I am at my parents house in the Hamptons often, especially with Covid making New York City less and less appealing. When I say “often” I mean for weeks at a time, so I thought long and hard about whether I want my son to be in a crib or pack-and-play type piece of “furniture” once he transitioned out of the SNOO. A crib isn’t convenient for the obvious reason that it’s very large and hard to move, but since pack-and-plays are considered more of a travel item I worried about how well one would work for sleep for 3-4+ weeks. Turns out, with a top quality one that has a mattress better than most cribs, like the Nuna SENA Aire Travel Crib – fantastic!
First off, the SENA is easy to travel with. I only did this once – from NYC to the Hamptons, so not a huge deal. We leave it in the Hamptons because folded up it takes very little space (folds with the frame and slides into the included travel bag), but if I had to bring it back and forth it would be no biggie at all. It’s also easy and very fast to set-up once you unpack.
Airflow is a big concern – it’s why at home I am loving and highly recommend the Newton Baby mattress (check back soon for a dedicated story on the best mattress options) – but with the SENA you get airflow from every angle since it has a ventilated, quilted mattress that pulls away heat and humidity from baby’s skin.
I’m also a big fan of the BABYBJÖRN Travel Crib, but why I would pick this one over that one is a simple yet major reason: with SENA, the mattress can be placed in a higher bassinet position that’s easy to reach when baby is tiny (amazing for the caregiver’s back and helpful when you’re putting down a sleepy baby to keep baby in that sleepy state!). Once baby starts pulling up and getting more mobile, you can move the mattress to a lower position. I have no idea why this isn’t standard with every travel crib, but it’s very rare to find!
The SENA works for ages s 0–3 years and comes with a quilted mattress and organic-cotton fitted sheet included. It’s water-resistant, made of durable fabric that resists mosts stains and drips.
