playpen recs?

[kitten]

I would like to get a playpen for my almost 6 month old. I know that it will take a couple of weeks for him to really be able to use it (he is almost sitting now). I don't want a Pack N Play or something similar. I would like something bigger. A secondary purpose for this is to keep his toys somewhere so that our dogs can't get to them (who knew how much they would love pacifiers and rattles???).

I saw this in the One Step Ahead catalog and it looks so cute. Anyone have this or something similar? What are your thoughts?

http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=6193&cmSource=Search

I honestly think it is a little pricy, but it looks so cute that I think I might just get it (I know that I could just get a plain white one). Anyways, just wanted to know if anyone had experiences with this and what their thoughts were.

Thanks!

[WatchingThemGrow]

A friend got 2 sets of that one on Craigslist. Not sure how they worked out for her, though.

[veronica]

We've got one. I bought it off of CL for $50. I wouldn't pay much more. We actually packed it up today (DS is 15 months) . We used it to keep him away from some of DD's smaller toys. I liked the gate part of it. I believe the extension kit for this is on sale at TRU.com for about $10 so you might want to check out if they have the gate as well.

Honestly-you can probably run into this on your local CL-try to hold off on full price since I don't think they have too much longevity.

I also have the Today's Kids play yard for DS and like it as well. The activities on it are much better, if you are into that, but I find it a bit harder to put together. These are no longer made and can be found on ebay but beware, they are rare and go for a lot, especially if they have all the pieces. I was able to find mine on CL for $50.

good luck-these can be a lifesaver if you have to put DC down and run and do something! The space on the one you showed is a bit larger than the today's kids one as well. Not sure by how much.

[kijip]

I am not sure these things last much past 1-2 years old for people. I was shocked to see the age range was up to 3. If my 3 year old would have stayed in something like that, I would have been flabbergasted---he was just too much of a climber.

So you might have as little as 6-12 months of use left, so I totally agree to look for it used.