With our first family holiday on the horizon I started researching travel cots. I wanted something comfortable for Casper, easy for us to use and carry around, and that would double up as a playpen when we are at home.
Overwhelmed with choice I eventually settled on the Joie Commuter Change Travel Cot in the cloud design as it looked a solid mid range option (retailing at around £90), had good reviews and I could see it looking nice in our lounge post holiday ;-)
So a couple of days before our trip to North Norfolk I broke into the highly taped box to have a look how it all worked. Thankfully it was super easy to set up, even for the first time and Casper was very happy to lie in it whilst I tidied, made a cup of tea and whipped the hoover on.
Our lounge isn’t very big but it fits perfectly in one corner and as the cot has mesh sides (for ventilation) Casper can still see me and he can safely to roll around it. In fact, it quickly became a bit of a god send as having it there enabled me to get a few jobs done around the house – no one likes to come back from holiday to a messy house do they?
We also decided to test it out at night for a couple of nights before we went away as I was a little nervous whether sleeping in a new place would disturb Casper’s sleep routine and thought it may help the transition if he was a least used to the cot before we went away. So we moved it upstairs (which I then missed in the day) and added in the bassinet which simply clips on around the sides.
The travel cot mattress which comes with it is actually much softer and more comfortable than others I’ve seen, both my sisters had to buy extra foam travel cot mattresses to add to theirs. Although Casper would have been absolutely fine on the mattress we did add in his Sleepyhead Pod, mainly because he’s used to sleeping in it full review here and the bigger size pod we’d just bought fits in perfectly.
I needn’t have worried - he slept brilliantly both at home and then when we were on holiday at the gorgeous Ford House, which you’ll see from the photos was just the perfect place to relax and unwind.
And can I just say – how much stuff do you need to take on holiday when travelling with a baby?! Our 4x4 was packed right up to the roof so I was even more pleased to have chosen a travel cot which folds down compactly. The mattress wraps neatly around the base when folded up and it comes with a handy travel bag which the bassinet and additional changing unit also fit into.
Overall we’re big fans of the Joie commuter travel cot and to be honest I’m not quite sure how we survived without it before! Here’s a quick summary:
Pros
- It’s sturdy, stylish (I love the soft grey) and spacious
- The mattress is soft and comfortable, plus it can be used directly on the cot base or in the bassinet
- The cot has two wheels at one end so it’s very easy to move around between rooms
- It’s super easy to put up and down in seconds
- The bassinet option is simple to clip on, making the travel cot suitable from newborn up to 4 years
- It’s suitable as a play pen as it has mesh sides for ventilation and nosey babies to see what’s going on
- The bottom of the cot is raised off the floor and has a draught free base
- It folds down compactly and isn’t too heavy
- The cot and the mattress are both wipe clean
- It also comes with a fabric carry case bag for travel or storage
Cons
- The clip on changing unit is a bit more of a faff to add and by the time we used it at 6 months Casper was a bit big for it and was rolling around too much for me to feel safe using it
My plan was always to move Casper into his own room when we returned from holiday but I’m being such a wimp and we’re actually still using the Joie travel cot every night next to our bed as he loves the extra space. I know I need to move him and I’ll be honest the usefulness of having the travel cot back in the lounge as a playpen is tipping me towards just doing it… ok tonight is the night (maybe)!
Do you have the Joie Commuter travel cot? What do you think to it? Any tips for transitioning little ones into their own room?!
Chloe x