So you want to replace your Kidco Peapod…
If you were one of the people who liked their Peapods and was shocked that they were recalled, read on. If you’re just interested, you can read on, too.
The Kidco Peapods, for those of you who weren’t trying to house their children in little tents in 2005- 2012 (for brief periods, not like… their actual house), are small zippered individual pod-like tents that were to be used as “travel beds” for infants or young children. The Peapods were 43″ long and the Peapods Plus were 50″ long, so that gives you an idea of how big a child would be to fit. They weren’t intended to actually replace a crib, for example, and were supposed to be used with suitable supervision. Let’s not argue how one is supposed to supervise a child in their bed, okay? Or why it was recalled. I can only say that when I used it, as a place for my children to nap during the day, I treated the Peapods with the same level of paranoia I did the bouncers: the kids liked to nap in both of them, but I either stayed in the same room with them while they did so or made someone else do it. Also, I followed the instructions when I put them together.
- 13 months
I agree that these little tents required supervision when the kids were younger. I did not use them when they were infants, for example. The kids were 13 months or so when we used them for naps. My kids used to fall asleep for their nap while being held and would insist on being held as long as they were conscious. We used to ease them into these tents carefully, and hope no one woke up screaming in anger. Ha ha. Those were the days.
Eventually, the kids used them for play and liked to lie down in the same tent (each twin had their own) and try to nap together. The idea of a tent made it fun and getting someone to zip it closed for them made it that much better. After we moved them upstairs to nap in their bedrooms (more free time for us!!!!) the Peapods went into the closet for a while.
Jump ahead until the kids were just turning 3 years old. We wanted to take them on a vacation and wasn’t sure what the best sleeping arrangement was. They were sort of big for the PackNPlays we had used on the one trip we took when they were infants. Too, the kids were a lot more mobile and would seriously dislike not being able to get out of their “beds” on their own (if we stuck them in PackNPlays again). An article I read about traveling with kids mentioned taking along a tent for the kids to use in the hotel room. It gave them a semi-enclosed space to help them deal with the strange surroundings and made it fun. The Peapods worked for this perfectly! The trip was a success. We used them again on another trip that same year. However, by then the twins were 40″ tall (vital measurement if you’re at Disneyland). As I mentioned earlier, the Peapods are 43″ long. The kids barely fit.
- Same kid, 42 months
It was then I tried to buy them a Kidco Peapod Plus and then I found out about the recall. What was I supposed to get them now?
Some of you are saying, “Let them sleep in a bed, already”. Yeah, I thought of that. The kids have nice twin beds at home. Sometimes, rarely, almost never, they use them. Most of the time I find them sleeping on the floor of their room. They don’t like beds and I don’t like hotel carpets, okay? Yuck. Also, when visiting relatives we often sleep on couches or the floor. Anyway, I liked the tent idea. It’s a little cleaner, contains their bedding, is a slight bug deterrent, keeps them happy and I don’t have to convince them to stay inside. If you have kids you know how much avoiding that battle is worth. I wanted tents. Specifically, I wanted simple, easy to put up and take down, lightweight tents, preferably individually sized, that were packable for traveling. Additional points for mattress pads, lots of visibility (In a dark room I still need to see inside), and flaps you can secure open.
Here’s what I found:
1. Kidco Peapod Plus on Ebay – they are still being sold, usually used, and sometimes paired with the free recall retrofit Kidco shipped out to current Peapod owners. The retrofit, caused by the recall, includes new supports for the edges and a thinner self inflating mattress. They seem to run about $40 for a standard one used.
2. A wealth of copycat products for the UK or Australia – There’s the Goldbug Pop-UP PEA POD Baby Toddler Tent Camping Bed, the LittleLife Arc 2 Baby Travel Cot, the Hut4Bubs Travel Cot, the KangaKids Go Cot Pop Up Portable Portacot, and Sun Essentials Baby Travel Centre, just to name a few. These beds seem just about impossible to find for sale on US websites. I wonder if the Peapod recall made them all run for the hills or something. I only found these because they were on Ebay when you searched for Peapods. I have not seen any of these items myself and just wanted to mention that they are around.
3. Travel Cribs – These weren’t actually in my search range, since they were for younger children, but I thought I’d mention some of the one’s I’d consider buying if I had younger kids. The BabyBjorn Travel Crib was always mentioned as being top rated in the reviews I looked at before. It’s just pretty expensive. The Guava Family GoCrib was something I had the opportunity to buy when it first came out, but my kids were already past the point of needing it. Otherwise, I would have been severely tempted to buy it. It’s just cool enough for me to want to try it out.
4. Actual Travel Beds – The Shrunks Tuckaire Toddler Inflatable Travel Bed looks pretty cool and has good reviews on Amazon. There’s also a bigger version for older kids. Both of them are inflatable, have raised edges, and are otherwise like air mattresses. The AeroBed mattress for kids or the Kids’ Aero Explorer Sport Bed has also received a lot of good reviews. The pluses are that they seem particularly durable and have that Aerobed build. I am ashamed to admit that I have both of these products but have not yet used them.
5. Actual Tents – Most tents aren’t made for single users so they aren’t quite in the travel category I’ve been discussing. Most of them are too large and take too long to setup. Play tents may not be sized correctly for sleepers and aren’t as durable. That being said, they may still work for you. The Wenzel Children’s Sprout Two Person Dome Tent has great reviews and is amazingly affordable. The Bazoongi Special Edition Bug Tent is a play tent, but I thought I’d give it a special mention. It’s big enough for two kids to sleep in and has great visibility. However, you have to do the whole tent setup and it is indoors only. I’d say that these tents are for older children, definitely. Again, we have both these items but have only used the Bug Tent indoors.
Tiny Tent - up and stored
6. Best bet – Here’s my final replacement choice: the Lightspeed Tiny Tent. It’s more of a tent than the Kidco Peapod. It has a pole structure instead of a pop-up frame. However, you do not have to spend the time of putting the poles into sleeves like you do with traditional tents. It is an “instant” or “one-touch” tent. Think of a folding umbrella and how the spokes open up to provide structure. It’s a bit like that. After you unfold the tent you push-pull two center pieces together to open the tent. Take down is a tiny bit fussier to get all the folds lying nicely before you wrap it back up. Here’s a good video. My experience was similar to the model’s but I had to put a little muscle into the second tent’s setup since the two center pieces wanted to slip to the side instead of smoothly coming together. Windows and doors have solid covers that can be secured up or down with velcro. Similar to the Kidco Peapods it has self-inflating mattress pad that slip into a zippered pocket below. The fit was tight so this was the only part of the setup that was a little annoying. The mattresses were necessary, however, because there are no tent poles on the bottom of the tent to provide rigidity. Without the mattress the bottom of the tent does not hold the upper tent poles apart. (Think of the poles as a clawed hand coming down from the sky and encaging the space below: the fingers move around if there’s nothing to hold them apart).
The Lightspeed Tiny tents measure 25″ x 53″ x 36″H. A standard pillow fits into the width perfectly. In comparison, the Kidco Peapods in the smaller version measure 30″ x 48″ x 18″H (mattress size 24″x 43″). The Peapod Plus measured 34″ x 52.5″ x 25″H (mattress size 28″x 50″). I was mostly surprised by the height difference between the two brands. I’m not sure why it’s quite that tall. Also, the Lightspeed Tiny Tent is proportioned much narrower. I find this acceptable, however, as a standard pillow still fits into the Tiny Tent just fine. Restless sleepers might not have as much room to rotate, though. When broken down into storage mode the Lightspeed Tiny Tent is surprisingly… tiny. It fits to a rectangular sort of duffle, made to contain the tent and the rolled up mattress separately. It measures about 6″ x 6″ x 28″L. The Peapod folds into a circle and fits into a flat round travel bag (along with its mattress) that measures around 14″ x 5″ and the Peapod Plus storage bag measures 19″ x 6″. I actually prefer the rectangular shape of the stored Lightspeed Tiny Tent as it’s still quite light and packs a bit easier than the big flat Peapod storage bag.
Finally, the Lightspeed Tiny Tents are listed on the manufacturer’s website as $89.99 including shipping. That’s really not that bad for what you get. I’ve seen other websites trying to sell it for more, so be careful. Oh, and yes, the kids liked the Tiny Tents. We use them for our once a week “sleepover” where we stay up late and read scary stories and play games together in the spare guestroom. Later, we’ll probably “camp out” with them in the living room. Lightspeed shows them used outside, so they’re probably fine for that too. Note that they do not market it as a “travel crib” or something to use for infants. UPDATE (7/13): IT IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE MANUFACTUER’S WEBSITE FOR $59.99 INCLUDING SHIPPING.
Instructions in storage bag
Opened but un-umbrella'd tent
**************News (5/13): KidCo is making new Peapods!!! They were projected to be released to consumers in June 2013. I found a few sites offering them for pre-order and was super excited!! I’ve found mention of the KidCo P001 Peapod Lite, P3010 Peapod (cranberry), P3011 Peapod (sunshine), P4010 Peapod Plus (kiwi), and P4011 Peapod Plus (twilight). I called the manufacturer to get more information. A customer representative confirmed that they were set to release it but she couldn’t confirm the dates. She said as soon as retailers heard they were coming out they had orders and it is currently backordered (to retailers, I assume). She couldn’t confirm who those retailers were, however. (I saw them for preorder on ToysRUs.ca which is Canadian, but not at the US site!) She did say that they were list priced as $80 for the smaller versions and $120 for the larger ones. I think I read that the new versions were for one years and up, rather than their previous “infants” age range.
** No one is paying me for mentioning their product or for saying nice things. Everything I have I bought myself.**
Why Kids Get On Your Nerves
Before you have kids you probably thought you’d be pretty good with them.
There’s a high probability you were fooling yourself.
As far as I can tell, there’s a certain temperament that shows in a person who truly cares for and can work with kids. It shows itself in a willingness to talk to kids about their interests without eyes rolling back in heads with boredom. It’s in a special voice that is calm and even and never slips into sarcasm. It is also coupled with a strong enough Will to have kids know what is being said is actually meant. (And remember, if all these traits are coupled with a insane light in their eyes, like Norman Bates dressed like his mother, this is actually one of those nightmare teachers who’ll send your kids to therapy in about 10 years.)
Now maybe you can see yourself doing all this (not the Bates thing, although that sounds like a rewarding career choice). But unless you have actually done this in an extended period you are probably not going to meet this standard. You will slip into sarcasm. You will yell. You will want a drink. You will start reading magazines in the toilet in an effort to escape.
Why? Because. Kids have no preinstalled social skills. Besides the small effect Mother Nature gave them of cuteness there’s not a lot there that makes them easy to live with. They are hardly ever aware of how tired or irritated or close to the edge you are. Babies are never aware, and kids develop this awareness excruciatingly slowly. Kids have no sense of space. They are yelling in your face and stepping on your genitals and bracing their elbow on your boob and walking up the stairs behind you sticking their face against your ass. Kids have no sense of preservation. You have to be hyper aware for them because they are gleefully not looking in any direction that would make sense. This is exhausting. After a while, they don’t listen to you. They’ve got your measure and know that you’re not really going to do anything really bad, no matter what you said. You won’t really throw away their pink unicorn or make them starve during dinner time (probably). Finally, even as they slowwwwwly learn to be considerate of others this never really applies to Mommy or Daddy. No way! It’s always funny to mess with Mommy and Daddy!
Spring Loaded Art
Lil Davinci Frames art wall
As our newest exhibit opens we see the works of artists A and Z side by side. Notice the intensive celebration of color that characterizes Z’s work (left),while A’s work (right) shares with us an exploratory journey ranging from modern portraiture (Cookie Monster) to abstract minimalism.
I told you I’d write a post about those Lil Davinci Frames, right? (aka: Pez Art Dispensers )
I live in Northern California and the company that makes the frames is located in Southern California (near where I grew up, actually). I think the ship time averaged 2 days from order to receiving. Here’s how the big package (8 units) arrived:
Lil Davinci shipment, with one unpacked
Pretty well packed. The second shipment of 4 units came with the smaller individual boxes taped together, which was fine since each individual frame box is really well padded inside.
As I said in my previous post about my kids’ art, these frames are made like little cabinets that you can open while it remains mounted on the wall. You can insert art by pressing down the spring loaded backing and slipping the edges under the corner holders. The springs press the art against the glass frames so there’s no wierd gap in the effect. You can load a bunch of artwork (sized to frame or else they bunch up or fall out) on top of the older pieces so it also acts like a storage cabinet. Pretty neat, huh?
Quick Notes about a Real Installation
- They give you a guide paper to tape to the wall to help with layout and making holes in your wall. Note that the guides are smaller than the actual frames and give yourself space, accordingly. Also, if you ever plan on moving the frames, you might want to keep all the guides, even with the holes in them.
- The guide notes two types of installation and I used the more secure option. I don’t think I want these falling on me when I’m standing on tiptoes trying to shove in some paper.
- I put my art in before I installed them on the wall. This let me adjust the paper more (I had to cut them down again sometimes) and neatly reinsert any stack of art I wanted to store from the beginning without stressing the installation. Try to remember where the hinge side is in relation to your art orientation. I planned to have the hinge be on the top of horizontal installations and on the left of vertical ones.
- They give you some plastic anchors in case you’re installing into drywall. I drilled the hole to the size given but I still broke two of the anchors when poking them in. I recommend picking up some self-drilling plastic anchors when you’re at the hardware store one day. They’re good for so many drywall installations: art, shelves, whatever.
- It’s a bit hard to do the more secure installation, which screws through the frame into the wall because you have to hold the frame open while doing so. This gives a cleaner finish, as you can’t see the screws when you’re done, but you need some Jenga patience to hold the cabinet open on the wall, line up the holes to the back, and screw it in. I ended up propping the door open with the top of my head for the horizontal installations.
- The glass in the cabinet face is held in by stiff metal tabs. I was a little worried about them when I had to hold the cabinet open to install them. I tried not to hold the cabinet only by this face as I think they could pop out if pressured too much. Otherwise, they’re sturdy enough for normal use.
- Since I did the installation all by myself, I did not take pictures of myself on the step ladder, as this would involve even more arms than I already did not have.
Open Frame Cabinet
There! All nice and neat.
Notes about Sticking in the Art
- Your papers really should be as close to uniform in size as you can get and match the size of the frame you have. I had to cut down some art and every piece that was a little too long ended up wrinkling or pushing out the other pieces.
- Flatten wrinkly pieces as much as possible before inserting. Again, this makes the stacking of papers much easier.
- Maybe if you have perfectly flat pieces of art you can get about 50 sheets in (as advertised). I think I stopped at much less than that. Maybe 25 or 30 because the painted pieces of paper have a lot more thickness and warp to them so the springs start getting unhappy if I went higher.
- It feels like there’s springs at each corner that act independently, so the pressure is different across the paper. If your artwork is wrinkly and uneven (as my paintings are) you will get a little corner squishing (stays that way when you take the paper out), so if you’re paranoid about keeping any of these pieces pristine, then you should probably use a normal art frame.
Side View
Final Notes about the Product
- The entire cabinet frame seems pretty sturdy and well made. Out of eight frames only one latch did not slip closed by itself and was a little trickier to work.
- I liked the depth of the cabinets. They weren’t so deep that they looked stupid from the side.
- Don’t lose the screws! They’re stuck inside the plastic wrapping, near one of the cardboard corners, but they also slide around. I almost threw some away before I looked in the right spot.
- There’s good reviews of this product at Amazon, especially in comparison to similar products by other manufacturers. I bought these directly from the manufacturer, though, because there was a package deal.
- The product also comes with some sort of prop leg so you can stand it on a table, but I have no interest in this feature, so I can’t tell you how well that works.
I really like these things. The same company that makes these makes other types of cabinet boxes for display too. All in all, pretty nifty ideas! I’m probably going to end up trying some of their other products before the kids get too much older. Because.. you know.. I like to buy things.
** No one is paying me for mentioning their product or for saying nice things.**
*** If someone wants to send me more frames, though, I could use some more 9″x12″s in black because I was stupid and assumed construction paper was 8.5″x11″. It is not.***
**** All art shown are my children’s original artwork with all rights reserved, etc. ****
Disneyland…really
The holidays are over and our weeklong vacation is also over. We are now back to the daily grind.
You can get away with it at 3 1/2
This post will be about our most recent stint at Disneyland, with our 3 1/2 year old twins. If I sound sort of dry about it, you can change the mental picture to a dorky woman wearing Minnie ears enthusing about it instead. We saw a lot of these women there, actually. Disneyland. Where it’s okay to let your freak out, if the freak likes wearing too much inappropriate frills and bling coupled with mouse ears.
So, I grew up in Southern California and went to Disneyland when I was a child at least once a year. I had never seen the California Adventure Park, so I was looking forward to that. When our kids hit the “mostly human” stage and the all important 40″ mark, we started planning. Two weeks before the departure date I start gathering things we might need for the trip because I am the quartermaster for my family’s outings. Three days before we go I start packing seriously and realize I should have started about two days earlier. We depart on time. We stay for six days and use a three day park hopper pass. We also visit family. There. Done.
It went really well, actually. The key to it seemed to be doing research before you go (and having money). First, we selected the Grand Californian Hotel at Disneyland. It put us RIGHT on the edge of the park and gave us early admission on several days to the California Adventure Park. We could walk to each park without worrying about parking and could go in and out to our hotel room for rests whenever we wanted. It wasn’t the cheapest option, but the most convenient for our toddlers. The food options were okay, if expensive. We had brought food for our room (kid breakfasts, snacks, and drinks, mostly) and had looked up other places to eat within walking distance. I would recommend looking online for places to eat and, if you have picky kids or adults, checking their menus online before you go. There was a Great Chicken Strip Famine during our trip, so spare yourself similar starving kids and look these up. Some fanatic Disney-centric sites even tell you the current menus and prices within the park.
Waited 20 minutes to meet Fairies. Fairy-loving girl hid the whole time.
Second, we went at an off time. February, right before President’s Day week, so the park was lightly populated. The most popular rides were the ones with the hour+ waits, only, and since little kids don’t care as much about this, we had a great time with smaller rides. Before we left home we looked at the web (Disney’s website) to identify target rides. Preschoolers do not have a lot of stamina so identifying good rides for them is important. Also, avoid things you do not want your kids to know about. If you don’t want to wait in that line or pay that price, just don’t let them see that it is there. Okay? With me on this?
Belle at Ariel’s Grotto
Finally, identify what your kids want most from Disneyland and what a good setting would be to get it. For some kids it’s products: there’s a princess store in FantasyLand that is the source for hard to find current princess stuff. Want that impossible to get Frozen costume? It’s there. Want the stuff the Disneystore.com has out of stock? It’s there. For other kids it’s the chance to meet their favorite characters. There’s character meet and greets all over the place and other story options. We opted for the character breakfast at Ariel’s Grotto (California Adventure) to meet a bunch of princesses while we sat and ate. Waiting? Nope, not once our reservation was seated. Princesses? Around five or six toured the room. Kids? Oh, everyone hid under the table every time a princess showed up.
I could go on and on here, but I think that’s enough for right now. I’ll write about our second visit next time.