safety of pack and play with bassinet?

[grelli2]

There is a "Special Edition" Pack and Play that has a full bassinet that looks like sort of a "sling" that hangs instead of an actual "mattress." Has anyone seen these? I'm wondering if they would be just as safe to use as a newborn's bed.

[Elaine]

We have a Graco "384LS" model Pack & Play that we inherited from my brother & sister-in-law. I don't know if it's the same as the one you're talking about, but it sounds very similar. The bassinet is the whole length of the Pack & Play but it is not a really sturdy/firm piece of board (or whatever) and it tends to "sag" into the middle when you lay the baby in it. My daughter (11 wks old) has never liked it, and I really never liked leaving her in it anyway because of the sagginess. Right now we use it in the family room as a "catch-all" for all our other baby stuff (carrier, afghan, toys, etc). I hope it is more useful as a playpen.

[TracyA]

I don't know about the special edition, but the bassinet feature on our 3-way Pack n Play is a fabric cup-like piece that snaps and velcros around the top rail of the Pack n Play. Then you put the mattress into it to flatten out and pad the bottom. Our dd used the bassinet feature until a couple of weeks ago, when she got too heavy according to the weight limit. She never really liked to sleep in it. I think that was because it did rock, especially when she jerked her arms and/or legs ala the Moro reflex. She did like to lie in it to play, however, and we used it (and continue to use the Pack n Play with the mattress on the bottom level) like that. However, I think it would have been safe to use as a bed if you wanted to. After all, people regularly use Pack n Plays as travel beds.

Good luck!