3-in-1 Multi Functionality

Bassinet

Raised off the floor to about bed height, you can even park it right next to your bed to create a side sleeping crib or Moses basket in the bedroom for those very special first six months. 

Infant Bed

Come the 7th month, you can remove the newborn insert and it becomes an infant bed that your little one can use up to 36 months.

Material & Construction

Easy Assembly & Travel Friendly

As you can see, taking it down is equally straightforward and quick.

Just press the buttons located at the top of each leg and the legs will be released. Fold them down and the crib will collapse. Then, fold the crib into half. 

It's pretty intuitive we would say but there are also fingerprint signs printed on the fabric handles to show you where to apply pressure so that it's easier to fold the crib into half. 

YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN THESE .....

Specifications

We'll start off by looking at each of their specifications: 

Guava Lotus vs. BabyBjörn

Side Door vs. No Side Door

The biggest difference between the Lotus and the BabyBjörn is that the former has a side zipper door.

And boy, do we have a lot to say about this feature!

For firsts, you can put your sleeping baby into the crib from the side door instead of all the way down from the top.

You see, most of us will have to soothe and rock baby to sleep in our arms first before putting him/her down to the crib.

If you have had the experience of laying down a sleeping baby, you will know that they are prone to waking up during the process of putting them down, no matter how slow or gentle your actions are, no matter the distance between your arm and the crib is.

This is especially so if your baby is a light sleeper which you will then have to rock him back to sleep again- a never-ending cycle. 

The Lotus' side zipper door eliminates this problem once and for all because there is no 'travelling down' movement required. Your baby will still, well, sleep like a baby when you put him back into the crib. 

It also makes a lot of difference to those who are petite or suffer from a bad back. Instead of bending all the way down each time you need to put baby down or lift him/her up, you can do so from the side. Your back will definitely thank you for that, as well as the elderly.

Of course, if you're of the habit of letting baby fall asleep on his own, you wouldn't need the Lotus' side door - the BabyBjörn works just fine. Or if you don't have a bad back.

Another benefit of having a side door is that it makes the Lotus a much better playard/play space for your little one. Instead of feeling confined, the Lotus is actually more fun and accessible as your little one can run in and out of it. 

For those into the Montessori method, a floor bed like the Lotus is beyond ideal.

Throw a blanket over it and it transform into their very own fort to play pretend. Need to keep baby contained while you do your own stuffs? Just zip it up and supervise from afar. It is, dare we say, the best play yard all in one.

Thin vs. Thick Mattress

Another distinctive feature that sets the two apart is the thickness of their respective mattress. 

This, is perhaps the most compared feature of the two in any Lotus vs BabyBjörn comparison review, besides the above-mentioned side door.  

In short, BabyBjörn has a thicker mattress compared to the Lotus. So much so that some parents feel that it is double the thickness of the latter.

While we think that may be a slight exaggeration, we do admit the BabyBjörn mattress is thicker and cushier than the Lotus. Because of this, you can say that it is more comfortable.

This, in turn, becomes BabyBjörn's selling power over the Lotus. Understandably so, given both have their mattresses so near they are almost on the floor, you would want it to be as thick and as comfortable for baby as possible. 

To date, Guava Family is the only company in the world that makes cribs that pack into backpacks so you won't see this convenience anywhere else. 

So while both cribs weigh the same, they fold up quite differently which in turn, affects their portability and convenience rather significantly.

Even if it's just for the occasional trip to grandma's, you cannot deny the convenience it brings that is coming from the backpack carry style. 

In fact, the Lotus is designed with ease of flying in mind because you can actually hand-carry it onto the plane without having to check it in.

This may easily be the only travel crib that allows you to do so. That way, even if your luggage were delayed or went missing, your baby will still have his sleeping crib to sleep in at your new destination. 

Ease of Use 

Both are fairly easy to use we would say - setting up is pretty instinctive but we do recommend reading the owner's manual first. 

Nevertheless, the two does have quite different installation ways. We have divided them into two sections: crib installation and mattress setup.

Crib Installation 

To set up the Guava Lotus Crib, unfold and straighten the legs of the crib and pull the base open.

You can also pull it open from the top (it doesn't matter) until you hear the legs click into place and ta-da, you have successfully set up your travel crib. 

One thing to note though is that both mattresses pull up at all four corners initially but they settle down and lay flat after a while. The more you use it, the lesser they seem to arise. The good thing is, neither had any discernible odour upon set up.

So taking into account both crib installation and mattress setup, we have to say in terms of ease of use of the overall crib:

Size & Design 

The overall size and footprint of both travel cribs are very similar, but they are not identical. 

The external size of Lotus is 45" L x 32" W x 25" H while BabyBjörn's is 44" L x 32" W x 24" H.

Incidentally, the dimensions of their mattresses differ slightly as well, with Lotus' at 42" L x 24" W and BabyBjörn's at 41" L x 23.5" W.

You may not be able to see it from the pictures, but the legs of BabyBjörn do not actually stick out as far as Lotus'.

This gives it a smaller footprint so it will not take up as much floor space comparatively. For those with limited space, BabyBjörn will be more appealing.

However, BabyBjörn's legs do slant a bit more of an angle so it has a smaller opening at the top compared to the Lotus, the latter of which is shaped more like a box. 

This results in a more open interior in the Lotus, hence the reason why we said above that it is less confined and thereby makes for a better play space for baby. For sleeping though, both are fine.

Remember also we said above that BabyBjörn's design gives it an edge even though it doesn't have a side door? Here's why.

So both cribs use mesh for all four sides (therefore they are very breathable as airflow is superb in these ones) but BabyBjörn actually has a built-in solid base plate at the bottom as opposed to Lotus' mesh bottom. 

What this entails is a sturdier base, and this, in turn, makes a thicker mattress formulation possible. Adding to the fact that it does not open up at the side, its mattress is even more budge-proof and thus eliminate any risk of entrapment. 

Yes, if you've ever wondered why Lotus didn't just make their mattress thicker to rival that of BabyBjörn, it is because their mesh base doesn't allow it. 

You see, anything beyond 1 inch thick will allow a gap to open up between the mesh sides and the mattress and this, will cause a potential entrapment hazard. 

So taking into account everything, 

Quality

The Guava Lotus is GREENGUARD Gold certified whereas BabyBjörn receives the Oeko-Tex certification. 

The former tests the actual product in a sealed chamber for 7 days to make sure there is no un-healthy offgassing occurring while Oeko-Tex means that the materials used have been screened for a broader array of harmful substances.

These harmful substances cover 'legally banned and controlled substances as well as chemicals known to be harmful to the health (but not yet legally controlled)' so being certified means the product meets certain parameters for health protection. 

Although there may be some who'd prefer the Oeko-Tex certification (as third-party testing is involved), it is not easy to obtain a GREENGUARD Gold certification as well (with only a handful of them around) so in that regard, we'd say:

Price

Both the Lotus and BabyBjörn are pricier than many other competitors in the market, however, the latter is a little more expensive. 

But it also includes a fitted sheet for the mattress (an organic, very soft one at that), which the Lotus doesn't.

Regardless, we personally consider the price difference justifiable based on the BabyBjörn's superior build quality.

Therefore on the scale of balance:

Pros & Cons

We hope the above comparison review is helpful to you. We have gone as extensive as we can but if you just want to know everything in a glance, here are the pros and cons of each crib: 

Conclusion

The bottom line is: they're both great cribs, exceptional especially for families who are into the Montessori method of floor beds. Know your needs and you really can't go wrong with either.

YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN THESE .....