Sleep while traveling is extra important so you have enough energy to get out and about for adventures. See below for some sleep-related baby travel gear we use to encourage some extra zs (or at least the same as we get at home) while on a trip. Because well-rested babies = happy babies = happy parents.
We prefer to travel light, as we find it makes our travel experience a bit easier and less stressful. You don’t need specialty baby travel gear. Depending on your trip length, destination and reason for travel certain gear can be more or less helpful. We switch up what we bring with us depending on the length and type of trip. Also, you can always borrow (from family, friends or your accommodations), rent (from BabyQuip, other similar services), or buy certain items at your destination.
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Baby travel gear for sleep on trips
1. Travel crib
We love this Guava Family Lotus travel crib! It is easy to set up and pack up. It’s light (13lbs. or 6kg), and comes in its own compact travel bag that can be carried as hand luggage (fits in the overhead as cabin baggage) or there are hidden straps you can use to carry as a backpack. You have to purchase the sheets (flat sheet and/or padded sheet, we have both) separately.
Many hotels offer baby cribs/cots. If you go this route, request it in advance as they typically only have a limited number available. Sometimes we bring the travel crib for consistency, but other times we leave it home to lighten our load. We always bring the Lotus travel crib when we’re renting an Airbnb or other rental property, or visiting family/friends.
2. Travel bassinet
For the littlest travelers, this BRICA Fold N’ Go Travel Bassinet is a great small travel bassinet. It’s only 2.5lbs (1 kg), folds up quickly and can fit in some suitcases. It doesn’t sit perfectly flat, but it does the job to provide a separate safe space for baby.
3. Travel toddler bed
The Shrunks Junior Toddler Travel Bed is a good option for bigger babies who have transitioned out of a crib. Our toddler still rolls a ton and would fall off a regular bed quickly, so this bed works great to offer them their own safe space. It also works well for sleepovers at cousin and grandparent houses!
4. Sound machine
It is no fun trying to put a baby to bed (or even yourself) when you hear noise coming from another room or the hallway. This Marpac Rohm white noise sound machine produces different types of white noise to help mask other noises around you, creating a more soothing environment for sleep. It’s easy to travel with since it’s so compact and light. We use the full size one at home, and before I discovered the mini one, we actually traveled with the big one because it is SO helpful. There are various phone apps for baby sleep sounds, but personally I like to have my phone freed up for whatever I need to do rather than have to have it plugged in and near baby acting as a machine.
5. Nightlight
After waking up so many times while pregnant to pee, and knowing I had many more night wake-ups ahead of me with a baby, I knew I needed some night lights. No more turning on regular lights and waking myself up even more. Blue LEDs are terribly disruptive to our sleep, but amber-hue lights are much less disruptive. I went searching for amber-colored night lights and came across these Maxxima MLN-50A Amber LED Night Lights. We have them all over our house, and usually, bring one or two when we travel. Even if your hotel/rental has dimmable lights it’s hard to remember which switch does what since you’re not used to them. There’s nothing worse than accidentally turning on a bright overhead light and waking everyone else up in the middle of the night.
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