confused about pack n plays

[tigerlily01]

I was thinking we might want a pack n play for downstairs, in case we need to put baby down for a few minutes to do something that requires both hands, but still keep them segregated from our dogs. I also thought it might be convenient to have a changer, to save our backs from having to always do it on the floor (where the dogs will no doubt want to 'help'), and prevent having to go upstairs as often. And of course we'll eventually need something to travel with. We don't travel often, and are planning on using the Graco Travel Lite with Stages initially as a bassinet in our (upstairs) bedroom...this can be our travel crib initially, but I imagine baby will outgrow it in a few months and need a standard size PNP for holiday trips.

Are there any lightweight PNPs that have changers that AREN'T total junk that slant to the side? I really like the Chicco Lullaby Magic and Chicco Lullaby Dream because of the sturdy changers, but they are HEAVY for travel, and removing the entire changer every time we use the bassinet seems tedious. Plus they are expensive and I don't plan to use the nappers at all. The Ingenuity PNPs seem to have really stable changers too, and I like that they flip out of the way, but they are hard flip (especially one-handed) and the one in the store kept falling off every time I tried...plus it is also kinda heavy for travel. I like all the cheap lightweight PNPs...but the changers all seem to be total garbage and slant to the side. But all the ones with nice changers seem to be 35-40lbs.

I have no idea how long you can use the changers before they are outgrown, but for my back, even if it is only 3 months or so, it's worth it to me to have something, and if I have a c-section I'm sure it will help. So yeah, looking for a standard sized PNP that is light enough for the occasional trip, and has a decent changer. Any suggestions?

[mikala]

I had one of the cheapest models of Graco pnp and sometimes changed baby in the pnp with the mattress raised. It was similar to this: http://www.amazon.com/Graco-Pack-Playard-Bassinet-Pasadena/dp/B004Y9AKZI/ref=sr_1_2?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1400895347&sr=1-2&keywords=pack+n+play

I really wouldn't spend extra $$ for a dedicated changer. There are so many other places I'd spend extra cash first (carriers! Strollers! Carseat!)

You can also just put a changing pad on the floor or another flat surface to make changing easy.

Are you consistently traveling to the same place? It might be easiest to just get a cheap model and store it at grandma's house or wherever. If you fly to a variety of locations you might also look at a Guava or Phil and Ted's portable crib. I'd spend money on those before I'd pay for a Cadillac regular pnp. We've flown with the basic pnp several times and it travels fine but it's a heavy beast when you're also hauling other luggage.

[123LuckyMom]

Unfortunately, I'm not aware of a lightweight PnP that has a super sturdy changer. We did have a Graco PnP with a changer that worked well for us with DS. The changer was really only for a very lightweight baby. It was sort of a sling with a solid bottom that hung within the PnP. I don't remember it slanting. It was heavy when folded, probably 12lbs., and DS screamed bloody murder whenever we tried to leave him in it for even a second, so the PnP itself became a huge changing table and toy storage!

With DD, we skipped the PnP on the downstairs level and just used the swing to put her down when she was little. We also had a changing table on the main floor. She's two, and were still using that changing table. It's great to have one, and the stand alone changing table is much smaller than an open PnP.

[specialp]

I cannot answer your main question because I hated all the changers not he pnps I saw and I really needed something to last longer than 3 months. Is there any dresser or tall table or place like that you could use as a changing station? It gets you off the floor, a place to store your diaper supplies, lasts longer, cheaper (just a changing pad), and when your done with diapers, it goes back to its former life. Then you can focus on the lightest p&p you can find without paying $$ for a changer you'll only use a couple of months.

On a side note, we used the travel lite as a sleeping area for a year in our room. After a year, we move them to their room. We were pushing it for that last month our so (we have big babies), but it will last you a lot longer than a few months.

[tigerlily01]

I was kinda hoping that having a changer on the PNP would save my back by allowing me to not change the baby on the floor (and avoid bending down to the floor when traveling, like you do on the travel cribs). Would it be awkwardly low to change a baby in the bassinet of the basic Graco? It seems like it might be too low...?

The only other surface we have downstairs is the table we eat on, which just seems kinda gross to me to use that for changing, and the floor (which hurts my back). We really don't have the space for a separate changing table, and I wouldn't want to turn my back on the dogs with a swing (nor do we have space for one)...my thought with the PNP was that it would be safer for baby than being out in the open (like in a swing or bouncer) with the dogs if I have to walk away for a few minutes. Unfortunately our family is all over the country, so we'll need to bring something for baby to sleep in when we travel, since it's never to the same place. Lol, this is hard!!

[tigerlily01]

Specialp:
I think getting something lightweight for travel and a separate changing surface makes the most sense, we are just honestly so short of space I'm not sure where we'd put another table. Hmm, might have to get creative...

My husband is 6"4', so I expect a loooong baby. That is encouraging that they might not outgrow the travel lite as fast as I thought though.

[specialp]

Specialp:
I think getting something lightweight for travel and a separate changing surface makes the most sense, we are just honestly so short of space I'm not sure where we'd put another table. Hmm, might have to get creative...

My husband is 6"4', so I expect a loooong baby. That is encouraging that they might not outgrow the travel lite as fast as I thought though.

DH is the same 6'4" as well. ETA:. And I meant something you already had that you could use, not getting a new table. We used a dresser in a bedroom on the first floor and on the 2nd floor used the ikea expediat w/ legs as changing stations. Both were already in our house.

[tigerlily01]

Oh, I see. Unfortunately the only open surface we have downstairs is the eating table...the only other furniture are things like the couch, some chairs, tv, bookcases, and refrigerator. We do have a coffee table, but it's pretty low. We don't really even have counter space in the kitchen, it's tiny. There's just not a lot of space, but we do spend a fair amount of time downstairs.

[AnnieW625]

We ended up with 2 Graco Pack N Plays, both bought in 2006/2007, but similar to these ones:
Pack n Play with changer (http://www.target.com/p/graco-pack-n-play-playard-with-reversible-napper-and-changer/-/A-15078293). I loved the changer especially because DD1 slept in our room in the pnp until she was almost 5 months old. It was great to have a place to change in the middle of the night. The size was perfect and I don't rememberer it being too heavy to carry and assemble.
The second one we bought so we could leave the first one at daycare was the same model as the one Mikala linked above. We bought it when DD1 was less than a year old because I forgot to get the one from daycare and we were going out of town and I thought it would nice to have a spare.

I will say that the Chicco play yard is really nice, but it is big. My BIL though travels with his and doesn't complain, but they have a large Yukon XL SUV so plenty of space for it. If you have a large master bedroom and know you are going to want to use the play yard at home then I would go ahead and consider the Chicco one.

My kids were 36" tall at 2 and 2/1/2 when they stopped using the pnps we had and they were fine size wise. Also price wise I paid about $65 for the non changer one, and $89 for the changer one,

[gymnbomb]

We have the one Annie linked to on our main floor. It was extremely nice to have the changer when my mom, who has a bad back, came and stayed with us and watched him for several weeks so I could go back to work until summer break without daycare. So it was totally worth the price for us. I think we got it for around $70-80 on sale at babies r us. However, at 3 months our baby is reaching the end of fitting easily into the changer part. I suspect that before too long we will remove that and either change him in the bassinet part with a waterproof pad on it, or just go upstairs to change him. In our basement where the family room is we just have a diaper bag type changing pad on the floor, but we do not have animals to contend with!


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[scrooks]

I havent throughly read all the replies but we have one of the small pnps (the travel light maybe?) and we used it as a bassinet for dd in our room but she hated it. And we used it for travel purposes for her as well but it didn't last very long (she was done with it by 5 months). I never even pulled it out of storage for the boys....

We also had a pnp with changer for her which we used a lot but after ds1 was born I just bought a small changing table for our dining room and it works great. We have 2 pnps for travel and they are great for that purpose but when my babies are small they like to sleep or rest in the swing or bouncy seat downstairs....we aren't pnp users. Our dog has never bothered our kids in the swing or bouncy but she is small. Eta for ds2 we used a rock'n'play as his bassinet and that is something that would be very easy to move around the house and would keep your baby up from any dogs potentially...

[zukeypur]

I had this Chicco. http://www.amazon.com/Chicco-Lullaby-LX-Playard-Adventure/dp/B0081BHWBK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401200877&sr=8-1&keywords=chicco+pack+and+play

I absolutely loved it. We mostly used it for the changing table, in the main living area. The changing table can be flipped up on top of the PNP for diaper changing, and then flipped back down when you're finished IIRC.

[twowhat?]

I was kinda hoping that having a changer on the PNP would save my back by allowing me to not change the baby on the floor (and avoid bending down to the floor when traveling, like you do on the travel cribs). Would it be awkwardly low to change a baby in the bassinet of the basic Graco? It seems like it might be too low...?

The only other surface we have downstairs is the table we eat on, which just seems kinda gross to me to use that for changing, and the floor (which hurts my back). We really don't have the space for a separate changing table, and I wouldn't want to turn my back on the dogs with a swing (nor do we have space for one)...my thought with the PNP was that it would be safer for baby than being out in the open (like in a swing or bouncer) with the dogs if I have to walk away for a few minutes. Unfortunately our family is all over the country, so we'll need to bring something for baby to sleep in when we travel, since it's never to the same place. Lol, this is hard!!

Do you have a bathroom counter or dresser or something where you can just put a changing pad? We also often changed our babies on our bed:) We just put a big waterproof pad underneath. Even a couch or ottoman - you can throw down a waterproof pad anywhere.

And FWIW our dogs were never ever interested in "helping" with diapers, LOL!

For travel I think a lot of folks like the PeaPod since it's lightweight and easy to travel with (But there might be a recall on this somewhere so check), and also the Bjorn travel crib, I think. The P&Ps are nice and sturdy but yeah, they're kind of heavy.

[Simon]

I know I'm a little late, but for changing, we put an extra dresser with a changing pad on top downstairs. I had to bend so far over the PnP that it wasn't at all comfortable for me, and I'm not even super tall. The bonus was the dresser could store the baby stuff out of sight. For those "need to put down" moments we used a swing for the first 6-8 months and later a jumperoo because our kids were more comfortable not just laying flat right from the start.

[JBaxter]

PNP's have been around a long time I had a "happy camper" model for my oldest who is 22. my last 2 DSs I had the PNP with a changing table but i rarely used it. I kept a basket ( diapers wipes triple paste) beside the sofa and used the sofa for 90% of the diaper changes down stairs Ours became a toy bin very fast all 4 hated them Like Simon we used the floor swing or jumperoo type thing when they needed down. I seriously could have skipped it other than traveling with all 4 boys. I'd go for a cheep model or yard sale for one.

[vonfirmath]

My sister used to change my nephews on her bed with a towel underneath.

[HannaAddict]

We used a blanket on the couch and didn't use the changer that came in the pnp changer at all. Just sat next to baby and had a towel or blanket.

[YouAreTheFocus]

IME I wouldn't count on the changer that comes with the PNP. DH & I are both average height, and we shot our backs using that changer for the first few months. It's really not the appropriate height at all (you need something taller). We still have that PNP from our first, but plan to put a dresser or something in the LR for changing this time around.

[candaceb]

We used the top of the dryer for a first floor changing station. I got a changing pad and put a piece of non slip padding under it.

[twowhat?]

We used the top of the dryer for a first floor changing station. I got a changing pad and put a piece of non slip padding under it.

This is a great idea! That's a surface I hadn't thought of!

[flashy09]

I have the Graco "cuddle cove" PNP. It has a changing table that I think is pretty sturdy. I even used it for my 30 lb 2 yr old unit she was potty trained! It's great for my 17 lb 7 month old right now.