Babies and toddlers tend to have trouble sleeping in unfamiliar places or travel-sized cribs, said Kellie Ruane, who owned Stowe Kids until it was added to Yellow Turtle Friday morning.
Fortunately for traveling parents, Yellow Turtle has the solution — renting gear for kids to give them that “homey” feeling.
Yellow Turtle, a children’s store on Mountain Road in Stowe, has been in business for 48 years, and this week, it added Stowe Kids’ baby gear rental business to its offerings.
Yellow Turtle also opened a new location this week in the Gale Farm Center, Yellow Turtle Baby, to house clothing, gear and toys for infants and toddlers.
Manager Tracey Davidow said since Yellow Turtle is expanding its selection for 14- to 16-year-olds, there wasn’t room at the Red Barn Shops location for the baby gear, as well as the rentals, so the new store opened last week.
Stowe Kids has been in business for 18 years, “passed down from mom to mom,” Ruane said with a laugh.
It rents baby gear such as cribs, high chairs, strollers, Diaper Genies and safety gates for people coming to Stowe on vacation, or for new parents who don’t want to buy baby gear.
It’s a popular choice, Ruane said; a woman from Montreal who owns a second home in Stowe used to rent cribs in Montreal for her grandchildren and bring them to Stowe.
Now, she rents from Yellow Turtle.
Renting baby gear is common in beach and mountain towns, Ruane said.
Stowe Kids gets about 150 rental requests a year. The average length of stay is about five nights.
Yellow Turtle is now working with property management companies and people who rent their second homes on third-party sites such as Airbnb to stock homes before travelers arrive.
Yellow Turtle also rents boxes of toys, customized for each child’s age and gender, for traveling families, including blocks, books and coloring supplies.
“Mostly things that aren’t loud,” Ruane said.
Stowe Kids had more than 10 cribs, and now that it has partnered with Yellow Turtle, it plans to get more.
“If we know in advance, we can get it,” Ruane said.
Yellow Turtle’s insurance policy completely covers the company for liabilities. Gear is cleaned with eco-friendly baby cleanser when returned, and cleaned again before it heads back out.
Not having the gear for kids can be a barrier for travel, Ruane said. Parents might not have the cargo space in their cars, and air travel can be prohibitive.
“We’ve got you,” Ruane said.
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