Pack n Play HELP!!!!

Bubblegum5586 · April 2016

FTM here and I am so overwhelmed by this registry!

I have no idea what we need and luckily we have been gifted many things! I know we need a bassinet option and a few people recommended a Pack n Play instead as it has more uses and we can use it longer then a bassinet! Sounds great to me! Oh wait there are a million out there and I am not even sure what all the extra attachments are and what we need.

Any advice out there? What do you already own and love? What have you registered for? Any and all advice appreciated!!

Katienu · April 2016

@bubblegum5586 Did I miss how your anatomy scan went? Did you find out the gender?

We registered for the one with all the bells and whistles and it was great but those add-ons are only used for a short period of time. We still used the Rock n' Sleep as a bassinet and could not live without that. I personally would just get a basic one.

Also, we were lucky enough to have someone gift us a second pack and play which we used for the beach, hanging out outside etc.

WinnieLou82 · April 2016

Granted I have no actual experience using one, but I went by the recommendations here and here.

I registered for this one.

Fremdschamen · April 2016

Get one with the bassinet feature, but skip the diaper changer feature-- you can throw a change mat in the bassinet if you want to do a diaper change there. All the other features aren't necessary.

Bookhousegirl · April 2016

We got the pretty basic graco one, with the newborn napper (which we never used, but I know many ppl do in the beginning). It's been great, but I really don't think the brand matters too much, we really just use it for overnights now.

Katm89 · April 2016

I think the pack n plays get complicated and honestly I opted for one thats very simple

https://www.amazon.com/Graco-Pack-Play-Playard-Green/dp/B005UV0UEA?ie=UTF8&colid=15G0940KBRL36&coliid=I2ZULIDFLC97K4&redirect=true&ref_=br_it_dp_o_nS_ttl&vs=1

jamiesc58 · April 2016

We got one for our last lo with the bassinet and changing feature. We did use the bassinet a lot but never used the changing table thing.

SkiChic626 · April 2016

This is probably going to be a UO, but I found the PnP to be completely useless. Lots of people recommended it for when she was a newborn and to use it as a secondary changing table and bassinet, etc. So I did those things the first few days home and I hated it. It's so low that my back would kill from trying to change her in it I ended up just going up to her room to do it anyway, and it just wasn't as convenient for naps as some of the other contraptions that were easily portable around the house. It ended up becoming a toy bin for a few months until we decided to finally put it away. I don't even plan on setting it back up for this LO, and if we find we truly won't be using it I'm going to get rid of it.

Curls919 · April 2016

We bought a pretty basic Graco one. We didn't use any of the extras (sleeper and changing pad). He maybe napped in it once as a newborn. However, as he got older and a bit more mobile we used it as a playpen. I'd put him in there with some toys and he'd be in a safe spot so I could shower, etc and not have to worry about him.

Also it was a lifesaver when we spent nights away from the house. He slept in it at a few hotels and for two summers when we spent many weekends at our family's beach house. It's worth it to have one just for that!

Bubblegum5586 · April 2016

Katienu - Yes I posted on Sunday, it went great and we are having a girl!!!

Fremdschamen Bookhousegirl jamiesc58 Curls919
What did everyone use as their overnight sleeping option? Still the PNP with the bassinet option, then what is the napping/sleeper feature for?

Wow I feel so dumb but I am so confused by all these options!!

jamiesc58 · April 2016

Before dd could sit up on her own and start trying to pull herself up on the side, we used the bassinet feature in our room. (Her crib just took up too much space with our stuff in there too). Now, she will be a year next week, we use it for playing outdoors at times, going on vacation, staying at grandparents overnight, nap time, and even just playtime inside if we cannot stay by her all the time. It helps when I have cleaning to do and all she wants to do is follow me and takes things back out lol.

amccul20 · April 2016

go simple with the Pack n Play. you'll have so much other complicated stuff!

Bookhousegirl · April 2016

We used a rock n play for sleep initially and will use that again this time. We went straight from that to his crib. I also have an uppababy stroller and we had a stand for the bassinet of the stroller set up in our living room for short naps during the day.

bananers · April 2016

We got the one with the newborn napper and changing pad. They were both nice-to-haves, but really only for the first few weeks. We used the bassinet portion until he was about 4 months old, and he slept in th main portion from 4-6 months, and then we moved him to the crib. From about 6-10 or so months it was in our living room as a play pen, and has always been our travel crib, even now at 3 years! (We have one of those rare toddlers who hasn't tried to climb out of the crib so we just go with it - child containment FTW!)

Obviously everyone's experiences vary, but if you go by our experience, it seems the more fancy the attachment, the shorter the shelf life. But overall the PNP was probably our most used item in our registry.

Fremdschamen · April 2016

DD slept in the bassinet option of the PnP in our room (and sometimes in our bed, despite my intentions to avoid co-sleeping!) till she was about 4 months. Then we transitioned her to her crib in the nursery without issue. (However, she was a terrible sleeper and ended up in our bed a lot until she was 1 when I basically had to kick her out, but that is another story).

For traveling, she only slept well in the PnP till about a year or so. When we went to Cuba (we're Canadian)when she was 21 months, she slept in a toddler cot, and when we went to San Francisco at 23 months, she slept in a double bed by herself.

kriley602774 · April 2016

For my DS I got a PNP with the bassinet and changing features. We only used the bassinet for about 2 weeks but unlike many of the above posts I really liked the changing station. I kept the PNP downstairs so it gave me the choice to change him up or down stairs plus it was really easy to wipe down if he decided to spray all over during a change!

Pepper6 · April 2016

Katm89 said:

I think the pack n plays get complicated and honestly I opted for one thats very simple

https://www.amazon.com/Graco-Pack-Play-Playard-Green/dp/B005UV0UEA?ie=UTF8&colid=15G0940KBRL36&coliid=I2ZULIDFLC97K4&redirect=true&ref_=br_it_dp_o_nS_ttl&vs=1

This is the one we have (in the Pasadena print) and it was perfect for us. DD slept in the pnp in our room until about 3 months when we switched her to her crib and we still use the pnp for travel sleeping.

PeachGal23 · April 2016

For DD, we got a basic Graco one with the newborn napper that flips to a changing area (was $99 I think). I don't think all the other accessories are necessary, and we honestly have never used the napper/changer part. We used a Graco Little Lounger (similar to the RnP) as the bassinet in our bedroom and plan to do that again. Both my SILs have homes with the master bedroom upstairs and used the PnP downstairs for naps and changing areas during the day, so it could be useful for that even if you don't use it as the bassinet at night. We only use ours for traveling, but many friends have used theirs as bassinets in their bedrooms.

Curls919 · April 2016

Bubblegum5586 said:

Fremdschamen Bookhousegirl jamiesc58 Curls919
What did everyone use as their overnight sleeping option? Still the PNP with the bassinet option, then what is the napping/sleeper feature for? !

I never used the napper thing. We could either put the mattress higher up (which we did when he was a newborn but he literally used it twice) otherwise, I used the mattress pad on the bottom. I got quilted sheets, then covered that with a regular PnP thin sheet to make it a little more comfortable. He slept in that when we were away from about 9 months until about 2 1/2 years. We only stopped using it recently because he could climb out! He slept in a double bed at the hotel on our most recent trip and we'll just be getting a bed rail for a twin bed at the beach place for this summer.

ShanTeach · April 2016

We registered for this one: https://t.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=68454126&fromRegistryNumber=57853717&product_skn=823107

We like the napper and the changing pad part since we are planning on keeping it in our living room. That way we don't have to go up to the babies' bedroom every time they need changed. We thought the napper was a little sturdier than some of the others we saw and it flips up, allowing us to store things underneath if everything doesn't fit in the storage totes.

Ceventa · April 2016

We got the pack n play for the DS that had the bassinet and changing table. I never used the bassinet, mainly because it required that I put it on the floor and I ended up just letting him sit in either the mamaroo or in the boppy lounger (which he loved). So the bassinet sat to the side, however the changing table feature I used all the time. It was a must, especially in the middle of the night. I bought one of these

Image: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/images/products/raskog-utility-cart-turquoise__0144044_PE304208_S4.JPG

at IKEA to keep next to the pack n play to hold diaper supplies, extra clothes and blankets. Between the pack n play with the changing table and the cart, I had a nice little area for him to sleep and me to be able to change his diaper in the middle of the night.

darlingc · April 2016

Has anyone seen the 4moms pack n play? For STMs+ could you watch a quick youtube video of the 4moms one and let me know if you think the ease of opening/closing is worth 3-4x as much as a graco?

Bookhousegirl · April 2016

@darlingc I just watched it, and while that is pretty awesome, I can't imagine a time where you would be in such a rush to get it set up that it would be worth that price. The graco one is definitely a few more steps, but still takes under 3 minutes to set up. If that was a stroller on the other hand, I may be sold...

ashleymz · April 2016

We initially started with a $300 pack n play with everything on it.... totally unnecessary and returned it. Cheapest most basic one is the one we used the longest. And the rock n play (for 7 mos). Easy to transport to and from family, nanny, up and down our stairs.

Curls919 · April 2016

darlingc said:

Has anyone seen the 4moms pack n play? For STMs+ could you watch a quick youtube video of the 4moms one and let me know if you think the ease of opening/closing is worth 3-4x as much as a graco?

I've never had issues opening and closing my Graco pack n play so I wouldn't wouldn't waste my money on the expensive one.

Duffgurl · April 2016

We did a PNP with our 1st and it was very convenient. We also did the RNP with our 1st and 2nd. This time around we are just doing a crib. Although I could not pass this up. I got for $50 when summer infant has there sale.

https://m.target.com/p/summer-infant-pop-n-play-portable-playard/-/A-16440885?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Baby+Shopping&adgroup=SC_Baby&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=m&location=9031499&gclid=CPrzqa-Ji8wCFVFsfgodyLoEww&gclsrc=aw.ds

I have been using it for DS2 and it's awesome! DS1 even goes on it lol. I can't wait to use it a the beach.

ShanRum3 · April 2016

I had a PNP for my first son, 11 years ago, and LOVED it! It had the bassinette and changing station on it, as well as a diaper stacker that hung on the side to hold diapers and wipes. We kept it in the living room, and he slept in the bassinette during the day, and the diaper changer came in so handy! We used it with him for a couple years, then loaned it to my mom when she adopted a baby, then got it back when we had our second DS. We still have it, but after 3 kids using it full time, and several kids using it while my step mom babysat, it has seen it's better days. We will keep it for outside, but we ordered this https://www.gracobaby.com/products/pages/pack-n-play-playard-snuggle-suite-lx-pierce.aspx for everyday use this time around. I think it's just more convenient to have things in the room you spend most of your time in, so we don't have to run back and forth to change diapers, etc.

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