Travel cot when camping....

[wickedfairy]

Hi there,

Will be camping for 3 weeks in the summer in France and plan to take our Graco travel cot for DD who will be 11 months (thought it would be good for a play pen too, when we are cooking, etc).

Question is: do you think I should buy a mattress to go with it, so it would be comfier for her? Or will she be ok sleeping on the base for 3 weeks?

Was originally planning on getting a sheepskin rug from ikea to put under a sheet for insulation purposes, but I am not sure now....

What do you seasoned campers with babies recommend? Thanks in advance!

Hi there,
About the sheepskin rug; I think this is a lovely idea. My daughter has slept on a sheepskin since she was born and will now sleep anywhere this rug is put down, without fail, without a fuss, and we have travelled a fair bit since then. A note of caution though (plenty of people will say that it is never a good idea for babies to sleep on sheepskins, so look into possible risks before going ahead); as it is for sleeping on, I would recommend investing in a natural, organically tanned skin, as conventional tanning can be an incredibly toxic process. I got mine on the huggababy website. I would also suggest getting a shorn skin with shorter fur, and not a really fluffy one. Sheepskin enthusiasts will tell you that babies can breathe through the fibers, and that therefore there is no risk of suffocation, even if she 'burrows' her face into the fleece, but I have found a shorter fleece (approx 4-5 cm) just as cosy, less likely to get tangled in little fingers, and reassuringly 'unburrowable'. Natural sheepskin is strangely 'self-cleansing' and although it is easy to bung in the washing machine, we only do this about once a month. Dribbles, spills and even small night-time nappy leaks can be sponged off in a jiffy, and as if by magic, the fleece is as fresh as anything. Good luck with your holiday, have a wonderful time camping!

When we have camped we have just used folded up fleecy blankets underneath the fitted sheet in the travel cot. I seem to think that a normal cot sized blanket folded in half is almost the same size as the travel cot base. We actually put one in when we are not camping too to cut down on the "rustling" noises.

However, I love the idea of the sheepskin but have no experience at all.

Thanks for the advice!
Will have a think and see what we end up going for!