Graco Pack N Play Playard versus Bedroom Bassinet

[yazzay]

I need help! I have 2 registries - One is at BRU the other is at Baby Depot. I plan on breastfeeding after my baby is born and was advised to invest in a Graco Playard with Bassinet for the early months.

At Baby Depot I registered for a Pack N Play Playard - Samuel pattern (http://www.gracobaby.com/catalog/product.aspx?modelNumber=9955SML&CategoryID=3)


At BRU I registered for a Graco Bedroom Bassinet - Gramercy pattern (http://www.gracobaby.com/catalog/product.aspx?modelNumber=9K01GRC&CategoryID=3)

Much to my surprise, both have been purchased. In fact, 2 of the PNP's have been purchased from Baby Depot even though I only requested 1! Now I need to choose which style I'll be keeping - the PNP or the Bassinet.

Is there anyone out there who owns either or both of these Graco items? I would appreciate a recommendation on which one is a keeper.

Some facts about me: My hubby and I live in a condo. We have a nice size bedroom, but can't fit a full-size 'crib'. As I mentioned before, I plan to breastfeed and want to keep the baby close by as we develop a breastfeeding pattern.

[MoJo]

I have the lower-end Graco PNP with a bassinet that's as big as the playyard. I love it; DD sleeps in it in our room and it has been great for trips to visit the grandparents. She's gettting ready to move into a real crib in her own room in the next few weeks because I don't want her pulling herself out of the bassinet, but we'll be taking it to visit the grandparents again in December; we'll just have her sleep in the bottom. (That's awkward just because it's much harder to pick her up from there)

I'd recommend whichever has the bigger & deeper bassinet for maximum time you can use it.

Choosing this was one of the more "controversial" decisions I made (everyone I know IRL thought DC should be in crib in own room from day one or at least within first three months) but I have no regrets & would certainly do it again.

The only other thing to consider is would you want to leave one at a grandparent's house? My DH would prefer that if we had more than one; our solution to that is now I'm the one to disassemble and reassemble the PNP (and I can do it just fine by myself) whenever we travel.

HTH!

[ellies mom]

If you have a two story condo, I'd seriously condsider keeping both. We have ours upstairs in our bedroom and there are times that I really wish we had one downstairs so she could take naps and still be on the same floor.

[yazzay]

Thanks for the feedback! We do have a 2-story condo, but our upper floor just has a loft that's used as a home office for DH. Not sure that enough time is spent up there to justify keeping both PNP styles - so that one can stay up there full time. Any other thoughts from anyone out there?

[jlatels]

One thing you might want to consider is that the bedroom bassinet doesn't have a changing station. During the first two months we had our DS in a bassinet and it became so much of a hassle to change his diaper without the proper set up for it that we started going to his nursery to do it.

[amandabea]

I'd return the Bedroom Bassinet one -- it doesn't have the diaper changing pad and that is useful with a newborn.

[irie i]

I had decided to use the Graco Gramercy until I saw it in person. I love the pattern of the fabric but it feels almost as rough as sandpaper. There was a metal rod in the middle of the bassinet that holds it up...NOT anything I would want my poor newborn on. It was also extremely wobbly and flimsy. I went with the Nature's Purest bassinet instead and I will get a separate play"pen." JMHO