ReadyBed review – inflatable travel bed

Tucking Minnie in to her ‘big girl’ bed at home, she still looks so tiny to me, even when surrounded by (and occasionally burrowed under) her army of stuffed animals. In a travel cot, she’s more like the Incredible Hulk, about to burst through the sides.

At almost two and a half, with a pair of long legs not inherited from her mother, a travel cot is really an emergency measure rather than a workable sleep solution. But with normal single beds seemingly miles off the ground, I’m nervous of putting her in in case she decides to fall out.

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Bed guards and rails are obviously one solution (which I haven’t really explored). Or thinking about it from a toddler’s point of view, a much more exciting My First Ready Bed inflatable travel bed – aka her ‘special blow-up holiday bed’.

My Readybed review

Two friends of mine have tried these for their three-year-olds and highly recommended them for staying at friends’ houses or with family. Available in different sizes, including Junior for three to six years, I was sent the My First Ready Bed for 18 months to three years to review.

There’s also a Deluxe version for the same age group, but at 1.6-1.7kg for the standard version, it’s fantastic for sticking in a suitcase – which is exactly what we did.

Even better, it rolls up and folds inside its own carry bag so it’s nice and compact, and just as easy to throw into the boot of a car as well. And with prices from around £25, it’s a lot cheaper than a travel cot.

The standard version comes with a footpump and even someone like me, who struggles with helpful diagram instructions, can manage to blow it up in about five minutes. 

Once you’ve connected the tube to the blue outlet on the pump and pushed the other end into the valve in the bed (and made sure the other part of the valve is closed), there’s not many ways to go wrong.

Trial and error discovered that the pump does occasionally disconnect because of the angle once the bed is almost inflated, so it’s worth keeping an eye on it, and don’t push the tube in too firmly otherwise you risk accidentally opening the other side and deflating it as you try to yank it out.

Otherwise, watching me pumping away was five minutes of entertainment for a fascinated toddler who then claimed the pump for herself as a new pet elephant.

In fact, she was so excited by the bed that she insisted on crawling straight inside to test it and on sleeping in it overnight in her own bedroom.

When I finally managed to retrieve it to pack, she couldn’t wait for me to inflate it again once we arrived at our villa and insisted on it in preference to any of the beds there or in the hotel we visited.

There’s a raised horseshoe-shaped section around the head of the bed to stop anyone rolling out, complete with a small pocket for a book/torch/spare wotsit, and the removable washable cover includes a built-in blanket.

For Lanzarote, that was really all Minnie needed to keep her warm, plus a big muslin over the top to snuggle. Back in the UK you might want an extra blanket, depending how warm the room is, especially if there are any draughts at floor level.

It stayed inflated the whole week, with just a small top-up towards the end and we’ve already used it again on an overnight trip to visit friends. Each time, she’s slept brilliantly – which makes it worth more than its weight in gold.

The range includes our Owl Version (matching her nightlight), as well as various branded versions – previous options have included Peppa Pig, Thomas The Tank Engine and the Gruffalo, while you can currently get a Baby Shark design.

 

Disclosure: I was sent a My First Ready Bed inflatable travel bed for the purposes of review. All opinions in this Readybed review (including any ineptitude on my part and enthusiasm on Minnie’s) are our own.

 

Main image copyright MummyTravels, other images courtesy Worlds Apart.

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