This Light-Blocking Tent Let My Toddler Sleep 12+ Hours for the First Time Ever
I am a certified sleepy girl. I will gladly sleep in, go to bed early, take an afternoon nap—you name the occasion, I'm down to sleep. Unfortunately, my daughter inherited my husband's sleep schedule. She's by no means a bad sleeper, but she's very habitual and pretty instinctively sleeps from sunset to sunrise every night, waking right around 6:30—and that's really not a bad setup! But mom wants to sleep in every now and then, you know?
Not to mention, my child needs her room to be dark in order to get a good night's sleep. And by dark, I mean blinds, a black-out Roman shade, and black-out curtains on a room-darkening rod to keep any and all light outside. So, you can see how traveling has presented an issue for us in the past when my daughter rises with the sun 30 minutes to a full hour earlier than usual. Vacation is for sleeping in, girlie!
I'd shared my sleep struggles with a few other moms and got the same response from all of them: "Get a SlumberPod." At least once a month in my mom's group chat with friends someone is asking to borrow a SlumberPod for a weekend. After seeing my cousin's two and a half year old get so excited to go nap in "her tent" at a family gathering earlier this summer, I knew I needed to pull the trigger and get one myself.3.0 Portable Privacy Pod
$199.99 at amazon.com
What Is the SlumberPod?
My two-and-a-half-year old cousin put it best when she called it a tent. The SlumberPod is a canopy that sits atop a travel crib or play yard, creating a true blackout sleep experience for kids. It has a half-circle portion at the front that zips fully closed, though you can also just close the mesh fabric. At the top, there are two pockets built in—one for a fan and another for a monitor.
How to Set Up the SlumberPod:
The SlumberPod sets up just like a tent, as well. It comes with two skinny rods that fold into roughly one-and-a-half-foot sections and then the tent base. You lay the tent base atop the sleeping surface, then straighten out the rods, connecting all the pieces. I will say, this part did give my husband and I some trouble initially as we didn't follow directions and had not straightened the rod. You also need a fairly spacious room to straighten the rods out, and I'd recommend trying to keep the kids away as these rods could easily poke them.
From there, the rods simply slip into the loops and pockets of the tent, creating an X crossover at the top. After setup is complete, you can slip your fan and monitor into the top pockets and your little one is ready for a good night's sleep.
Did My Toddler Like It?
My toddler didn't really care much about the SlumberPod as we were getting ready for bed. Once it was time to go down, though, she was definitely a little freaked out. I only zipped the front half-circle cover halfway, just so she could still see out (I'm personally claustrophobic and live in fear of passing that down to her). Also, being in a new location probably didn't help with the adjustment here! If you're a well-prepared parent, you might find it beneficial to try out the SlumberPod for a few naptimes before traveling with it. We prefer to fly by the seats of our pants in this family, apparently.
It only took a few minutes for my daughter to settle down. I really think only closing the front portion halfway played a huge part in this. Within ten minutes she was laying down, drifting off to sleep, and I felt comfortable enough to move from outside her room and let the monitor do its job.
My daughter didn't wake up a single time that night, which is the norm for her these days (hoping I'm not jinxing myself saying that). I was most impressed though that she actually slept past 8 A.M. That does not happen in our house—ever. This child will not sleep past 7:30 on any day of the week, even when she's sick. And here she was, sleeping well past 8 A.M. even with the SlumberPod not even fully closed! I'm hooked. We'll never travel without this thing.
Does It Really Block All Light?
Like I said, we never fully closed the front panel of the SlumberPod, so I can't say for sure whether or not all light was blocked. What I can say is that once I put my head all the way to the bottom of her play yard where she'd be sleeping, the space was far darker than her room usually is at her summer bedtime or naptime. I'm not going to try and fit into the play yard myself to test out the total darkness theory, but I rest easy knowing just how pitch black it was at the bottom of that pack 'n play, and my daughter obviously did, too.
The one caveat I can say with the total darkness claim is that the monitor did provide a bit of light. The monitor pocket is clear on the inside (obviously, so it can actually do its job), so this allows for the night vision light on the camera to shine throughout the tent. We were using a cheap travel monitor with a pretty bright light and were worried that this might keep our daughter up, but she was unbothered by it. Even if it had kept her up, though, it would've been easy to just leave the monitor outside the tent and still be able to hear her clearly.
What Does the SlumberPod Come With?
If you buy the basic SlumberPod, it only comes with the tent, rods, and a travel bag. You can easily make do with just this, especially if you have a stroller fan already, but if you don't then I'd highly recommend upgrading to the bundle for $20 more and getting SlumberPod's fan. The fan is rechargeable, easy to adjust, and has multiple speed settings. The SlumberPod does has ventilation flaps, so your child will be getting fresh, cool air even without the fan, but if your child is used to sleeping with a fan on, then you'll definitely want this extra.
Slumberpod has also started making a few other sleep essentials that I love. Parents of older toddlers who no longer fit in a play yard or toddler cot will love the inflatable Slumbertot, an air mattress designed to pair perfectly with the SlumberPod. Personally, I'm a huge fan of Slumberpod's portable sound machine. I plan to use it as the only sound machine for my second child because it provides so many different noise options, including my personal two favorites for newborns: white noise and a gentle shhhhh.
Is It Easy to Travel With?
The SlumberPod comes with it's own carrying case and is incredibly easy to pack up and take on the go. It takes up less room than our play yard and is far more lightweight. It could probably fit into your luggage, but it would take up a good deal of clothing storage space, so I'd consider just checking it if you're flying. But for car trips, it barely takes up any room.
Is It Worth It?
The easiest yes I've ever said. The SlumberPod isn't cheap, it retails $199.99. But one of the most relaxing parts of vacationing to me is the ability to sleep in a little, and especially not being woken up by screaming. The SlumberPod gives me that extra bit of rest I'm craving when away from home, and it's made room sharing with my toddler so much easier. Before, when we traveled, we'd put her play yard in bathrooms, closets, just about anywhere we could find the space and block off light. Now we can have her right beside us and still get ready for bed with the lights on and her not noticing anything.and Fan Combo 3.0
$219.99 at amazon.comSlumberTot Inflatable Toddler Travel Bed Use - Includes Electric Pump
$99.99 at amazon.comSlumberCalm 2-in-1 Sound Machine with Light for Kids
$29.99 at amazon.comSlumberCalm Portable Sound Machine
$24.99 at amazon.com
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