Pack 'n' Play

[Chryz]

We plan on asking for two-one for each parent's house.
How should we decide which one is right for us?
There are so many options and brands. Which one have you used or liked?

[lorinick]

I think if your tall the raised changer is a nice feature. It's for your parents home I would likely go real basic. A place to sleep with a bassinet at the top that will than move to the bottom after 15lb.

[TwoBees]

I went with Graco, because they have been making PnPs forever. But the Graco choices can be overwhelming. Most of the extras are nice but not needed. My suggestions:

Get one that has the bassinette feature---basically a platform for the mattress that is near the top of the PnP so you don't have to reach all the way down for smaller babies.

The newborn napper "pod" was essential for us because DD was only 4.5 lbs when she came home from the hospital, and she still sleeps in it (it is removable and we have it in her crib now). BUT I do not think this is an essential feature for most people. Nice, but not essential.

The changing table is eh. The changing tables on both of our PnPs lean to one side, so DD always rolls. I use the changing table on the PnP we have downstairs because it is there, but I could just as easily change her on the floor or couch. However, I think most of the higher end PnPs come with this now.

The music and vibration features are novelties. The music is kitschy--we preferred to use a Sleep Sheep instead. We never hooked up the vibration feature--didn't feel like inserting batteries into that part (separate features from the sound module). I DID like the nightlight feature of the sound module, but I wouldn't buy a PnP with a sound module just for that feature.

Note that certain Graco patterns/colors are exclusive to certain stores, so check around if you are looking for something in particular.