PeaPod

The PeaPod is currently my favorite baby product and has come in very handy this week.  Pack and plays are nice, but really too big and heavy to travel with (on a plane that is).  Thankfully when we've traveled to to Oklahoma, Delaware, and Chattanooga we were able to borrow pack and plays from family and friends.  But flying out to Colorado we had to come up with a different plan.  The PeaPod is actually one of the first things I put on our baby registry because I thought it looked that cool...  It is.

It packs up small enough to fit into a suitcase and only weighs about 5 lbs, so its easy to transport.  There is a small blow-up mattress that we put a crib sheet over and it is good to go.  (They also sell ones with a self-inflating mattress, but it is easy to blow up so probably not worth the extra money.)

It is very easy to set-up- it pops open as soon as you take it out of the carrying case so make sure no valuables (such as your child) are close by.  Its easy to fold back together as well and is pretty spacious.  A two or even three year old could sleep in it.

And if you wanted your child contained...

The PeaPod has ties on the bottom so you could stake it into the ground at the beach or camping and even has UV protection.  We will certainly be taking this to the beach with us next summer.