Lotus Travel Crib and Portable Baby Playard

The material excellent

Me encanta! Es súper compacta y justo lo que necesito para los viajes!

The product arrived as expected and has been a dream to travel with. Extremely easy to set up and fold away. I had a delay in my shipping and the company was extremely responsive, ultimately receiving the product a few days later.

(2013 and 2016 Updates at end) Really love this Lotus Crib. Here's why: Ease of use & portability: It's lightweight and very portable. Much lighter than our pack 'n' play. Setup takes me less than 1 minute (plus another 1-2 minutes to close all the velcro tabs) and requires no tools. Putting it all back into the case takes me about 2-3 minutes. It will probably go faster when I become accustomed to doing it. When it's set up, the shape and size are longer and narrower than our Chicco Lullaby LX play yard, and it's not as tall. It does not have wheels but it is very lightweight and easy to pick up and place elsewhere. Having it longer but narrower than a regular play yard means that it will fit a taller/longer baby until a later age (especially as there is no weight limit, unlike our play yard which has a 15 pound limit in the bassinet and 30 pound limit in the play yard). The narrower design and light weight also make this easy to move from room to room within the house, as it fits through doorways and is light and easy to carry (obviously take the baby out first). The narrower footprint also means that it's easier to find a place to set it up in a hotel room. (tip: When closing the crib to fold it up, the instructions tell you to press a button on each side of the top rail, that you can feel underneath the gray fabric. I think I was expecting something more round and sticking out, so it took me a minute to figure out what I was supposed to do, and I unzipped the gray fabric from the top rail to take a peak at the structure inside and look for the button I was intended to press. It was shaped more squarish and instead of being pushed in from the outside of the top rail as I had expected, you put your fingers under it and pulled up (towards the sky) on the button. Very simple and easy once you know what to expect.) The travel case is about the size of a roll-aboard carry-on suitcase but both narrower and deeper, less wide (more squared base, less flat). there are straps to tote as a big tote bag, and in the back is a zipper compartment in which are stored backpack straps that turn the case into a backpack. It's rather long for a backpack but that does free up a set of arms for carrying other luggage or baby, or pushing a stroller. My husband (6ft tall) could more comfortably wear it as such than I could (5'5" tall). Safety/practicality: We had planned on using our pack 'n' play (Chicco Lullaby LX) as our normal bassinet and as a travel crib/bassinet. But then our little one came along and he's very big for his age. He quickly outgrew the 15 pound weight limit on the bassinet feature of the Chicco Lullaby before he was 2 even months old, but he was still too young to have him sleep in the pack 'n' play on its lowest setting (play yard instead of bassinet) because he could not yet lift his head up and the lowest setting of the play yard had a fabric border along the bottom of the mesh sides, which would be a suffocation hazard for such a young infant. And the way he can gradually scoot himself around the crib by kicking his legs out, I didn't want to take the risk that he'd wedge his face against the fabric. So using the Chicco play yard as a travel crib wasn't going to work while our baby was still just a few months old. We transitioned him to sleeping in a traditional crib at night at home, but still needed a travel option. We don't want to rely on hotel cribs, as they are often outdated (pre-recall) or may end up being a regular pack 'n' play which is not safe for our baby to sleep in at his current young age and heavy weight. We looked at basically every other travel crib available on Amazon and in the big box stores and found that the Guava Family travel cribs (Go Crib and Lotus Crib) are the only ones that are very high quality and sturdy, ultra portable, and most importantly, do not have any fabric border at what would be nose-level for our infant who does not yet have the ability to lift his head. It's disturbing to me to see how many travel cribs out there don't warn parents of younger infants not to use them. (*see update below on new competitor model) Also a nice safety feature is that the fitted sheet (we have the plain regular sheet not the quilted, since the quilted is not recommended for babies under 1 year old), has slots the edges. The velcro tabs on the mat connect from the mat through the slots on the sheet, and then to the bottom of the crib floor. This secures the mat and the sheet so baby can't grab it and pull it over his face. I also like that this travel crib will still be suitable for our baby as he grows into a toddler. Once he's older (over a year is the recommendation, but it depends on when he can lift his head), we'll use the quilted sheet to add a little more softness, and maybe insert one of our waterproof pads (from another company) under the sheet (the mat is already water resistant, but this would be just to add another layer). Sturdiness: The top rail of the crib (looks like gray fabric border around the top edge) is completely rigid and sturdy when set up. The legs are metal and fold upon themselves where you see the round joint in the leg. The mat and bottom of the crib rest on the floor, so there is no weight limit. This is a plus if you are like us and need a travel crib safe enough for a newborn but able to support a very heavy young infant who weighs over 20 pounds at just 3 months (or if you have an older tot who needs a travel play yard but will outgrow the 30 pound weight limit on the traditional play yard. The sides of the Lotus Crib are black mesh fabric. The floor seems to be a black nylon or other synthetic. The mattress is also a synthetic that seems easy to clean by wiping it off, in case of any accidents or diaper blow-outs. The mattress does not have a wood support under it like our Chicco, but that's not necessary here since the mattress is laying on the crib floor which is directly flat on the floor of the room. The Lotus Crib mattress has velcro tabs to hold it down onto the crib floor. The ends of the mattress turn up a bit even so, but the baby's weight pushes it flat. We pushed on the top rail ourselves to simulate an older tot pushing on it and found it remained stable. The top rail is rigid and the legs are also rigid and are set at a slight angle so the tops of the legs lean in towards the crib, so the base on the floor is wider and very stable. Other aspects: The mattress is thin, as noted by other reviewers. This is a legal requirement to prevent a suffocation hazard for infants in case they turn over and end up face down on the mattress. The shape seems a bit longer and narrower than our Chicco play yard, but in theory we could use a regular fitted play yard sheet on the Lotus Crib, but I wouldn't. I think it's safer to use the sheets sold by Guava Family specifically for this crib, because they have slots in them as noted above, for the velcro tabs to hold them down. This is not necessary for a regular play yard as the wooden subfloor of the crib or bassinet would hold the mattress down and the mattress edges would hold the fitted sheet edges down. With the Lotus Crib, the velcro serves this purpose, so you really need the open slots in the sheets to put the velcro tabs through. Also, the company is super responsive and excellent to deal with. I wouldn't hesitate to order from them again. You really get the friendly and attentive service of a small company. UPDATE May 2013: Since the time of my original review, phil&teds Traveller Crib has had a re-design and the new version looks similar to the Lotus crib, with mesh all the way down to the mat. I haven't tried it since I'm happily still using the Lotus but just wanted to mention in all fairness there's another all mesh-sided travel crib to consider in your due diligence. UPDATE May 2016: I noticed that Baby Bjorn has had a redesign and now the mesh goes all the way to the mat, similarly to Lotus Crib, if you're looking for a comparison. BB seems a little easier to get the sheet on due to the location of the straps. However, if I had to choose again I would still choose the Lotus Crib, because it's easier for traveling, in my opinion, and traveling is our primary use of it. The size and shape of the Lotus Crib carrying case mean that we can take it as a carry-on and not have to check it as a separate piece of luggage. (It also fits perfectly within a large suitcase leaving room for other things in there too). The Baby Bjorn travel case seems nice and a little sturdier but could be a problem if you try to use it as a carry-on luggage item, due to airline size restrictions. Overall they're both good choices but it depends on what your specific needs are. I would also like to note that the Lotus Crib is going strong for baby #2 now as a travel crib and an extra playpen around the house, and is also useful when we have visiting babies. Instead of buying the plush quilted sheet, when we are traveling if it will go on a wood floor I put a folded bath towel or blanket under it (wouldn't do that with an infant under 1 year old though).

It took me a while to decide to purchase this travel crib given the price. But, wow, am I glad I did, for at least 6 reasons: (1) Super easy set-up and take down. This design aspect is not to be underestimated. We arrived at our vacation destination close to bedtime. Without even looking at the instructions, I could assemble the bed in about 2 minutes, including securing the mattress and sheet, and plop my son in. It takes a bit longer to take-down and pack-up, but it is still easy and intuitive. You could loan this to a friend and they could figure it out without the instruction booklet. The design is simple and elegant. (2) Small and light-weight. Even on our most recent trip by car, I was thankful for its small size as our car trunk was filling up fast, and it was easy to tote to our location as a backpack. Its compact size and light weight is a real bonus. (3) The thick sheet and cozy mattress. I was initially not thrilled about the mattress being on the floor, but I must admit, the benefit is that the mattress lays perfectly flat. Plus I purchased the plush sheet, which gave it a very cozy feel. For a portable crib mattress, this was more than adequate. Note: the sheet shipped directly from the seller; I chose the standard shipping, which estimated 1-2 days processing followed by 5-8 days for shipping, but it arrived in 3 days! Bravo, Guava Family. (4) The side door. I didn't think we would ever use the side door, but it turns out my son loves to crawl in to visit his toys, and if we put a blanket over the top, he has a little fort. I totally underestimated this aspect of the design. (5) Rugged. My son, now 17 months old, is a bit of a bruiser. And, the crib seems to stand up well to him hurling himself from one side of the crib to the other and trying his best to pull down the rails. He also likes to sleep with his head or feet pressed up against the side, and no stretching so far. (6) Pretty. Although this was not a priority for us, the crib is actually very elegant and nice to look at. In conclusion, I have borrowed several Pack N Plays, and the only reason I can imagine anyone choosing the Pack N Play over the Lotus is price. The first time I tried to take down a Pack N Play, it literally took me an hour -- frustrating enough that I would have paid someone $100 (the approximate difference in price between the Lotus and Pack N Play) to do it for me!!

We were using a relative’s Baby Bjorn crib, but we had to give it back. We almost bought one for ourselves until we discovered the Guava Family Lotus, and we’re so happy we did! After having used both, here’s why… Size/Weight: At the time, the Baby Bjorn seemed to be the smallest size (when packed) that we could find. However, the Lotus is much smaller, and we really like that it can be carried like a backpack. There are some straps on the back of the bag that are hidden in a pocket, and you can take them out and clip them to the bag to turn it into a backpack. I would say that the Lotus is about ½ the size of the Bjorn when it’s in its bag (although it does weight about the same as the Bjorn). Also, we found out the hard way that the Baby Bjorn doesn’t work as a carryon (we ended up having to pay baggage fees for it because we had already checked the carseat and stroller). But, the Lotus is allowed as a carryon which is a huge plus. Using it: This is where the Lotus really shines. When the Lotus is setup, they are pretty much the same size. The mattress on the Lotus seems a tiny bit thinner than the BabyBjorn, but its still very comfortable, and our daughter sleeps great in it, right from the very start, so we’re very happy. The main difference is the Lotus has the side door, which is amazing. She thinks it’s her play area and loves crawling in and out. Any crib that can actually make my daughter giggle and want to be in it is a huge winner in my book. And, we can lay in it with her to play or help her to sleep too. Ingenious. Also, the zipper door has a little clip to lock it from the outside so she can’t undo the zipper herself, which is a nice feature. This door really makes the Lotus a fantastic product. Setup: The thing I always loved about the BabyBjorn is how quickly and easily it sets up. It beats the Lotus for setup time. But the Lotus is only a matter of an extra step that takes a second or two (opening the legs). The Lotus has some Velcro tabs that hold the mattress down that also takes more time because the Baby Bjorn doesn’t have these. But, we have the sheet for the Lotus also, and these tabs go through the sheet to hold it onto the mattress which we like. It makes it all seem very sturdy and secure. Overall, they are both great products. These have come a long way since the pack n play (what a pain!). But, the side door, and the backpack make the Lotus so much more useful. It’s by far our favorite baby purchase.