Portable crib vs 2nd playpen?

[californiamom]

Hi ladies,

This is my first pregnany so I don't know much about baby gear...

I am confused about something and maybe you can help me. My house is a 2-story colonial house. So I had originally registered for 1 playpen (for the first floor) and 1 portable crib (for my bedroom, since baby will be sleeping next to me for the first 3 months).

A co-worker told me last week that she thinks it would be better to get a 2nd playpen instead of the portable crib. What do you think about this?

My thinking was that the portable crib is to function as a crib only; first in my house (for the first 3 months), and then I would take it to my MIL's house and it would stay there. The portable crib is good for babies up to 18 or 24 months (depending on their weight) so this way we don't need to pack a playpen everytime we go visit my in-laws... And for other trips we would still have the one playpen...

What do you think? Since I have no experience with these things it's so hard for me to figure this out!

Help?

[amp]

We have a Pack N Play and love it for napping during the day. You mentioned you already registered for one of these, but wanted something next to your bed for nighttime. I think a portable crib or another PNP would serve the same purpose. You could use it at night by your bed for a few months and then give to your mom for her house. The only other benefit I can think of to have the PNP is that then your mom could fold it up out of the way when not in use. I don't know portacribs must fold up also for transport, but I don't how small they become. I think this might just be a matter of personal choice.

[KUvsOU]

We also had a PNP that we used downstairs during the day and would move to our room at night. I think Andrea is right it is probably just a matter of preference. If you do consider a PNP instead, you may want one with a full-length bassinet so your baby can take a nap when it is at your MIL's house.

Shawna
Mom of Cade 6/16/02