Pack n play, please help!

preggoandglowing

I'm a FTM so please forgive my ignorance. I registered for this Pack n Play which we plan for baby to sleep in for first few months. So it is my understanding that she should sleep in the bassinet which is the pink portion (not the white changer/napper at top.) So here are my questions:

Assuming baby is swaddled, do we need sheets for this part? How about a waterproof pad/cover? 

If so, which one do you recommend? Haven't really found any that are specifically for pack n play bassinet.

And how about the changer at top, would I need pad or cover for that?

And I guess same thing for the very bottom play yard part. I'm not planning on getting a mattress for it.. or do you think we need one?

Any advice would be helpful, so thanks in advance!

Mizuiro007

It looks like a Graco? I suggest looking at it in the store if you haven't already and that might answer some of your questions. If it's like mine, there's a lightly padded mat (segmented to be foldable) that fits both bassinet and pack n play (in the bottom).

Several brands make "pack n play" or "play yard" sheets that fit. The quilted ones (try Graco or Carter's brands which most stores carry) are nice since they are a little heavier and add a little extra padding. Looking online, try just doing a search for "pack n play sheet" and several options should come up. For basic sheets we really liked the Circo 2-packs at Target (like the link below).
https://m.target.com/p/circo-pack-n-play-fitted-sheet/-/A-14288173

Since the changer/napped isn't really for sleeping, we just got a basic multipack of changing pad liners at BRU (can't remember the brand but the idea was just to have a light barrier we could easily change out. We also sometimes just laid a cloth diaper down for this use (like the basic Gerber ones).

We've looked at after market mattresses but never got one. The mat it comes with has worked out fine so far for us.

angelicmommy

We got a pack n play for our little girl cos we travel every weekend. Ours came with a little mat like thing. Sheets, matresses and waterproofs are easy to come by from the store that my aunt purchased the pack n play from but as we are on a budget I bought $20 worth of material (price for one set of bedding) and ended up sewing 3 sheets, 5 duvet covers and 6 pillow cases. So if you have access to sewing machine thats also an option. Waterproof materials also cheaper than having to buy the actual waterproofs.

You will need to buy a matress though. Without it the top section is kinda floppy and has these pipes in it. Wont be able to let baby sleep on it.

kristen2b

angelicmommy said:

We got a pack n play for our little girl cos we travel every weekend. Ours came with a little mat like thing. Sheets, matresses and waterproofs are easy to come by from the store that my aunt purchased the pack n play from but as we are on a budget I bought $20 worth of material (price for one set of bedding) and ended up sewing 3 sheets, 5 duvet covers and 6 pillow cases. So if you have access to sewing machine thats also an option. Waterproof materials also cheaper than having to buy the actual waterproofs.

You will need to buy a matress though. Without it the top section is kinda floppy and has these pipes in it. Wont be able to let baby sleep on it.

The pack and play mattress that comes with it goes in the top section to make it the newborn napper for sleeping. You don't need a mattress.

TomekiaB

The safety tests are actually done on the mattresses that comes with them. They aren't very soft because the firmer surface is safer. Adding another mattress can be dangerous and the manufactures do discourage adding additional padding (a quilted sheet is fine for older babies--not sure if there is a minimum age for them). However the height of the extra mattress, or padding can increase the risk of the baby getting trapped between the mattress and sides which is why its discouraged.

redfallon

This is the exact PNP that we have. You take the napper/changer part off (it clicks in) for baby to sleep in the bassinet part. The mattress is the firm flat part that shows pink in the photo. It fits the bassinet part and the bottom part. It is also used to wrap around the whole thing when it is broken down for transport. Yes, you can get and will need sheets for it. There aren't sheets for the napper part. It wipes clean. It may not be meant for overnight sleeping, but DD slept in the napper for a while because she was so congested she needed to sleep at an incline. Now that she is older, she still sleeps in the PNP for traveling. We got another mattress for it bc the one that comes with it is so hard she couldn't sleep on it. She is 2 now. It would be a while before you need to think of getting something like that though.

angelicmommy

@kristen2b ours didnt actually come with any kinda matress we had to buy it extra. Not even a small thin one for the top shelf.

taysun

angelicmommy said:

@kristen2b ours didnt actually come with any kinda matress we had to buy it extra. Not even a small thin one for the top shelf.

It's not an actual mattress, it's more like a pad. It is made to go either in the bottom or the bassinet section. When you opened the box it should have been wrapped around the disassembled pack n play.

angelicmommy

Seriously? Sho.. seems so hard and uncomfy... thanks for letting me know though. No one, not even store clerk, mil or mom pointed this out to me.

Mizuiro007

angelicmommy said:

Seriously? Sho.. seems so hard and uncomfy... thanks for letting me know though. No one, not even store clerk, mil or mom pointed this out to me.

It seems hard and uncomfy but that's what makes it safe for baby. DS actually slept better in there than he did in his crib for a long time. I came to think of it as being about like sleeping on a blanket on the floor, which I used to enjoy until pregnancy made me a turtle.

preggoandglowing

redfallon said:

This is the exact PNP that we have. You take the napper/changer part off (it clicks in) for baby to sleep in the bassinet part. The mattress is the firm flat part that shows pink in the photo. It fits the bassinet part and the bottom part. It is also used to wrap around the whole thing when it is broken down for transport. Yes, you can get and will need sheets for it. There aren't sheets for the napper part. It wipes clean. It may not be meant for overnight sleeping, but DD slept in the napper for a while because she was so congested she needed to sleep at an incline. Now that she is older, she still sleeps in the PNP for traveling. We got another mattress for it bc the one that comes with it is so hard she couldn't sleep on it. She is 2 now. It would be a while before you need to think of getting something like that though.

Extremely helpful, thank you ladies! 

Nycbk

This has all been really informative for me as well since i too am a FTM and am planning on using our PNP as the bed for the first few months. I did register though for a mattress but now I'm wondering if I should take it off the registry? Or do you all think I will use it later on? This is the mattress I found people recommended. https://www.amazon.com/Dream-On-Me-Foam-Mattress/dp/B006Z2BZBU

Thank you @preggoandglowing for starting this discussion.  

Mizuiro007

Nycbk said:

This has all been really informative for me as well since i too am a FTM and am planning on using our PNP as the bed for the first few months. I did register though for a mattress but now I'm wondering if I should take it off the registry? Or do you all think I will use it later on? This is the mattress I found people recommended. https://www.amazon.com/Dream-On-Me-Foam-Mattress/dp/B006Z2BZBU

Thank you @preggoandglowing for starting this discussion.  

Personally I would try to get baby to use it without the different mattress as it seems the safest option. We had considered one recently for DS as he's getting bigger and naps in there more but those extra few inches would give him all the boost he'd need to climb out (already and issue we have).

redfallon

@Nycbk said:

This has all been really informative for me as well since i too am a FTM and am planning on using our PNP as the bed for the first few months. I did register though for a mattress but now I'm wondering if I should take it off the registry? Or do you all think I will use it later on? This is the mattress I found people recommended. https://www.amazon.com/Dream-On-Me-Foam-Mattress/dp/B006Z2BZBU

Thank you @preggoandglowing for starting this discussion.  

The separate mattress is for ages 6 months and up, not for a newborn. We have a similar one and didn't start using it until she was 8 months old and couldn't get comfortable to sleep on the original PNP mattress.

The one we have has squared sides so there is no gap at all: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JU0H6O?gwSec=1&redirect=true&ref_=s9_simh_gw_p75_d0_i2

Rratledge

I agree with PPs about not using an extra mattress. I don't think I could sleep on a surface that firm, but my son is almost 3 and he still happily sleeps on it when we travel.

I would strongly recommend a waterproof sheet or thin pad as well. Our pack and play is washable so I thought it was fine alone at first. Then his diaper leaked in the middle of the night and we had to find another place for him to sleep while it washed. I can't remember what we did but it was the last time I didn't have a waterproof pad under him.

My pack and play is a different brand than yours, but we got some Circo brand pack and play sheets from Target on clearance and BabysRUs crib-size waterproof pads that we still use under my son's sheets in his twin bed.

mhwood

The white part at the top, is it reversible? We have a similar one that flips around - one side is a newborn napper and the second one is a change "table".  My daughter slept in the newborn napper, swaddled with a thin waterproof "change pad" under her.

Once she outgrew the napper, we popped off the napper and she slept in the raised part of the pack and play.

The most recent SIDS recommendations say that you shouldn't add anything "extra" to the place where your child is sleeping, including blankets, pillows, mattresses, etc. If you are adding a mattress pad, it needs to be tucked in and taut, so the infant can't roll it up when they start moving.

littlebitmom

I am glad I looked this thread back up. My DD is staying with my mom and dad when I go back to work next week. I've been thinking of getting a mattress for the pack n play for comfort and to make it feel similar to her crib. Looks like that is not a safe option...

taysun

littlebitmom said:

I am glad I looked this thread back up. My DD is staying with my mom and dad when I go back to work next week. I've been thinking of getting a mattress for the pack n play for comfort and to make it feel similar to her crib. Looks like that is not a safe option...

if you look at the warnings printed on the inside side of the pnp it actually says something to extent of not putting any extra mattresses in it. if i'm not mistaken you could get a soft pnp sheet to make it cozier 

littlebitmom

Thanks @taysun it just seems so uncomfortable. 

Mizuiro007

@littlebitmom I think it can seem uncomfortable to use because it's not what we like. We like a soft mattress and lots of fluffy pillows and snuggly blankets, relatively. Babies are typically quite content with the very firm mattresses and even on the floor. My 15 month old is still perfectly happy taking naps on the floor at times. I agree, the quilted pack n play sheets add a little cushion though if you feel it's needed. I kind of like having a thin waterproof pad under the sheet as well.

12815AEEA

I use a waterproof mattress pad (Amy Carinn brand) and a soft sheet  (it's an organic one I found on amazon).