Travel Cot advice?

fuzzgun19

We are thinking of getting a travel cot for when our grandson sleeps over. He is only 4 months but is already nearly out of his moses basket.

We don't have alot of room, so need something that we can fold down.

We haven't used a travel cot before, and were wondering what they are like.

I know they come with a mattress, but is it a thickish one..?. if not, would it be best to get an extra or replacement one?

Do you need a bumper when using a travel cot?

What age can they be used until?

fernliebee

They come with a mattress and this is normally fairly firm to hold the bottom in place. For the odd night or once a week would be fine, however if LO was sleeping in it every night I would probably get a mattress for it.

You don't need a bumper, and in fact on most it would be next to impossible to fit one, they tend to have netting sides rather than cot bars iyswim.

They can be used until baby can climb out, or gets too big, same as a cot, as far as I am aware.

ETA: here is an image of the netting sides I mentioned, and how small they fold.

http://www.baby-carseats.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/230130948.jpg

M_A_R_I_E

A travel cot was one of the best purchases we bought when we had our son. We used it for holidays and staying over at grandparent's houses. They do not come with a mattress as such - it is more like a hard bottom cover! Hard to explain sorry!! Fine for a few nights though. Our son used it until he was 2 and ahalf and now it is used for our daughter! Well worth the money IMHO.

kindofagilr

We've bought this one for when LO stays at grandma's

http://www.toysrus.co.uk/Babies-R-Us/Travel-and-Pushchairs/Travel-Cots/Hauck-Travel-Cot-Beige%280029874%29

Its fab, and folds up nice and small and comes with a handy carrier

gingin_2

Ours was also a brilliant purchase 10 years ago and is still being used by my brother's family. We bought the Graco one and it was easy to assemble, disassemble and store in the cupboard.

Only niggle is that you have to bend down low to pick up baby but hardly a big problem in the grand scheme of things. The extra mattress might be worthwhile in my opinion if you can store it and find one that fits properly.

Tigerlilley1980

I had one that my adventurous dd used as a playpen. We couldn't keep her still and she could climb out of her baby walker so it was the best thing for us. It then was used for staying over at grannys house and it was brill. I think we payed about £20 for it and it is in our attic now incase we have another.

brians_daughter

we got ours from toys r us in the sale £25. The best thing we ever bought! We use it at grannies, on holiday, even as a playpen sometimes ie if i need to nip the loo - i also use ours as a toy box lol, its up in the conservatory when not in use so i tend to keep all the toys in it to keep the rest of the house tidy! Its also handy if baby isnt too well, we just pop the travel cot up in our room so he can sleep near us

They dont take too much room and fold quite compact too, if our is down in the bag i prop it up inside the wardrobe

peachyprice

I'm going to go against the grain here, sorry

My DD absolutely hated sleeping in a travel cot, she used to cry all night long. I don't know whether it was because it was so close to the floor, so much colder than her normal cot, the harder base, or whether it was the fact that it was more 'enclosed' than her cot, but we gave up in the end and sold it on ebay.

jennieshrew

I would recommend getting a cot bed sized travel cot as you will get a lot more use out of it. They are slightly longer than the travel cots but other than that exactly the same.

When they are tiny the mattress which come with it will probably do but you will be much more popular with the parents if you buy a nice mattress to go in it!

bylromarha

If space is an issue and budget isn't limited, why not try one of these? Self inflating mattress, lightweight and folds v small. Plus SPF 30, so you can use in the garden in the summer too. My friend loves hers, as does her daughter.

rocketdog_2

You will definately need to buy an additional mattress for a travel cot as the ones they come with are awful - hard and very thin. Try Kiddiecare online for decent travel cots and additional matresses at good prices. HTH xx