Playhut Travel Lounger

When your tot is too big for a pack ‘n play, and an air mattress takes up too much damn room (and let’s face it, weighs too damn much), why not go camping?  OK, my version of camping, which involves access to cable TV, a refrigerator and heat.  For those of us who are not so interested in “roughing it,” but need a portable place to put our sleepy kid, I give you:  The Travel Lounger by Playhut.

Playhut is well known for pop-up, twist and fold style tents and tunnels that come in all sorts of shapes and styles (and yes, they have the Disney Princesses, if you are so inclined).  Their products are well made and colorful, and well, they store flat – and I can’t say that for much in my home, so they get big points there.

We bought our Travel Lounger just before the winter holidays so Spicy Girl would have some place to stay when we went to Grandma and Grandpa’s house.  They don’t have an extra bedroom or bed for her and time was running out.  But somehow (as has happened before) QVC knew I was having this challenge in my life—and like a message from a fairy godmother, there it was on my TV screen:  an answer to my prayers for under $35.00.

I called QVC (secretly hoping they would put me on the air – but no), and three days later, it was at my house.  We used it that day for Spicy Girl’s nap and she loved it.

The Travel Lounger is a folding cot with a sleeping bag that snaps onto to the top of it.  When set up, it sits about a foot off the floor and is approximately five feet long, two feet wide and holds up to 80 pounds.  The base of the lounger (the cot) can be washed with damp cloth if need be.  The sleeping bag is detachable and can be machine-washed.

Spicy Girl loves her cot so much, that it actually helped her transition into her toddler bed – something we had been struggling with.  I love it because it’s portable, and takes up less room than a folded up pack and play when you are storing it.

If you are not a QVC shopper, Playhut makes a Disney Princess version of the bed that is available on Amazon. There doesn’t seem to be a “boys” version on Amazon, but QVC does offer one in blue. (Editor’s note: A quick google check showed us that they also make a Disney “Cars” version which can be found at various online retail outlets.)