As I mentioned in my What I Bought in September post, the one thing I bought for our Airstream trip was this Lotus Travel Crib from Guava. I had purchased a Pack N’ Play like this one for Emi when she was a newborn. And the bassinet function of the Pack N’ Play was useful for her first month of life and we used it a handful of times as an actual travel crib. But once she was able to stand we could no longer use the Pack N’ Play since it’s a tipping risk. So even though the Lotus Travel Crib isn’t cheap (it’s $200+ eek!) we think it’s 100% worth it since we know that Emi couldn’t tip it over, even while leaning her whole 30 pound frame to one side (and even when it was raised on top of cushions like in the photo above taken in the Airstream).
When purchasing the Lotus, I had also researched the BabyBjorn Travel Crib (retails for $299 which is $99 more- even more eek! lol). But other than the price, the main reason I went with the Lotus is the handy dandy zippered opening at the bottom. Since the BabyBjorn travel crib does not have that, I would have to lift Emi in and out of it like I would from her regular crib. But that would be no easy feat at her bigger size (and even harder on top of a cushioned platform like the one in the Airstream). The zipper at the bottom is KEY! It comes with a clip on the outside so that they can’t unzip it from the inside. And Emi loves going in and out of the crib by herself.
The one advantage the BabyBjorn has over the Lotus is the softer mattress (or so I heard). But Emi has no problems sleeping on the thinner Lotus mattress (she still sleeps on the infant hard side of her flippable mattress in the crib at home). Also the mattress is covered in an easy to clean plastic cover.
I also love that the Lotus crib is really lightweight compared to the Pack N’ Play. I always had my husband carry the Pack N’ Play because it was so heavy (not really great for a travel crib). But in comparison I can easily carry the Lotus myself. I can also assemble and disassemble the Lotus really easily. It comes all in one piece and you just have to click open the legs and click open the frame of the crib. For disassembly, just pinch and unclick the frame and do the same with the legs. And if you somehow forget (or it’s your first time using it), there are easy waterproof instruction tags right on the crib. The design of the Lotus is so much better than the design of the Pack N’ Play. I really wish I had never purchased the Pack N’ Play (what a waste of money!).
The only thing I would say could be an improvement is if the Lotus had a way to convert to a bassinet for the newborn stage like the Pack N’ Play does (there’s that platform that can be hooked onto the frame so that you don’t have to bend all the way down to put your baby down). Then you would be able to use this both for really young babies as well as during the toddler stage. But that’s only if you plan to use a travel crib for both the newborn stage and for travel. You could be like some people and get a designated bassinet (like a Snoo!) and a seperate travel crib, in which case I say skip the Pack N’ Play and go straight to the Lotus!