Used vs New Pack & Play (AW, sorry!)

pourmeanothermocktail

Sorry, this will be wordy.

My grandmother gifted us a used Pack & Play (okay, it's an Eddie Bauer brand, not official Graco PnP). It's technically about 13 years old, from when my cousin was born, but she only used it 3 times. She then cleaned it really well and packed it up. We took it out, everything works great, all accessories are with it and in great shape. DH is super excited because we don't really have the money for much and we're hoping to have LO sleep in PnP for the first stint, and as we are likely to be relocating in the next year and may be unfortunately house sharing with relatives, we really do need to have a portable crib option.

However, I'm less excited about it, for two main reasons. 1: Two months ago I saw this one on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01893X0FQ?colid=O0T6PDXRNQWU&coliid=I7QNKZRYSNDD3&redirect=true&ref_=br_it_dp_o_nS_ttl&vs=1) and got really excited about it. As a FTM it's sad to not have a couple new things. This reason is just mostly an excuse and I can get over it. 2. We just started our baby registry at BRU the other night and had the chance to use a new PnP. The one step fold/unfold is AWESOME!

It took us both, with instructions, 15-20 min to set up our used PnP. Granted this included the bassinet and changing station, but still. It is not simple or one step. Each side has two buttons that have to be pushed in to get it to fold/unfold and the buttons are SUPER stiff and I literally wasn't strong enough to do it myself. DH figures that we will just set up and take down several more times before LO arrives, and it will loosen up and be fine.

Uhm, maybe it will because it hasn't been used much? Or maybe it won't because it is actually pretty old and maybe that's why the buttons are sticky? Also, it really is just hard to use and all I can think is when I'm exhausted and stressed out from newborn life, is this stupid PnP actually going to be the straw that breaks the camel's back and push me into a meltdown?

We are being thrown a baby shower, I am thinking we could put another PnP on there and *if* someone (or a group of someones) is generous enough to purchase it, we can relegate the used one to one of our parent's homes. Would it be rude to register for it? The grandmother who gifted this item would be invited to the shower, but as she lives several states away (and also declined the invite to our wedding show last year-no hard feelings but it would have felt rude to NOT invite her) I would expect she won't attend anyway.

Also, sidenote, my DH is a little clueless and has never even seen or held an infant or any child younger than 2. He's also under the impression that we won't need more dish drying space in case of bottles - even though we have to hand wash all dishes and our current dish drainer is entirely full. He's like, "So what? We just put the bottles and nipples all under the bowls and stack around them and lay some on top." Yeah, no (IMO). They won't actually dry quickly or fully if they're under everything or laying down. I just wanted to register for a secondary drying rack for bottles (like $10-$15) and he was super opposed.

Any...thoughts? I'm totally cool with people telling me that I'm poor and should just accept the used one with the faults and make DH set it up/take down as much as possible before and after birth. I just am not sure if I'm acting spoiled or have legitimate concerns.

PinkLady2015

I'm not sure if pack'n'plays are anything like car seats in that they expire after a certain point??? But I don't think it's rude at all to register for one... a registry is your wish list and even if she see's it on there you stated the reason is that you can keep one at your parents house. Go ahead and register for it and don't feel bad... 

mamafox14

I say take the old one but if you really like the idea of the newer one you can still register for it. If the gifter asks why you need another one you can say you prefer to leave one set up at home and have one at your parents or something. If you don't get it, you at least have one to start out with. 

BettyRu

It's up to you, but if you get a PNP, get the basic model, all those bassinets and changing added ons are just annoying and take up space.

sboston06

It all depends on what you're comfortable with. It sounds like you really want to get a new one, and I think that's totally OK, especially since it sounds like the grandparents need one too (and theirs probably won't need to be used as much so it's not a big deal to have a longer set-up). 

With that being said, I am getting a used PnP from one of my coworkers. It's one of the smaller travel ones and I'm hoping it will be perfect for the newborn stage and for traveling later on. I have no idea how to go about cleaning it though!  

betheliz

i'm sure the old pnp would do, but I'm with you--I think that the sticky buttons sound like a terrible hassle.  And I think I'm at the upper extreme of baby stuff hoarding, but on our kitchen counter, we have two OXO dish drying racks and one OXO drying mat

https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-Compact-Dish/dp/B007SU1WUW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1454985833&sr=8-2&keywords=oxo+dish+rack

https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Large-Silicone-Drying/dp/B004ZLAG54/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454985894&sr=8-1&keywords=oxo+drying+mat

They are pretty much filled up constantly  

matryoshkadoll

We got a new condition pack and play used. We were going to have baby sleep there next to our bed. We ended up bed sharing and it really never got much use. 

DH always set it up and broke it down so it didn't really make a difference to me how hard it was  

I wouldn't spend money on one until baby is here and you know you need it, but definitely register for it!!

WVUPetunia

I have a new pack and play from my first child (well, I guess it's now 3 years old), and I find it to be a pain in the butt to take up and down. I have trouble with the buttons on it, too. I was never really a fan of it except when DS got to be a young toddler, and he would play or nap in it while I was making dinner or whatever. I also agree with a PP that the bassinet and changing table attachments were more trouble than they were worth. 

But, I'd say register for one and see what happens. If you get one, great, if not, you have one. There's always a need for baby stuff at the grandparents' house if you spend a decent chunk of time there, so the old one can still get use.

PhoebeJune1984

1. Pack'n'Plays don't expire. As long as there are no broken pieces or tears, you can use them for a long time. 

2. How often do you think that you will be really setting it up and taking it down? It may have taken you awhile to set it up the first time, but it shouldn't take as long each time you use it, once you know how to do it without instructions. And most of the time, if you are taking it somewhere to use for a few hours (lets say you are going to lake and want to bring it along), you aren't going to bring every accessory. Most likely, you are going to bring the main pack'n'play and leave any additional pieces at home. You most likely wont bring the whole kit'n'caboodle with you, setting up the newborn insert, and the changing table, just for a few hours.

3. I currently have three pack'n'plays. Yep, you read that right. I have a old version (that still looks brand new), from like the early 2000's. It is used for when we go camping, so if it ends up smelling like campfire smoke, or gets dirty, it isn't that big of a deal. The second one, looks like the one that Graco that you posted a link to. I thought I was going to use the crap out of that thing, and even though my DD slept it in for the first 2 months, it kind of was a waste. The infant sleeping area was only used a little bit. The newborn level (under the bassinet thingy), would wobble. The changing table had a small slope to it, and I never ended up using it to change her, and the accessory holder kept popping off. I fell in love with it in the store, and in the end, actually using it....it wasn't that great. However, I used the crap out of the pack'n'play without all of the accessories attached to it. We travel a lot and the main piece went with us all of the time. I also would pack it up to take it to the lake, in-laws house, parents house, etc. Since we know that the accessories were a waste for us, and we were constantly taking it down and putting it up, we bought a 4Moms Breeze for this baby. It is literally SO easy to put up and take down, and doesn't have a ton of bells and whistles on it. It does have the newborn level (the one that is closer to the top), which will get used for 1-2 months and then will be packed away. But since when we travel we are usually going from hotel to hotel (or house to house), it will be easy to take down and put up since you aren't dealing with the buttons on the side rails (you are just pushing down in the center to put it up, and pulling up in the center to fold it up). We are going to be getting rid of the other pack'n'play (with all of the accessories), and keeping the 4Moms and the camping one.

I would say register for it if you want, but if nobody gets you one for your shower, just use the one you were gifted. Especially if you are only going to be taking it down and putting it up on the occasional basis, and if you don't have the money to spend on one anyway. There are so many other things that you could be spending your money on that will come up as the first year goes along, and you really don't know what people are going to get you for your shower. I bought a $250 infant seat for DD, and had to buy her a bigger one by the time she was 11mo. Gear adds up, and if someone is giving you something in good condition for free (that is still safe), I say take it....

soberkfell

I echo PPs' comments - go ahead and register for it, using the excuse that you'd like to keep one for your house while also having one at a parent's house. However, if no-one buys it off of your registry, I wouldn't stress. DS slept in the bassinet of the pnp for the first 6 weeks. It stayed up/assembled at all times. I'm not sure what your situation is with regard to space, but if you have room to leave it up, then I wouldn't worry about any pnp-related complications while caring for your newborn! I actually didn't even learn how to break down/put up the pnp until DS was over a year old.

I was a nerd about sterilizing bottle parts and really never washed any of them by hand. When I disassembled the bottle, I'd let the parts soak in warm, soapy water. Afterwards, I'd rinse them off and pop them in the microwave in the sterilizer. I would usually then re-assemble, mix formula for the next 6 bottles and store them in the fridge, so I rarely had parts laying around. However, drying in the sterilizer/microwave may be a solution to your counter-space issue! https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Browns-Microwave-Steam-Sterilizer/dp/B001D475FU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1455041692&sr=8-2&keywords=dr.+brown's+sterilizer

MDmomma1217

I have a pack and play that I got new when DD was born that we will be reusing. I agree, it's a pain to set up, and DH can deal with it lol. My plan is to set it up in the living room and not move it. We also have another pack and play that was given to us that we left at my in-laws when we would visit, but it really didn't get used much.

I would say go ahead and register for the new one, so you can get one with the print and accessories you like. You can always use the other one to take on the road.

xc1148

Depends on how you use it....do you have a big house? You might want one downstairs and one upstairs. Same if you have relatives nearby, we have one at our house and one at my parents.

We have a basic travel one, and leave the fancy one at my parents. Not rude to register for one at all!

john5111

Register for one.. drop the old one off at your parents house or somewhere then you don t have to haul it each time you go.

oandmplus1

I would go ahead and register for a new one, if your grandmother asks, you can always say you needed a second to keep at your parents house.

Also - we used out pack and play for both of our first kids, but it was mainly kept set-up in the bedroom next to my bed.  I had one with all the bells and whistles, and did use it, but really it was just too much of a pain.  We ended up selling it thinking we were done.

this time around I bought a like new (but used) one with less of the extras. I just wanted it to have the bassinet feature so that I didn't have to bend to take baby in and out.
We do use it for travel, but not often, so I didn't care as much about easy set up.

As for the bottle drying rack. You will probably want one. Bottles have so many pieces and you go through so many of them.

DataJane

We really didn't get that much use out of our pnp, we got a Graco pretty similar to the one you linked to as a shower present even though we didn't register for it because my aunt insisted we needed it. We left it set up downstairs and used the changing table part a fair amount as our nursery with our real changing table was upstairs but I'm not sure that really makes it worth it. I would just keep in mind that if someone buys it for you as a shower present it just means they aren't buying some other item(s) for a similar price so unless you are pretty sure you are also going to get everything else you want it is still kind of the same thing as paying for it yourself.

We got one of these grass drying racks to set next to our regular dish rack and I thought it was super useful

https://www.amazon.com/Boon-Grass-Countertop-Drying-Green/dp/B0032G9E0G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1455045641&sr=8-2&keywords=grass+drying+rack

My brother's kids are 4 and 6 and they still have their grass drying rack out on the counter that they used for bottles, then sippy cup parts, and now for kid cups and containers and things. 

soberkfell

Also, if your husband doesn't want you to put the drying rack on the registry because he'd prefer people buy other things on your registry he thinks you need more, you can typically find bottle-drying racks for a couple of bucks on your local swap & sell page if you're on Facebook. I swear there's probably a handful posted every week on mine, and people ask for maybe $5 tops.

pourmeanothermocktail

Thanks guys! At least I don't feel like I'm being totally picky or spoiled by being frustrated with the used one - sometimes I'm just moody and can't tell. Our house isn't huge, but we have a really nice porch and I like to hang out outside and can imagine bringing LO outside to hang out with me sometimes, but literally not one of the doorways in our entire house is big enough to get the PnP through, so I might have to take it down a lot, especially as most of our friends live far enough away that even just to come over for dinner we would likely need to have it with just in case. @PhoebeJune1984 The problem setting it up wasn't even really with the accessories, it was the 5 step process just to get the 4 sides and bottom up or down - there's two buttons on each side and I literally am not strong enough to push most of them in. So I am worried that I will be unable to fold/unfold if I'm home alone.

I'm thinking just to register for a new one, and if we don't it, wait and see how much of an issue the old one turns out to be. If I am swearing at it a couple of times a week, it's worth it to me to even buy one on credit to stop from being extra frustrated during newborn stage, lol.

PhoebeJune1984

@RideNRunMomma two buttons on each side?! That sounds like a PITA. My camping one has a button on the outside (although its covered by the fabric) of the middle of the side rails. My other one (that we are getting rid of), has the button on the bottom of the middle of the side rails. My biggest pet peeve, is when I am trying to bundle the whole thing up to wrap the mattress piece around, and the sides are falling all different directions while I am gathering it. Thank god, with the Breeze, I don't have to deal with any of that crap!

pourmeanothermocktail

@PhoebeJune1984 Two on EACH rail and BOTH are covered by fabric! DH is super cheap though and didn't understand why I was afraid this thing is going to literally put me into tears every time I have to move it, he's like "Free is the best price."

PhoebeJune1984

If he thinks that free is the best price, and you don't get the one that you registered for, then make sure he is the one that puts up and takes down that pack'n'play every....single....time you need it moved. HAHA

babymakerplus

It's totally ok to want a new one. Keep in mind that you might not use it very much (but again you might!). I would want to put my $ or my gifts towards some of the things that you can't get used, like car seats. We got a nice PNP at my shower. It was like $150, but is still pretty tricky to set up and take down, especially with the bassinet and changer. Plus, we've used it maybe 10 times in 18 months bc DD hates it. 

jenkeale

I agree with PPs that it doesn't hurt to register for one.

I'm wondering if you've considered a rock n play or bouncer for the more portable things like out on the porch? They're cheaper, easy to use and don't take up as much space. 

I thought I would use my pack n play more, but DD slept in it for roughly 4 months and refused to play in it. So it just stayed up in our room and now is used for traveling.