The Bubba Tent

The market for baby travel beds is ruled by one product- the "Pack and Play"

Really the pack and play is just a modernized play pen. The thing about a pack and play is that it is huge- even when you take it apart and pack it up for "easy travel" it is still HUGE. I really think it is made for people who live in the same towns as their families and so when they go visit family they put the pack and play in the trunk. I mean, it fits in the trunk of a car, but its not really something you want to lug around the airport. Especially now that airlines are only allowing one checked bag per customer- we just can't justify wasting one of our two checked bags on a huge bed. Bottom line- the pack and play is not as easy to travel with as people think.

So, instead, we got the baby tent travel bed. It folds up super easy and you could fit it inside a suitcase and take it with you. The tent also serves some other good purposes too- it prevents the kid from getting mosquito bites outside and it blocks the sun. so we can use it in the backyard, OR if we actually lived near water we could use it at the beach.

I made the decision early on in my pregnancy that I wanted the tent instead of the pack and play. But then when the bubba arrived and he was grooving so much on his own crib, with the mobile and mirror I thought, he is NEVER going to be entertained in that tent. I was beginning to regret not getting a pack and play. The other night we were having a party for Max and the bubba was really alert and excited and we were all hanging out in the back yard. But I was afraid he would get mosquito bites. Justin insisted we try the tent. Well, I was a big time naysayer. I thought we would put Jackson in there and he would scream. Boy was I wrong, the Jackson LOVES his tent.

He chilled in the tent for over a half an hour, which is a pretty good chunk of time given the attention span of an 11 week old.

The newest thing that Jackson has discovered would be his hands. Yes, he has hands of his own, and his favorite thing to do with them is put them in his mouth- the ENYIRE FIST (he has only discovered his hands as a whole unit, he has yet to discover individual fingers). So, while he sat in the tent, we watched him attempt over and over again to put his hands in his mouth. He was concentrating so hard, but frequently he would miss the mark and hit himself in the nose or forehead. Its pretty funny to watch him.