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Pack n Play = a must have?

almostjonesalmostjones member
in Houston Babies

I keep hearing that we have to have one.  Here's some info about our situation:

We don't have a lot of space - for having it out or for storage.  I mean, it would fit in our living area without a lot of trouble for getting around, but I can't see having it out all the time and our storage space is pretty limited.  If it's worth it, we'll get one.  But if it isn't, I don't want to use the space for that...

We are being given a bassinet, so we plan to use that in our room in the beginning.

Both of our moms have PNPs at their houses already (excited grandmas), so when we visit them, there's already one there. 

DH's mom is only a little over an hour away from us and he works right by where she lives, so if we ever needed one to travel elsewhere we can take hers.

So, what am I missing here?  Is it a must have?

TIA!

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Re: Pack n Play = a must have?

  • TexasHarmonyTexasHarmony
    I'd skip it.
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  • jen5-03jen5-03 member

    I've never owned one and never missed it.

    I did borrow one once for a trip, but ended up barely using it since DD hated it.

    - Jena
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  • Kimmer123Kimmer123
    DS HATES the PnP we have. He slept in the bassinet part for about 3 seconds and we used the changing table part for a little bit. Now it sits in the corner of my bedroom and holds all of the shams and throw pillows from my bed. So pretty.
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  • almond1123almond1123

    We never had one here. 

    MIL had one when we went up there.  I'm not a big fan.

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  • Suzi-G-Suzi-G- member
    Nope, not at all.  We don't have one.  Like you, we have a smaller house and a cradle in our bedroom so there's just no need. 
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  • readyforbabyreadyforbaby
    I think you could get away without having one.  DS slept in one the 1st few weeks in our room but since then it hasn't gotten much use.  My mom has one at her house and when we have traveled the hotels have had them too.
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  • mom2llmom2ll member
    We used ours when the bassinet got too small.  I also used it as an additional place to change baby outside of his room.  We lend ours to people all the time.  I think it's a "nice to have" not a necessity.
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  • rayskit10rayskit10 member
    i own one. it's 3 years old and still in the original box.
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  • april16april16

    I would say skip it. The only time we used it was when Ty was a newborn.

    We use it now for storage.

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  • ayersfam20ayersfam20 member

    I used it as a bassinet and changing table for downstairs when A was an infant so I didn't have to treck her upstairs all of the time to change her or put her down.  My Aunt who lives in Austin bought it for me as incentive to come visit. :-)

    If I didn't have it already, I would not have gotten one for this next baby.  We are in a 1 story so there's no need for it to take up space here.  We will still use it for travel, but if the G-ma's already have one for you then I'd skip it.

    Abbie Rose 9.26.2004
    Collin Thayne 10.11.2010
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  • PAGASPAGAS member
    My ILs have one, so I have borrowed it if we go anywhere.  I don't have one.  We didn't have a need for it at all.  F slept in a cradle in our room to start, then moved into her own crib in her room.  I am also adament about changing her only on her changing table in her room, it is a germ thing for me, so the extra changing table was of no use.  Most importantly, I think they are hideous and we already ahd a swing junking up ourliving room.  If I were you, I would skip it.
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  • BritanyVBritanyV
    Well the only way I could go to the bathroom during the day was to put ds in the PNP when he was smaller, so it was a must for us!
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  • TexasPaigeTexasPaige

    We loved ours for the bassinet and the changing table. We used it almost exclusively for those two things for the first five or six months of my son's life. If you don't need it for either of those things and don't need it to travel, you could skip it.


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  • NannerNanner

    imageBritanyV:
    Well the only way I could go to the bathroom during the day was to put ds in the PNP when he was smaller, so it was a must for us!

    We got a lot of use out of it in this way as well.

    I would say that in your circumstances, it's probably not worth it with the lack of space. 

    But I'll mention this, in case others are reading this and are trying to decide.  Unlike the others here, we used ours a lot.  We kept it in the living room until the kids were about 1 or so.  If I was doing something that required a lot of attention and I couldn't keep a close eye on them, I'd put them in there to play for a while.  We used it in the backyard if we had to do yardwork or if we were BBQing.  We traveled with it.  We used it as a bassinet for the first couple of months.  We used it in some capacity every day.

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  • melrrrmelrrr

    Tracey's crib was in our room until after she was a year old and started sleeping through the night. My parents have one for when we visit, and my SIL has one for us to use when we go to FIL's.

    I bought one used from my moms group when Tracey started sitting up because I use it while I'm working. Initially as a place to corral her and now so she can nap.

    We did end up using it during the transition to the other room, but it would not have been a necessity.  

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  • kellynkylekellynkyle

    We loved our Graco PnP.  having the changing table and she exclusively slept in the "newborn napper" part for the first 3 months. After that she moved to her crib and we stored it in the garage to use for trips.

    However, now that she's crawling everywhere, I'm going to bring it back out to use as a playpen for when I need to take a shower, cook dinner, etc when DH isn't home.  

    We live in a 2 bedroom apartment and while it was in our living area, we didn't mind the space it took up because it was so convenient. I definitly do not think it is a "must have" but it sure was helpful to us.

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  • missjakemissjake
    I'd say skip it if you have a 1 story house. 
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  • kreeper611kreeper611 member

    Based on your situation, I would skip it.

    C never slept in our room, but he did sleep in the PNP for 2 weeks because it was easier for me after my c/s.  If not, he would have gone right into the crib.  Plus, both our parents ended up getting one.  However, there are times when we will need it if we travel other places or if C goes to my sisters house.  So, it wasn't a complete waste...

    But if you have the option to borrow your MILs do that.

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  • almostjonesalmostjones member
    Thanks so much everyone.  I think we'll skip it for now and if we decide we need it later we'll just get one without all the extra features.
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  • lilycatlilycat

    You can always get one when you need it. (If you need it.) It sounds like all the times you would really need one are covered; you also have loaners available. Use the money for something else.

    As far as our p&p, my first son did not like it or use it. For our second, we used it downstairs as a crib for the first 3 mos. (He hated the bassinet.) 

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