A Look Back at My Registry: The Pack €˜n Play
Continuing on our blog blitz today reviewing baby products from my registry, the next item is my Graco “Tango in the Tongo” Pack ‘n Play (Babies R Us, $79.99). I was on the fence about even registering for a pack ‘n play. I never really knew if we’d use it when Bean was little bitty and I didn’t like the idea of putting him in a tiny cage when he got a little older.
I don’t think I’ve ever been more wrong about anything in my life.
We started using the pack ‘n play (PNP) the minute we got home from the hospital. After my c-section, I wasn’t able to get up and down stairs for several weeks, so we set up a little bed for me on our living room couch. This way I wasn’t cramped up in my bedroom for weeks. To keep Bean close, we put his PNP out in our living room, too. He took his naps in there, he chilled in there, and we used it as a changing table.
Grand Central Station the day we got home from the hospital
Hanging out in the pack ‘n play
It also kept Bean safe from the dogs…for a little while…
If I had to do it over again, I’d kick myself in the butt for letting Chris convince me that we didn’t need to go the extra mile and get the PNP with the changing table attached to it. If I hadn’t been so dependent on the PNP after my c-section, it probably wouldn’t have been so important, but now that I know how much we used it, I would have gone top of the line with this purchase.
Now, we use his PNP mostly when we are traveling. Its really nice to be able to just pop up his little bed wherever we are and have Bean Man sleep on his own sheets in his own safe, cozy place. I think it helps him feel more secure and comfortable when we’re traveling and I like it because I never worry about his safety in a new, strange place while we are sleeping.
In the past month, we have started using the PNP more as a play pin. Bean Man is on the move all the time. And remember how I thought that I didn’t want to cage him up? Well, I was stupid. Sometimes all I want in life is to cage him up. The good news is that he generally loves his PNP and so he doesn’t see it as being caged up. I call it a “mommy time out” but he thinks its just another fun place to play.
All in all, I think you can’t go wrong with getting a pack ‘n play. They have so many uses. And if you feel the need, have a reason, or just want to spend the money, I would upgrade mine to the top of the line if I had to do it over again. But I think that will depend on how often and in what way you are using yours. I wholeheartedly suggest the Graco line of PNPs. They have them in all different colors, all different styles, and all different price points. I chose a more muted pattern that fit our living room so that we could have it out and it wouldn’t be such an eye sore. Now, we keep it stored and only pull it out when he needs to use it, but I still love the muted, understated colors and patterns.
Overall ruling: You need one of these. And if you can splurge, I would do it. If you’re looking for a good, solid, always-reliable brand, we have used the crap out of our Graco and it still looks like we just took it out of the box. I recommend them every time I get the chance.
Check back later this afternoon for the next round of product reviews: The Diaper Genie. And, yes. I can make an entire post out of my Diaper Genie.
19 Comments
Megan (Best of Fates)
I can only assume I’m wrong about how that would work, but when picturing an attached changing station it comes out the side like the extentions for mobile homes. Which seems like it’d be inconvenient for traveling and such, but I suppose trailer homes make it work, so maybe baby pack ‘n plays do too.
andrea
i totally agree on the PNP, we did get one with the changing table and it worked great, wish it had a higher weight limit on it though, i had big babies so they grew out of it pretty quick. Baby number two is now 6 months old and we still use the same PNP from baby number one. we used it till baby number one was about 18 months old, it was a great way to keep him contained when i was trying to make dinner. we also had a hand me down one that we would take with us to the park or the beach. i love them!
Nancy
PNPs are definitely life-savers! The nice thing about them is nearly everyone with kids has one, so if you go to someone’s house on an overnight, chances are, you won’t have to bring your own! We didn’t have to get a real PNP, though, because we have an Arms Reach co-sleeper, which can be turned into a PNP-type thing.
Lori @ I Can Grow People
We got our PNP on craigslist for $10–with changing tray thing–from the same people who sold us our crib and changing table set (with free diaper genie.) It is definitely something that we wouldn’t have made it for the last year without!
lauren
okay. you must be ESP-ing me or something. i am preggo and was flipping out last weekend about all of this baby crap. necissities and non. i have asked advice from everyone and their brother and so your posts and their timing have been pert near amazing. i am registering for a PNP and also the chicco carseat…i am not sold on the travel system yet cause i reallllly want the Bob stroller. do you know anything (good, bad or ugly) about that??
speaking of our ESP, i have been wanting to go to a shuttle launch for 2 years and am now trying to go cause of you, i work for a college like you used to and i have red hair. you think we were separated at birth? …i am from the south too, so it very well could be a possibility. hmmmmmmmmm.
Jen D
Lauren,
If you are super sold on the BOB (I am a huge fan…have one and would recommend it to anyone) there is an attachment so you can connect certain infant car seats directly to it. Once they are out of the baby seat, just detach the infant car seat bar and there is your full BOB stroller ready to go! You’ll have to check to see exactly what seats the attachment is compatible with but there are several and they are great quality seats! I got the BOB as stroller number 2 and wish I would have just skipped the travel system as a whole and gone straight BOB with the car seat attachment. Hope that helps a little bit!
Betty
I am also pregnant Lauren and I am currently searching for a BOB on craigslist (can’t afford the brand new ones!!). I plan on using the BOB and a MacLaren Triumph umbrella stroller I found at a yardsale for $50! It has a huge storage compartment underneath but is super compact.
lauren
thanks Betty and Jen! Great info to know. I think I am going to go with your recommendation, Jen and find a car seat to match! thanks again!
Leah
STOP! This is bad. I’m not pregnant nor do I plan to start trying until at least Christmas (my hubby and I should be back in the same state by then) and I really should not be spending my day looking for baby stuff I don’t need. Hopefully I’ll need and appreciate this in a few months but right now all it’s making me to is look at cute diaper bags, and other random baby things. My hubby already told me he can audible hear my clock ticking…he’ll panic slightly if I start telling him all the cute things I found today. We probably should talk budget before I keep looking…or at least be preggers.
Thanks for helping me procrastinate today 😉
Lissa
Definitely agree that a PNP (with a changing table attachment) is a must for a 2 story house. With a c/s or without, babies need diaper changes so much that the changing table was priceless – especially since it drops down a bit, providing some containment of projectile diaper incidents 😉 I also liked using it for daytime napping so that I could keep an eye on my baby while doing things for 10 min’s before they woke up again.
Marla
Good information to know… I’m still years from having kids, but I like input about stuff like this.
Marla @ http://www.asthefarmturns.wordpress.com
Jen D
Get the pack and play with the changing table for SURE! Whats nice is all the “attachments” come off as they get bigger so they all break down to the basic play pen when you are traveling or once the baby gets bigger. They are awesome and a total must!
Leslie
I have this exact same one in navy blue. I LOVE it. Next to the car seat it is the most used baby gear we bought. I take it with me when I know we will be gone all day at a friends house. This way I know my boy will have a safe place to nap.
BFF Emily
What brand would you suggest for a 33 yr old man? Just curious.
Sandy
good one…how about 33 and up? then my husband is covered as well =-)
kerry
I agree with the necessity of a pack ‘n play, and we love our Graco PNP. I disagree with needing to get the fanciest with the changing table and other accessories that you may or may not use. We had one with all the bells and whistles. My parents bought the same one you have – the idea being that they would have a crib when we visit. We found ourselves wishing many times that we had just gotten the basic model. Our fancy PNP was bulkier, and we did not find the changing table to be useful. I felt like the changing table didn’t sit flat, so our baby kept sliding to one side. You also had to attach it only when the baby was not in the bassinet, so that was a pain to me. I’m sure that some people would have the baby in the bassinet and the changing table attached at the same time, but that didn’t seem like the safest thing to me. We end up using my parents’ pack’n’play for travel as it is more compact. Our fancy one was a Chicco, so I can’t speak for the fancier Gracos. I felt like the basic Gracos had everything we needed, were more compact, and a better value overall. Based on my experience, I would highly recommend the basic version over the fancy ones to any new parents.
Caitlin
We have the Graco one with the changing table and I love it! It was my command center the first few weeks back from the hospital and I would never have survived without it. Bink slept in it for a while until I could convince him to use the crib. I love the changing table and use it all the time. I loved having a changing station on our main floor so that I didn’t have to go up to the nursery or use the floor, etc. every time to change him. Ours didn’t have the “newborn sleeper” feature that some do now (like a mini car seat thing), but I didn’t think we needed it. I disagree with the previous poster, if you’re going to leave it up all the time, the version with the changing table it totally worth it!
Cindy In Owensboro, KY
I agree that a pack and play is a must. Even though I do not use it on a regular basis it does come in handy when traveling.
Amanda
I use the PNP every day…so I can shower! He doesn’t always love being in there, but at least he can’t get out…yet.