Using a travel cot as DD's cot - because of limited space - any recommendations?

[TheresAHuppoInMyHouse]

My DD is a small 6 months and I expect she will outgrow her Moses basket in the next month or so. We have very limited space and she shares her bedroom with her 11yr old sister, who visits every 2 weeks. During the visits I whip DD out of the room, and she sleeps in the study/dining room. It's easy to shift the Moses basket and I'm looking for a cot which will be just as portable and tuck snugly into the corner of the study/diner when big sis comes to stay.

My question is:

• has anyone else used a travel cot as a permanent cot for their DC?
• if so, which one is a good one to go for?

Thanks

Would it not be better to get a blow up air bed for when the 11 year old comes to stay. The baby lives there permanently and should have the bedroom as their own IMO. I think it would be more comfortable for her to sleep on that than a baby to sleep on a thin travel cot mattress. We used a travel cot as a play pen - it was nearly as big as the cot. If you go for a cotbed at least then you get about 5 years use out of it so better value for money and by that point you could get bunkbeds.

Yes we did use a travel cot for quite a long time. It was a large-ish one, took a 60x120 mattress and we got a proper mattress for it rather than the rubbish one they come with. I don't know how much the travel cot cost as it was a gift but it's a Hauck one.

John Lewis also do a very reasonably priced cot that is the same size as that travel cot actually, was about £65 when we bought it and it did fit in and out of doors without being dismantled too.

I would suggest getting a decent travel cot mattress.

Thanks everyone, I will get my tape measure out and compare these cots and travel cots! I take your point about needing a good mattress if we go for the travel cot option - it sounds like that's worth investing in. This evening's task is Hauk and JLP online research :)

bossyboop your comments have made me reconsider our arrangements, (thank you!) but I think after some thought I'll stick with it this way ... we've put a lot of effort into helping big sis feel like she is not being replaced by the baby, and having her own space when she visits is part of that. I very much hope that over the next 18 months we're able to move to a place with an extra room, then it can be proper beds for everyone!

Why not give your dd a proper cot in her sister's room, and use the travel cot only for the nights when she's out of the room?

I would be a bit worried about the quality of the mattress for permanent use - most travel cots have a disclaimer saying that the mattresses are not to be used for more than two weeks as they are too thin. And a replacement mattress might not fit properly because the sides of a travel cot aren't as rigid as a normal cot.

Normal cots are not that heavy to carry - we frequently shifted ours around rooms and it was a cotbed! Ikea do a wooden cot that seems pretty light. I wouldn't have my kid in a travel cot full time for the once in a fortnight period when she needed to be elsewhere. Are you sure you could not carry a normal cot to a different room - even into your bedroom?