ''penned in'' if we put him there when he could crawl around. I used it for about a month, then when he did start crawling he hated being in there. We do still use it as his bed when we travel, though, and he'll sleep in it just fine. As a safe place to keep him when I have to leave the room for a minute, we bought a ''corral'', a free-standing 8-panel thing that covers a much larger area so he's free to roam around. He's content being in there alone for a short period. I bought it at onestepahead.com. -Halle
I kept a playpen in our kitchen and put my daughter in there while I prepared dinner nightly. it was such a great help, I would not want to have been without it! I used it until she was walking, after that she was not about to be confined. gael
In my opinion the playpen was a godsend. My son was happy, and I could do other things and know he was OK without watching him every second. We had a folding one that we also used quite a bit for travel--it made a great place to sleep as well as a place to play. Kathy
A playpen is an ESSENTIAL piece of equipment in the parenting arsenal. You simply cannot live without one!!! Where else do you put all the clean laundry? (well, that's what we've done with ours these past years)

My 6mo is right where yours is (actually, she's 7mo tomorrow). What I do is place pillows around her (3 - one to the back, one to the back left and right) or a thick blanket. When we are outside (I'm hanging clothes or in the front yard gardening) I put her on a blanket (on the grass) with the same setup. Then I put her basket of toys in front of her and she ignores them and goes for the grass (or the 2yo plays with her toys). kathy


I still see playpans around, only they're not the ones our parents had for us. They're the Graco 3-way Pack 'N Play that turn from being a bassinet into a traveling crib and playpen. Personally, we used ours quite a bit from the time my son was about 8 months old to 1-1/2 years. As you note, little ones can bump into things a lot, and it's good to have a safe place for them. I didn't put my son in there for more than 20 minutes at a time and rarely twice in a day. It was more for when I was cooking or feeding the dogs and couldn't keep an eye on him. I believe that the negative things you hear about playpens are because of possibility that parents will just leave their babies in there and ignore them, which is a terrible thing to do. But I don't believe there's anything wrong with a playpen for the baby's safety. Put special toys in there that your baby can't get anywhere else to turn it into a special place. Turn on some music.

Another alternative is an Ultrasaucer. It's a circular activity table with Baby's seat in the middle. Baby can spin and bounce. It's good until Baby learns how to walk. I found it a good way for my son to have some safe, protected fun while I was cooking. Good luck. Gwynne


I think that playpens have gotten a bad reputation because of the perception that previous generations left their babies in playpens for hours on end. My daughter is a year old, and I have used the playpen for exactly the resons you describe. Early on it allowed her to sit up safely, and lean against the netting, and now that she is very mobile, I can use it for a few minutes while I boil water, take things out of the oven, or run into another room to get something.

I don't use it for long (maybe a total of 15 minutes a day), and she doesn't seem to mind it (as long as I am in the room with her), and occasionally she even tries to get into it. I try to rotate the toys in it fairly regularly, and give her things like books, etc, that she can use while in one place. She loved being in the playpen while she was learning to stand; it provided lots of surfaces on which to pull up.

What we use is the Pak-n-play, which we also use as a portable crib. One can get real playpens, which are much bigger, but I didn't want to devote that much floor space to it. Melissa T


Our son has always hated the playpen that we have. It's one of those pack-n-play things that we got from a friend, and the only thing I've ever used it for is as a ''holding area'' down in the basement while I'm doing laundry. I put a book in there and he's OK for a few minutes but then he's yelling to get out. He's always been super active [he's 14 mos. now] and since birth has rejected being placed in any confining non-mom's-arms place [carseat, stroller, crib... although he's better at those now!]. My niece, on the other hand, who's 3 now, used to sit for long periods looking at her books, and on the occasions that she found herself in a playpen [like early morning at auntie's house before any adults are awake] has been fine for an hour or so just reading. So, I guess it depends on how you want to use it and what your other ''confining spaces'' experiences have been like. Jean

Where to borrow/rent a portable crib for visiting friends?

May 2007

Looking for a crib or pack and play to borrow or rent for about a week, as old friends are visiting and can't bring their crib for their 14-month-old. We'd prefer to borrow something for free or rent something inexpensive than to buy something new, as they'll only be here for 5 nights. Any advice about where to borrow or rent a crib would be great! jl


There are companies that rent cribs and other baby gear - one of the biggest is called 'Baby's Away'. Their website is: www.babysaway.com Good luck - Susan
What I've done is bought one at a resale shop (like Child's Play on College) and then resold it back to them after the use. They tend to cost about 40 new and you'll get 1/2 that upon reselling - though it might behoove you to keep it around for future guests. My mom does the same thing for high chairs, etc when we visit. OR, you could ask for one on the Marketplace - to borrow or buy.
Try asking on freecycle. Sign up at freecycle.org. Freecycler
Check out http://www.thenewparentsguide.com/baby-equipment-rentals-california.htm

Pack & Play as a Crib?

Feb 2007

Hi - I have an infant who has outgrown his bassinet. I don't yet have a crib for him as his older sibling has not transitioned yet to a big bed. My questions is how viable is the pack and play as a regular sleep option for the next several months? I've generally thought of them as short nap locations. Are there any issues? Thanks!


The only issue I see is that it's much harder on one's back to bend over that far to lay the kid down. Plus, my daughter likes us to ''pet'' her for a couple minutes after we put her in the crib, and I think it would be really hard to do that night after night with a pac n play. anon
I was in the same situation w/my now 3 1/2 year old and 18 month old boys. We moved the little one from the bassinet to the pack and play at about 8 months and then to his brother's crib when he was 16 months. Worked great! And I don't regret waiting since the older immediately dropped his nap once he was free to roam his room. Been There
We used a Pack and Play as a crib for our baby from the time he was 5 months old until he turned one. We got a custom-cut foam mattress for it and bought the bedsheets that are specifically designed for portable cribs. It was great!! Any time we went anywhere overnight, he had his actual bed with him. Mary
Our baby slept in a Pack and Play for the first 4 or so months of his life. He slept really well, too. I did notice that the pad had started to sag a little by the time we moved him to a crib, but it didn't seem to be a problem. In fact, it kept his head a little higher, which was his preferred sleeping position anyway. It was also really nice because his bed was very familiar to him whenever we went anywhere overnight. Emelie
I am the last person who should be giving advice about sleeping, but, my 1-year-old still sleeps in her pack-n-play every night. We have a lovely crib for her to sleep in, in her big brother's room, but because he is up all night and takes 1- 2 hours to go to sleep every night, she sleeps in the pack-n- play in our office. It was totally a temporary solution that has now turned, 9 months later, permanent. The only problem is, now when I do try to get her to sleep in the crib, for a nap for example, she won't sleep. She doesn't relate sleep to the crib as she does to the pack n play. So if you decide to go the pack n play route, know you are not alone. shauna
We used a Pack and Play as a crib for our youngest until she was almost 10 months old, because her older sister was using the crib. We would have kept using it, but her older sister transitioned to a toddler bed. We lined the bottom with a bedsheet from a single bed - folded over many times and tucked underneath securely. Because it was folded over several times, it gave her some padding, so I think she found it comfortable. She seemed to sleep fine, at least. The only issue was that my husband complained about having to bend over so far to lift her in and out of the Pack and Play. It didn't bother me that much. cclocke
Hi there, I used a pack and play as a crib for four months when my daughter was 8-12 months old (we were temporarily living abroad, and renting a furnished place with no crib). I bought an extra mattress for it, which was like a little futon-y thing, thicker than the usual mattress-type thing that comes with them, and it worked just fine. I think I also folded a twin sized blanket and put that under the crib sheet, just for extra comfort. She slept, well, like a baby. Abbi Waxman
We've used the Pack and Play for overnight sleep during trips and have had no problem. I could certainly see using it for a longer period without any issues. anon
I have one that I don't use. They don't seem to have enough support to prevent aches and pains. Look around craigslist and other sites for a free crib to use temporarily. anon
i think it's absolutely fine! my year old sleeps in one some of the time (we're sort of rearranging our bedrooms right now) and she doesn't sleep any differently than when she's in fancy crib. i've known several people who have never gotten a crib and just used the pack and play (especially when they had an older child who was still using a crib and they didn't want to buy a second one). don't worry about it! anon
we have had our two month old in the pack and play as a crib substitute since about 2 wks. she is doing fine. the one we have does have the bassinet attachment so we don't have to reach down as far to get her out. but, i don't imagine there is any reason not to use it. especially if it is just for a few months. we will be moving out infant to our sons crib in a few months. beth
We used the pack and play with our 1st child, mostly for naps, and with our 2nd, both for naps and night sleeping (for a significant period of time) and didn't have any problems. There may be some safety warnings you need to be aware of, but I can't recall them right now. I think once they pass a certain weight/height then you need to consider other options. anon
My daughter used a pack-n-play for nighttime and her crib for naps for probably 6 months. No problems. go for it
Our second child didn't sleep well in his crib and did much better in the pack n' play so that's what we used exclusively until he learned to climb out of it (at around 18 mos). Because we live in a small house, we actually used 2 pack n' plays. One that was in our room where we'd put him down to go to sleep, and one in the room he shares with his sister which we transferred him to so we could sleep in our room alone. We liked that the walls of the pack n' play are soft,and we also purchased a piece of dense foam cut to fit the bottom of the pack n' play to make it a little softer (he was able to turn over at that time). do whatever works for you
We used a pack & play as our son's only sleeping locale for months... maybe even a full year between bassinet, and yes, crib. We did add two blankets for a little extra padding, but not so much to create a concern about suffocation or anything. I highly recommend this option!! We'd pack it up and take it with us on trips, and he felt totally comfortable away from home because he still had his primary, familiar sleeping place with him. We plan to do that with our second, too! pack & sleep momma

Travel bassinet for small space in my office?

March 2006

Have you used a travel bassinet for your infant? I am looking for something small and compact for travel and for naps. Sometimes I have to bring my baby to work with me and I do not have room for a pack n play. Thinking of something like this: Kidco Peapod Travel Bed http://nursery.babycatalog.com/portable-bassinets/peapod-travel-bed-401001 or Travel & Trundle http://nursery.babycatalog.com/portable-bassinets/infant-travel-n-trundle-37400. Was it well made, comfortable and did your baby sleep in it? Thank you. On the go


We tried the Toddler version of the travel and trundle product you are considering and I would not recommend it at all. All the pieces are of very thin foam, which has to disassemble to stuff into a little bag, therefore, the sides are pretty flimsy and and uneven...they didn't really do much to contain our child. Plus, we found it too much of a pain to have to assemble and disassemble the thing. I don't know if the other product is better, but we regret buying the travel and trundle and have not used it more than a handful of times, each with no success in getting our child to actually sleep in it. anon
Wow- the timing of your question regarding the Pea Pod Travel bed comes just as I've been ready to unleash a smear campaign. I too was excited to find a three pound travel bed for my 8 month old girl. It's compact, it's light. But I have some SERIOUS CONCERNS about it. First of all, it stinks of vinyl. Maybe it just needs some airing out. Secondly, my girl is not a light sleeper but when you zip the flap up, it wakes her up. And finally, I believe that she was nearly suffocated it it!! We used it a couple of weekends ago and heard her crying and coughing- she had rolled herself into a corner and had her face pressed up against the plastic. The corners are angled. When we pulled her out she was gasping and coughing for about a minute- it was really, really scary. I hate this tent.If you're still determined to buy this item, I'll sell you mine for cheap! I'm looking forward to hearing what recommendations people come up with because I too would love to find something simple and comfortable that doesn't weigh 20 pounds and include mobiles. Jessica

Outgrowing pack'n'play

Feb 2006

In the past, our 21 month-old child has slept in a pack'n'play when we were away from home. However, he is close to the 30 lb. weight limit and there's not much room for him to stretch out anymore. He sleeps in a crib at his grandparents' homes but this won't work for weekends in Tahoe or other family vacations. Keeping him in the bed with us is not an option, as he would rather play than sleep. He also tends to keep us up when he is sleeping, due to lots of moving, kicking, etc. What other solutions have people discovered? Any ideas would be much appreciated. Grateful Mom


my 2.5 year old is a champion sleeper, but only in a crib like environment. she won't sleep with me, thinking it's play time and has never slept on a sofa, the floor or anywhere else.

i recently took her to visit family who don't have either a crib or a pak n play and was panic striken that she wouldn't sleep. about a week before we left, we started talking about how great sleeping in a big girl bed was going to be. when we got to my family's house, we visited the big girl bed which was a mattress on the floor, sat on it, put her pacifier and doll in it, talked about how nice the blankets were, etc.

she had a bit of trouble falling asleep the first time - i had to stay until she was out - but after that, was excited and proud to sleep in her big girl bed. when she woke up, she didnt get out of the bed, but called for me.

now, she wants a big girl bed at home ;-) well rested vacationing mama


How about an air mattress? Even if he rolled off, he wouldn't fall very far... I believe Aerobed makes one especially for kids with raised sides. Elaine
Hi There, I know you will cringe, but have you thought about just letting your little one sleep in a bed? Our's moved to a toddler bed a few months before his 2nd birthday. When we traveled, we put extra pillows around his bed and tucked the sheet/blankets/duvet in tightly. You can also invest in a portable railing so he won't roll out. He might experiment with getting up. But be diligent, as with any other change in your child's life, he needs your guidance and patience.
The kiddie Aerobed. It has slightly raised edges, sort of like an integrated bolster, so toddlers can climb in and out of it if they want, but won't accidentally roll off. It's sturdy, packs down pretty small when deflated, and is large enough that an adult can actually curl up on it too (handy for nursing or cuddling a baby to sleep and then sneaking away to your own bed!) We bought ours on sale at Target last year for $70- something. (We usually cosleep when traveling but use the Aerobed at home, and we've brought it on trips too.)

There are a couple of other options for portable beds, mostly foam pads with a raised edge piece -- fabric with some sort of stiffener inside -- that goes all the way around. The raised edge is only a few inches high, so it's not confining, but again it should be enough to prevent accidental rolling off. These beds roll or fold up into a duffle bag type thing. The Travel-n- Trundle is one brand; I think One Step Ahead carries it. These are smaller than the Aerobed, which is good if you'll have limited space, but also seem to me to be less durable and less comfortable. You can also get smaller air mattresses that fit inside a sleeping bag. ReadyBed is one brand; many but not all of these come with licensed characters on the sleeping bag. Also available at Target. We have one that works very well for our preschooler, but I wouldn't use it for a toddler because it is quite narrow and there's no raised edge to help keep the kid ON the bed.

Finally, your cheapest option: Use the mattress from your Pack- n-Play on the floor! It won't be as comfy as a thicker bed, but it's better than just a blanket, and without the sides of the pen in they way, your child will have more room to stretch out. If you want to create a sense of containment (though no actual confinement) you can put pillows around the pad. Have kids, will travel


Bed for toddler who's outgrown the portable crib

Oct 2004

My son just turned two and still happily sleeps in his crib. We are going to be out of town for the holidays this year and I don't think he'll fit in the pack n play anymore. What have others done with the sleeping arrangments for their toddlers while away. Sleeping in our bed is not a realistic option for me because he moves around so much I don't get any sleep. There also isn't an extra bed where we'll be staying. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks! Stephanie


Make a ''pallet'' for your son out of a piece of foam or lots of blankets. Put it in a corner so it seems secure like a crib or bed, and line up stuffed animals all around him. If he ''falls out'' he'll only roll off the blankets and it won't hurt or probably even wake him. Best if you can do this against an interior wall of where you're staying so it's warmer. Laura
You might try trading in your pack and play for a similarly designed playpen. When we transitioned our 10 mo old from our room to his, we put him ''temporarily'' in a playpen to sleep, He was so comfortable there that he still sleeps there at two and a half, and has plenty of room. When we go on trips we can bring it, and it folds up to just a bit bigger than the pack and play. anon

21-mo-old has outgrown the Pac n' Play

Oct 2002

My 21 month old is a little guy, but I guess he's kind of long, because he has outgrown his pac n' play crib. His head touches one end and his feet the other. He does sleep curled up, but he doesn't look too comfortable in there. He is not a super adventerous boy, and isn't attempting to climb out of his crib at home (he loves it, in fact), but he doesn't really like that portable crib anymore! We just came back from another vacation where our kid was in bed with us the whole time, and unlike our king at home, we were in a squishy queen sized bed and it was pretty bad news. What do parents of toddlers do when they travel? He isn't ready for a big boy bed, he'd roll right out of it...the floor doesn't seem like the greatest option (and I'm not sure he wouldn't just stand up and walk around),so where can he sleep when we go away? Thanks for the advice, folks! Molly


My child had outgrown the portable crib for our last vacation, too, and I was perplexed because he loves the crib and doesn't want to sleep in a bed (and I didn't want him in ours either). I ended up putting him in the sofa bed at our Embassy Suites hotel, and arranging all the chairs and cushions around him to make a giant crib-like contraption. Those soft mesh safety rails would have been a better choice, though. Be warned that kids who like their cribs like to roll up against the sides, and if there are no sides they will roll until they roll out. To my surprise, he called us to get him out of bed every morning, just as if he was in the crib! Fran
There are some great portable bed rails fold compactly for travel and open up to make a twin size bed practically crib safe. I think mine is Safefy First and I love it. All 3 of my children started traveling with it between 18 and 22 months. Beware though, it's not usually long afterwards that they want a big kid bed at home, too. Julie
There are companies who specialize in rentals of baby equipment in many areas. I found some in Lake Tahoe by doing a search on yahoo... something like ''crib rentals - lake tahoe.'' Most hotels or motels can also offer a crib if you call ahead and reserve it. My own child won't sleep in a pac n play or a crib anymore, so we tough it out with me sleeping in a bed with him, bed pushed against the wall on one (his) side, and my husband in another bed. You could try surrounding him with pillows to keep him from rolling, or even invest in one (or two) of those rails that slip under the mattress for young children and take it with you when you travel. I think they are available at Target. Good luck! Traveling with Toddlers
If you want an official bed, try:

http://www.onestepahead.com/jump.jsp?lGen=detail&itemID=769&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=117&iSubCat=15&iProductID=769

Or:

http://www.onestepahead.com/jump.jsp?lGen=detail&itemID=1114&itemType=PRODUCT&iProductID=1114

But you can accomplish pretty much the same thing with a quilt (or the pad from your Pack-n-Play) and a couple of firm pillows or cushions on the floor! That's what most people I know have done if/when they don't want the toddler in Mommy & Daddy's bed.

Another option would be a ''big bed'' with a bedrail. Bring your own or ask the hotel for one (many have them available). He may be more ready for a big bed than you think. Holly


Pack 'N Play Mattress Alternative

June 2004

I'm wondering if anyone has found an alternative to the cardboard ''mattress'' that comes with a ''Pack 'N Play''-type portable crib. We are planning a long roadtrip with our daughter this summer and while she sleeps pretty well in her crib, when her sleep is disturbed I think it may be due to the uncomfortable ''mattress'' (I know I wouldn't want to be sleeping on that). Of course one option is to get a piece of foam (not a suffocating type) cut to fit but I thought maybe there is a real product or handy alternative? road trip mom


I know, those Pack 'N Play ''mattresses'' are not comfy! We found a mattress that fit into it (on top of the flat cardboardy one) at a baby store in SF on Clement Street. I don't remember the name, but it's quite a large store, close to Arguello. I went in there and told them what I was looking for and the woman went right over to a stack of different-sized matresses and pulled one out. Be sure to get the dimensions before you go shopping because another guy at the store was going to sell me the wrong size. But it fits perfectly and our daughter slept really well on hers.
We had the same issue. There are mattresses you can purchase for around $20. Locally, ROckridge Kids has them. I wanted to have mine sent to Grandma's house so I bought mine on-line from a family business at

www.babyfactory2u.com

It was nice - 3 inches thick. She slept like a dream. Baby's R Us online also sells them.

I also bought an egg-crate foam mattress (really a dog bed but the same size as the pack 'n' play) because it can be rolled up to take up less room. We use it on road trips. I got one for a friend who is travelling all over Europe with her 11 month old. Her daughter is sleeping great. The store is on San Pablo and I believe its name is Famous Foam Factory. Enjoy! Shari


The Consumer Reports Guide to Baby Products (2001, p. 71) advises: ''If the play yard is used for sleeping, remember that the mattress pad is thin for a reason: to prevent a child from becoming wedged between the pad and the sides. Never add extra mattresses or padding, and don't use blankets or other types of soft bedding, which pose a suffication hazard.'' So you probably should not get any type of mattress for the Pack 'n' Play. Sorry. David

Checking a portable crib on the plane

Jan 2002

Does anyone have experience with check-in a portable crib at an airline? Is it possible/necessary to take a portable crib along so the baby will have a place to sleep? I don't want to spoil the precious sleep pattern the baby (now nearly 11 months) finally has established (after breastfeeding and family bed), so I thought to take a crib. It is our first ever flight and big trip (2 weeks) with the baby, so it is kind of making me nervous...


Bring a portable crib with and check it as luggage.
We took one with us when we went on extended trips, weren't going to move too much from place to place, and had no other options. Which means that we only took it with us a couple of times. Usually hotels could provide us with an acceptable crib of some kind, or we were able to borrow something from someone, and we would explore this in advance. Good luck!
Yes, you can take a portacrib along: you will need to check-in this one as well. We always took our Graco with no problem. We wrapped ours (and the carseat)in clear plastic for extra protection. Some times , when we had more luggage, we wrapped carseat and portacrib together to make one bag out of two good journey
Checking in a portable crib is pretty easy, especially if yours has either a handle or wheels. We did it just a short time ago, and the airlines treated it as if it were just another piece of luggage, and it came through fine. However, we ended up not using it. Being in another place with different people, routines, and so on was unsettling enough to our then 7-month-old son that he ended up sleeping with us. However, depending on where you will be, if the portable crib can be converted to a playpen, it might be nice to have a safe place to put the baby for a few minutes.
I bought rolling luggage big enough to squeeze my portacrib in by taking it out of the bag and setting all the bars crossways in the suitcase. This makes for a very heavy suitcase, when I fill up the rest of the space with my things, but at least I don't have to carry the crib by hand.

If your baby will sleep in a portacrib it can be very handy. If your baby is mobile and you don't have a crib, one person needs to basically be in the room with the baby any time the baby is sleeping. With a crib, you can leave the baby sleeping in one room and be in another part of the house without worrying that he or she will get hurt upon awaking. If you don't want to have to carry one, can you borrow a crib there from someone whose child has outgrown one, or rent one?

If you take a portacrib from home, it may help to acclimate your baby by putting him or her to bed in it in a different room of the house (so sleeping somewhere other than normal isn't totally new) for a few nights before you go. Enjoy your trip! -Charis


Concerning the portable crib, most airlines are glad to check these through as luggage. You may want to bring a bag to cover it or ask for a large bag at the check in desk. We used ours often while traveling. It was a good place to put familiar smelling clothing, blankets and toys for the baby to sleep near and play near. It was also a good way to put them down in an environment where we didn't want to put them on the floor or ground, and where we wanted to give them a bit of protection from animals or other children. The baby didn't always sleep the whole night in the portable crib, but it certainly was great for the first part of the evening.
Our baby is a great sleeper at home, but traveling can be disruptive, so we do take a portable crib. We have a Pak-n-play, and check it with no problem, but be sure to ask the airline to give you one of those plastic bags to wrap it in: the outside of ours has gotten fairly shredded by baggage handlers. We also have learned to put folded blankets underneath the fairly skimpy mattress of the Pak-n-Play to make it a bit more comfortable, and we take unwashed blankets from home to make the new environment smell a bit more like home.
The crib is no problem to travel with -- it is the easiest piece to clear the search. If you don't want to use a crib at your destination hotel or have the baby sleep with you, the crib is the way to go. Felicia

Portable Crib for out-of-town trips with 6-month-old

Jan. 2000

Can anyone recommend a good portable crib that I can use with my six month old when we go out of town? She sleeps in her own crib at home and I am hesitant to let her sleep and take naps in a regular bed because she moves around so much she might fall out. The last time we traveled with her she was still sleeping with us and didn't move as much in her sleep so it wasn't an issue. What do people do in these situations? Some of the portable cribs I've looked at seem to be playyards first and portable cribs second-meaning they don't look that safe. I also want one that is truly portable because we plan to travel across country in the next couple of months and it would be one less thing to worry about. I've looked at the Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper which looks a little more "crib-like" than the play yard versions. Does anyone have experience with this? I would appreciate any recommendations people could give. Thank you very much.


Ann We have used the Graco Pack n Play for 2 years now with our son, and still think its great. It may be one of the ones you mentioned as being like a play pen, but we have never used it for that. Its sturdy, has a nice flap to cover the mesh on the side away from the wall, if you want to reduce stimulus for your baby, and my son seems to find it quite comfortable. (He also uses it for naps at daycare every day) He is an active 2 yr old and hasn't been able to tip or even wobble it. It is also very portable. It folds up into its own duffel bag, and we have dragged it all over the US on too many trips to count.
Terri
In response to your questions regarding "play pens" I would like to give you my experience. I initially registered for a small version of the crib/playpen. What I discovered when I finally took it to a park for a picnic this summer when my daughter was 5 months old, is that it is really quite tiny and does not avail much room for a sleeping/active baby. While I was there I noticed that a friend of mine had a large playpen. I ended up taking my original playpen back and bought the "Tot Yard" instead. It is very portable and serves the purpose as a sleeper and a playpen. My daughter will be a year old next month and weighs over 20 lbs. The playpens structure is sturdy enough and I have had no worries over safety issues. My thought process in this whole deal was that I would have ultimately had to buy two different play pens as my daughter got older and that wouldn't be cost effective as well as not necessary. I hope this information helps.
Jen
The Graco Pack-and-Play is what we have always used for our now 2+ year old when we travel. We've never used it as a playpen. It is safe, easy to set up/take down and travel with and they are readily available. The pad on the bottom provides adequate support and the more deluxe models come with a fitted sheet (which mine doesn't have, but you could use a crib sheet) As with so many other things, as your child becomes more familiar with it, he/she will probably feel comfortable sleeping in it. Letting your child try it out at home for naps before you travel may help with this, and we bring the blanket, favorite stuffed toy and lullaby music from home to make bedtime away from home as familiar as possible. You can buy a basic Pack-and-Play at Target for about $50.00 (they also carry a higher-end model) or you might find a used one at a consignment place (try Darla's on San Pablo in El Cerrito).
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