Disclosure: This post is *not* sponsored by Guava, we just love our play-yard and wanted to share our experience! If you decide to purchase the play-yard or sheets through our Amazon Associate links below, we will receive a commission at no additional cost to you.
We bought our Lotus Travel Crib in 2015 and have used it for more than four years, lasting through two babies.
As with most major baby purchases, deciding on this type of play-yard verses others depends on what’s best for your family’s specific needs. We lived in a small apartment and planned to travel a lot, so we needed a small and easily portable play yard. We did not plan to use it regularly as a secondary changing area, so we didn’t need any of the add-ons some other play yards feature.
You can find many other video reviews of how this thing unpacks — here’s a quick sample video. (And here’s a full-scale review from BabyList that’s great too) It’s quick and easy to set up and tear down — once you figure it out.
This play-yard has come with us for every overnight stay we’ve taken with both our babies — on flights and road trips, for weekend stays at cabins and extended Christmas breaks.
Verdict: We love it.
Here are our favorite features:
Zippered Side
It’s hard to carefully lower a sleeping baby over the edge and all the way down to the bottom of a play-yard. With the Lotus crib, problem solved! Just open the side and slide them slowly in.
Does your child need extra help getting to sleep while away from home? Zip open the side, give your kid some snuggles, and then slowly extract yourself, zipping up the side before you slip away.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stuck in just my head through the opening, or even un-zipped it juuuuust enough to stick a hand through, as a comfort to help my baby calm down to sleep in an unfamiliar place.
Portability + Size
It’s. A. Backpack! When we flew to California with the baby, we schlepped NINE bags through the airport. The Lotus’s backpack case made it possible for us to easily carry it on our backs with hands free for other items.
The best part — it’s sized to fit as an airplane carry-on, so we were able to safely carry it with us directly onto the plane.
Even if you’re just taking the Lotus on a weekend trip, it makes porting a baby bed much less daunting than a full-scale play-yard version.
The Not-So-Great List
Two things to note that aren’t deal breakers, but some folks may be bothered: The mattress is thin, and it’s a unique size.
We didn’t have high expectations for an incredible mattress — it has to fold in multiple places and fit inside the small package. Babies should be sleeping on firm mattresses anyway, and neither of my kids ever seemed to have an issue sleeping on this mattress. With it not being their everyday sleeping device, the thinner mattress wasn’t a huge deal.
You’ll also need to buy special sheets, which are a different size than normal crib mattress or play-yard sheets. They have custom slits around the edges to thread the velcro strips through to secure the mattress to the bottom.
We have both the regular cotton sheet and a thicker, quilted sheet (for one year and older). We use the bare mattress (it has a wipe-able plastic surface) when the play-yard is around the house as a portable play area.
Bottom line: If this type of play-yard fits your lifestyle, get it. We’ve had no regrets.
