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"Choosing a travel crib totally overwhelmed me\u2014Babies R Us, where we registered, has 117 models!\u2014so I just picked one with all the bells and whistles. That was a mistake. Emmett has the Graco Pack N Play Racer (29.7 lbs., $159) which features a sunshade with hanging stuffed bears (added entertainment!), a &amp;quot;soothing&amp;quot; vibrating infant level, an &amp;quot;electronics module&amp;quot; with a night light, music, and nature sounds\u2014plus, a changing table with a storage caddy. Our Pack N Play works well enough in theory, but it&amp;#039;s turned out to be a pretty massive pain in the butt. First of all, it folds up into an awkward shape\u2014long and boxy. And none of the add-ons\u2014NOTHING besides the crib itself\u2014fit in the travel case. (We&amp;#039;ve never used the changing table, since it&amp;#039;s so cumbersome!) Also making it travel un-friendly: It weighs almost 30 pounds! (Meaning, it&amp;#039;s impossible to pack on a plane or train trip.) It&amp;#039;s also about 29 inches wide, so it doesn&amp;#039;t fit through some standard interior doors. A smarter buy would have been the Cosco Funsport Playard (20 lbs., $53) which is still really heavy, but is more than $100 less.  Here&amp;#039;s baby Emmett on the infant level of his Pack N Play. (Awww-sies! Looks like someone&amp;#039;s mommy forgot the travel crib sheet!) If I could turn back time though\u2014cue the Cher\u2014I would have registered for the Baby Bjorn Travel Crib Light 2 (11 lbs., $219) which my friend Joanna uses and adores. It folds into a more reasonable shape (like a small suitcase\u201419&amp;quot;-by-24&amp;quot;-by-6&amp;quot;\u2014see a photo here) and it weighs only a third of what my Pack N Play weighs. It doesn&amp;#039;t have the infant level, which was the most useful add-on our Pack N Play features, but the infant level is only useful for about six months. And most parents don&amp;#039;t travel a ton in a baby&amp;#039;s first six months!  When we were planning our first trip to visit Emmett&amp;#039;s grandma and grandpa in Florida last spring, Rory said there was NO way he was lugging the Pack N Play on the plane. I didn&amp;#039;t want to spring for the Bjorn since we already had a travel crib, so I ordered the Mia Moda Playgio Playard (16 lbs., $76) which we keep at the Florida house. I don&amp;#039;t feel like it&amp;#039;s as sturdy as our regular Pack N Play\u2014the mattress seems a little small\u2014and the whole thing seems bigger, but it weighs half as much as the Pack N Play. Still, it also folds into that bulky travel-unfriendly shape, so I don&amp;#039;t think we&amp;#039;d bother bringing this one on a plane, either. But if you don&amp;#039;t do a lot of traveling by plane (or if there&amp;#039;s already a crib at your destination) this would be an okay, much-lighter option to travel with in the car.  What&amp;#039;s the best travel crib you&amp;#039;ve used? Since we plan to continue traveling while Emmett&amp;#039;s still crib-size, is it worth it to upgrade to the Bjorn? "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/relationships/family-friends/a47306/best-travel-crib-for-babies/>