In-between Inflatable Travel Toddler Bed

We just returned from vacation and were reminded of how much we love our The Shrunks inflatable Tuckaire™ toddler bed. It is the perfect in-between travel bed when your child has outgrown their Pack N Play, but are still a little too small (or wiggly) for sleeping on a hotel or guest bed during your travels. It fits inside a suitcase, taking up about 1/10 of a large suitcase. The "tuck" part of the Tuckaire™ design means that standard crib sheets fit, and that they tuck around an inner mattress, making it a very tidy little thing. It has attached inflatable rails on either side, which help to prevent roll outs, but don't eliminate them if you've got a top-of-the-bed escape artist like I do. It also comes with a lightweight electric air pump, which makes it quick to set up. I wouldn't be writing about it if it wasn't BPA-free, PVC-free, Phthalate-free and Lead-free. They also make a twin travel bed for big brothers and sisters. I also use their inflatable bed-rail on my daughter's bed at home to prevent roll-outs. It does the job and isn't bulky (and expensive) like most bedrails, but they do come with patch-kits and that's because they do start to lose air, so take care not to sit on them while singing your lullabies. Check out more details at theshrunks.com. Goodnight and sleep tight.

Safe (Sleeping) Travels

Now that our daughter is nearing her first birthday, we're finally looking at doing some traveling. Since she sleeps on an organic mattress in her crib, we'd also like her to have one in her travel bed (pack 'n play). Her Arms Reach mini co-sleeper had an organic mattress so we plan to get one for our travels as well. This article is a great resource for where to look for one. Another interesting option is the new Go Crib, a lightweight, inflatable portable crib that is made of PVC, Phtlalate and lead-free non-toxic materials. It also has the bonus feature of packing up into a backpack and fitting in the overhead compartment of a plane. That would help any parent sleep well.

Wonderful Wool

When our daughter was born I bought several wood puddle pads for her co-sleeper and, later, Stokke crib. Luckily, we haven't needed them too many times, but there were a few nights of diaper rash, where we let her sleep without diapers that they came in very handy. We now have the oval pad under her organic mattress in her Stokke (oval) crib and we use one of the smaller ones we got for the co-sleeper in the middle of our bed, under the sheets.
Lots of manufacturers make natural pads...we got ours from Pure-Rest, but the wool mattresses and pads from Sheperds Dream are just dreamy.
http://www.purerest.com
http://www.shepherdsdream.ca

Sleep tight, organically

My husband and I recently bought a new King-size bed to accommodate our part-time co-sleeping daughter. Even though she always starts out in her crib (also outfitted with an organic mattress), she nearly always ends up in our bed during the night, so we decided that our mattress should be organic too. We went with a SavvyRest natural rubber mattress. It's three layers of mattress actually. We were able to try it out at a retailer near us and decided on a soft layer of Talalay rubber on top with two layers of Dunlop (firm and medium) on the bottom. Now we're all sleeping like babies, when the baby is sleeping that is.