We didn't have a pack n' play with LO1. We will need one this time, for the baby to sleep in our room for the first months, and then for us to travel with on the weekends. What is the best one? Looking for one that doesn't take up toooo much space, is easy to set up, and is suitable from birth (so I guess needs to have a bassinet feature? does the breezes or baby bjorn one have this?)
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I love our travel crib, the lotus! They also have a basinet that you can purchase separately.
http://www.guavafamily.com/products/lotus-everywhere-travel-crib
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@hilsy85: how much do you care about the size when traveling- like is it going in a van with tons of space or is it going in a packed car or on a plane or something?
We have a basic graco pnp and its fine. Suitable from birth since it has the bassinet feature (not the newborn napper thing, but the bottoms can be raised up so you don't have to put baby down too far). It's completely fine, easy to set up and dismantle, but it's bulky and heavy. But, cheap enough that I could just buy a new one at my destination and leave it there on a recent vacation.
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@Foodnerd81: It's going in the trunk of our SUV (acura mdx), along with a suitcase or two and maybe a few other things. So doesn't have to be super compact, but can't be enormous either.
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@lilyann: it looks like the bassinet is a separate piece? Can you use the regular crib from birth?
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@hilsy85: then I thinking you are looking to save money and aren't too particular a pretty basic Graco pnp would be fine ($60 on Amazon, because you do want the infant level, the $40 one just has the low regular sleeping level). But... There are way cooler ones out there, like the lotus, which everyone I know who has it loves.
Eta this is the one I have.
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We don't have it, but I got to play with the 4moms Breeze pnp at the store and it was far and away the easiest to put together and break down. If I was travelling a lot with the baby I probably would have invested in it.
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@hilsy85: I would have totally used it with an infant because you can zip open the whole side and lay down to feed/nurse and not wake them to transfer. I also liked that it had mesh going all the way down on all sides. I personally hate clunky pack and plays that are hard to travel with, this one fits in a backpack that you can use as a carry on. I tried to be minimalistic with my baby gear because I hate clutter so I needed something that could serve more than 1 purpose. I still use our travel crib with our 2.5 year old as well as our 10 month old.
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We have just the basic graco pnp, its fine. Its a pain to put up and take down. I have seen and played with the breeze and I would choose the breeze.
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We have the same one that Foodnerd does. It's fine. The "sleeping pad" is pretty hard, so you might want a PNP mattress to put on top of it.
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@kick641: @pinkb: it looks like the breeze is really heavy--30lbs! did it seem heavy in person?
@lilyann: hm interesting! I didn't think of unzipping the side.
@Foodnerd81: I was looking at that one! looks like it does the job.
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@hilsy85: exactly- it does the job and you could buy two or three for the same cost as a fancier one. But the others do seem appealing.
My friend uses the lotus as her primary crib for her 1.5 yo. She unzips the side and her Lo crawls in and out by herself (then it is zipped while she is sleeping).
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We have a regular Graco one too, it's totally fine and serve it's purpose!
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@hilsy85: I don't remember thinking it was super heavy, but 30 lbs does sound like a lot... It's been a few months since I picked it up.
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@hilsy85: I dont recall it being heavy, but I might just be use to the heaviness, our B-Ready stroller is similar weight.
ETA I do think our grace one (the one pictured above) is heavy when carrying it all folded up (22 lbs) . But maybe I recall the Breeze differently just because it was easier to set up, lol.
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@pinkb: @kick641: yeah I'll look at it myself but I'm guessing it will be too heavy to travel with.
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We have a Graco and it works fine. It is heavy and clunky. I would also look at "clearance". We found ours at BBB on clearance because it was a discontinued fabric. It has a few more bells and whistles that I wouldn't have otherwise paid for.
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Also had the lotus and just unzipped the side! Love that thing!
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We used a Graco at home and we only used a baby Bjorn for travel.
We were gifted an expensive Graco PNP and we have never used any of the extras...music, changing table, vibration, mobiles or newborn smuggler. I would recommend a basic Pnp that just has the bassinet option.
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I LOVE the breeze. It is so easy to set up, super sturdy, and comes with the bassinet / changing pad attachment. We use it way more than I thought we would. I like how big it is because it means that even at 1.5 dd has tons of room to sleep in it. Obsessed!
It is moderately heavy though so I wouldn't want to run with it through an airport or anything. But it's fine to take in and out of the car/house/hotel, I can do it no problem
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I second the Lotus. It's amazing. But I don't know if I would've used it for my newborn without the bassinet accessory. You really have to bend down to ground level to get baby in/out, if you don't want to unzip the thing every time (which I didn't, b/c I thought the zipper would wake him up!) The first time I used it, my LO was 4 months old and he did fine....
It's super light, and you can even use it as a carry-on if you plan to fly in the future. -
@hilsy85: Delta makes a small footprint travel bassinet
http://www.deltachildren.com/products/baby-gear/bassinets/travel-sleep-solution-sutton-detail
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We had a graco pnp but it was such a pain to set up/take down that we exchanged it for the Breeze. My one year old could also climb out of the pnp almost tipping it over, while the breeze was taller and the base covers more surface area so it wouldn't flip like the pnp was about to. Also, since the base was bigger he liked to play in it more while I was in the shower etc. We have brought it in and out of hotels very easily but never on a plane.
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@autumnlove: how do you like the baby bjorn?
@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: that looks nice, but I wonder how long I could use that...like past 3 months or so? I would prob want to use it maybe up to 6 months at least when we travel on the weekends.
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@hilsy85: I love it for travel but I wouldn't have been able to use it as a crib in my bedroom for the first month or so after my c-sections....the mattress is on the floor so you have to really bend over. Our parents (bad backs) don't like it for the same reason.
But again..we love it for travel! It is light and folds up easy!
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We have the one @Foodnerd81: has and it's worked great. Used it in our room with the bassinet feature for the first 4-5 months (could have been longer but LO outgrew the 15 lb weight limit) and we've used it on trips (so far just car travel, but have an international trip coming up we're bringing it on) without a problem. It's set up right now in the kitchen as a clean, safe area (we have messy dogs) for LO to play while I cook!
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We have the 4Moms Breeze and it's amazing. It has a bassinet that covers the entire PNP instead of a newborn napper thing. It lasts much longer.
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We have the Nuna Sena mini and LOVE it. It is so easy to set up/take down, and packs very compact.
We originally chose the mini because it has a smaller footprint than a normal pack and play, so it fit in our bedroom better - but now that LO is bigger, I'm wishing we got the regular full-size version.
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Honestly, we have THREE PNPs (our house and both grandparents) and while we did use the newborn bassinet feature on the one that had it for a few weeks, it was mostly because it was there and not because it was necessary. If I were you, I would get the basic $40 full-size PNP and get the Dream on Me mattress, which is $30. We use it with the American Baby organic jersey fitted sheet. That would bring you to a grand total of $80 out of pocket and have everything you need.
We bought a mattress for each PNP because DS sleeps like a champ in them - as well as he does in his crib with his expensive mattress. It IS annoying to have to drag a mattress with the PNP when you travel, but it will fit in your trunk just fine. We just slip it inside a garbage bag. Because of the width of the mattress, the baby is a little higher off the bottom of the PNP so its not that bad picking them up and down. DS even had reflux and we inclined the mattress with a flat pillow underneath and it worked great for him.
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@hilsy85: We have the BabyBjorn and it's great for travel. That said, I wouldn't use it for a newborn. The mattress is basically sitting on the floor so you really have to lean over the side in order to lay the baby down. If you have an awful sleeper like my two, the baby will probably wake up each time you put them into it since it's such a funky manouvre.
What about a bassinet for the early months and then a nice, light travel crib that will suit your needs for when the baby is a bit older?
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@lamariniere: we could do that, I just hate to buy two pieces when the bassinet would be used for such a short time! good to know about the BB crib, thanks
@Mrs.ThinMint: that one looks awesome, but again, so heavy! Will have to have DH try to lift it.
@gingerbebe: hm interesting! I would definitely get a mattress (those pack n' plays are really hard other wise!) so good to know the mattress really helps with the height.
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@hilsy85: oh, I know what you mean about buying too much gear! Although, when I lived where you live, I never had a problem reselling baby gear on the neighborhood list serves, so you could likely recoup your costs pretty quickly.
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We have a Graco PNP with the newborn napper and the diaper changing station. We never used the newborn napper, but we used the diaper changing station for a really long time. LO slept in our room in the PNP til she was 4 months old and we still use it when we travel.
What about a bassinet for the early months and then a nice, light travel crib that will suit your needs for when the baby is a bit older?
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