travel bed for camping with baby.

[lovehoney]

What do you do for a bed for baby while camping? DS will be 6 months old when we go tent camping. I need an inexpensive way to keep the baby safe while sleeping.

We have a big pack-n-play that a friend lent me but it is too big to fit in the tent. I don't feel comfortable with the baby sleeping with me and DH on an air mattress. The baby sleeps in a crib at night by himself right now.

I looked at the peapod travel beds but they are sooo expensive - even on ebay.
Any suggestions?

 

[3boymthr]

At that age, we went for a "snooze cruise" - drove until DS fell asleep in his car seat and then transferred the car seat to the tent. He slept all night that way.

 

[thebeesknees]

We used an Eddie Bauer foldable baby travel bed from Target until my son was 20 months old. By then, we was too long for it. He was able to climb out starting around 9 months, but it made a nice little "nest" for him, and once it got dark, we never had a problem with him getting out. It looks like this:

http://www.target.com/Eddie-Bauer-I...earchPage=1&field_keywords=Eddie Bauer travel

 

[okeydokey]

We always used a pack and play.

 

[laurafergie]

Ditto on the pack and play - also used it as a play pen outside when we were fixing meals.

A suggestion, if your tent is too small, maybe check craigslist and get a bigger one. We did this for our last trip - just needed another tent to have privacy. Got a good sized tent still in the box for $40.

 

[englishteacha]

I'm not a mom, so I apologize if this idea is too radical...how 'bout a large laundry basket? (and actually, my mom had unexpected twins, so rather than 2 bassinets, which wouldn't fit in my parents' bedroom, my siblings slept in wicker laundry baskets till they moved to cribs.)

 

[MrsPete]

Why does the baby need a bed for camping? Why not just a sleeping bag? You'll be in the tent with him, right?

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

At that age, we went for a "snooze cruise" - drove until DS fell asleep in his car seat and then transferred the car seat to the tent. He slept all night that way.

That is very dangerous and babies have died from sleeping in their car seats you can google it if you don't believe.

 

[dsneybride]

We went camping when my dd was a few months old. Our bassinet detached from the legs so we just brought the top and she slept in that on the floor of the tent. It took up a lot less room than the pack-n-play. Have fun!!

 

[Juliet25]

Another vote for the Eddie Bauer bed. It's so lightweight and compact and inexpensive.

 

[britfish]

we got an older styled playpen. It was square with mesh sides. Because it was square it just fit better, it was also great to have to have a place to put the baby when setting up and cooking. A few times we even took our exersaucer just for containment!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Sad ~ this happened in my state, how did a 15 month still fit in a infant seat?? http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=711452

 

[Buckeye Princess]

We are avid backpackers. We took my daughter at 4 months with us. My MIL got his this little baby tent thing. It is a small tent that has an inflatable mattress on the bottom. The mattress inflates quite firmly so it is safe. I even took it to our pediatrician to get the ok.

http://www.amazon.com/KidCo-P101-Pe...ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1263955277&sr=1-1

 

[Mandychelle79]

We had a portable Bassinette that we took with us.

 

[2Eskiedogs]

We used a travel packnplay, but when my sons started to climb out then I just laid them on a sleeping bag. They were never alone in the tentcamper, someone was always with them.

 

[blessedby3]

When we took our son on his 1st camping trip he was only 2 mos old. It was a family reunion and we had a pop up camper. I put him in the bassinet part of his baby swing. It lifted off by the handles and we took it with us. I dont know if they even have swings like that anymore- that was 14 years ago.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

When we took our son on his 1st camping trip he was only 2 mos old. It was a family reunion and we had a pop up camper. I put him in the bassinet part of his baby swing. It lifted off by the handles and we took it with us. I dont know if they even have swings like that anymore- that was 14 years ago.

Those swings were recalled because of babies dying in them. Seems to be a theme with baby products.

 

[MrsPete]

That is very dangerous and babies have died from sleeping in their car seats you can google it if you don't believe.

Sleeping in a car seat doesn't seem very comfortable -- not for all night long -- but from a safety standpoint, what's the difference between a quick nap in the car seat and an all-night-long sleep? It doesn't hold up to common sense. If it's dangerous to sleep in a car seat for 8 hours, why is it safe to sleep in a car seat for 20 minutes?

I still maintain that the baby doens't need a bed for camping -- just a sleeping bag like the rest of the family.

 

[lovehoney]

I think I will go with Eddie Bauer travel bed. It looks like the best option for our family. Thanks for the input!

 

[summerrluvv]

Sleeping in a car seat doesn't seem very comfortable -- not for all night long -- but from a safety standpoint, what's the difference between a quick nap in the car seat and an all-night-long sleep? It doesn't hold up to common sense. If it's dangerous to sleep in a car seat for 8 hours, why is it safe to sleep in a car seat for 20 minutes?

I still maintain that the baby doens't need a bed for camping -- just a sleeping bag like the rest of the family.

6 month old babies shouldn't even be sleeping with blankets at all, so I would NOT put the baby in a sleeping bag.

As for the carseat...it has something to do with the SIDS risk and lowering the amount of oxygen the child gets.

Flat on their back in a crib or the like, with no blanket is the safest.