Travel N trundle bed

Phil & Ted's Traveller

Full-Size Travel Crib

Why Shelly recommends it:

It only weighs 7 lbs.-compare that with other play yards! Add to that its terrific versatility and its hard to find a better travel bed. Use it from birth on up through three years (or more), indoors and out. Breathable mesh panels let you take this to the park and beach just as easily as Grandma's house (where rubber feet will protect her floors). Close the snug mesh cover to protect against insects or help create a tent within your tent on your coldest nights of camping. The self-inflating air mattress works much like a Therm-a-Rest (or backpacker's mattress), providing good insulation from the cold ground as well as padding from hard floors. An optional UV-protective cover (sold separately) zips onto the top to offer protection outdoors (though you'll have to throw a beach towel or something over the sides for sun protection now that they are 100% mesh (please let me know when you've finished thinking that one through, Phil&Ted). The Traveler also has a zipping side panel to allow in and out access for playtime on the beach, and for older children who are ready to come and go on their own from their "travel bed." It stands 51" x 24.8" x 31" when open, and folds to 24.8" x 8.6" square packed in its carrying case.

At 11 lbs. it weighs a little more than Phil & Ted's full-size travel crib, costs around $100 more, does not include a zipping cover, and you probably won't be able to use it as long (it also doesn't offer the unzipped side self-access for older children). That said, the BabyBjorn Travel Crib Light is worth it to some parents for the 1-minute (or less) set-up time, space savings when folded and set-up, and eco-certified softer fabrics-every bit of which can be gently washed in the machine. In theory, the BabyBjorn Travel Light can be used for newborns up to around 3 years old (older children may be happier with the longer...