So, you’re leaving tomorrow for somewhere even colder and snowier, where you should have more space, but it will be all four of you in one room directly over the kitchen so that your baby wakes up every time someone slams the microwave door. Yay, the holidays! Now all you have to do is find the right travel crib, since it is the one thing on your list you forgot and now you are trolling the aisles of BuyBuy Baby and crying a little because you let Santa’s real identity slip to your six year old this morning when stressing about finding stocking stuffers. Deep breath. Go calmly to the travel crib/play yard aisle and choose one of the following products based on your needs. And don’t worry, everything is going to be fine.
If you need a mobile baby station—crib, bassinet, changing table—Then you want the Chicco Lullaby LX. It has the highest rating from Consumer Reports, easy to use and portable. That is if you don’t mind lugging 23 pounds and spending $190.
If you need a midrange model—crib, bassinet, NO changing table—go with Graco Travel Crib. I know you’re going to want to buy the Graco Pack N Play, since like Kleenex, the brand name has become the thing itself, but resist. The Travel Crib has a better rating, it’s easier to use, weighs three pound less at 16lbs, and is only $80, compared to the Pack N Play’s price tag of $170.
If you want the basic model, just a crib (‘cause really who needs a changing table, doesn’t that term apply to any flat surface with a pee pee pad on it?), look no further than the Cosco Funsport Travel Play Yard. Consumer Reports has this bad boy in at number two. Super safe, easy to use and reasonably portable (22lbs), but the best part is the price tag, only $55. I guess it really is Christmas.
So chin up parents, in another year or two your babies will spend their vacations sleeping on the floor in sleeping bags like the rest of us.