Pak n play for newborn

[Anonymous]

Rather than buy a bassinet or a co-sleeper that attaches to the bed, is it "acceptable" for a newborn to sleep in a pak-n-play? My son used it from abou the 8-12 week timeframe while we were traveling and was fine, but is it ok for a newborn? Seems pretty safe as far as the mesh sides, it's clearly sturdy (as he even used it when he got a little bigger)...how about the thin "mattress" that seems pretty hard. Is that uncomfortable for a newborn? Just wanting to avoid extra "stuff" this time around if possible. Thoughts?
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[Anonymous]

We did it for a week before transitioning DS to his crib and he was just fine. Some of the newer pack and plays have built in bassinets in them...

[Anonymous]

We co-slept/used the bassinet feature on the pack and play with DD for the first 3 months of her life. No problems and we both felt better having her near us and in our room while we slept, and like you didn't want to buy a ton of stuff. Although we planned on doing the co-sleeping or rooming in thing for much longer, we have found that DD is now sleeping better being in her own room. Because we didn't think she'd be in her own room for the first ~12 months or so of her life, we didnt order a crib right away -- well, turns out the one we ordered is on backorder and we are still using the PNP at 6 months, even though she's been out of our room for 5 weeks. We didn't plan on using it quite this long, but it's been great and I've never felt like it was unsafe or uncomfortable for her. Yes, the 'mattress' is a bit thin, but I think a softer mattress would be more dangerous for a newborn that a harder one. Personally, I didn't see the necessity in buying a co-sleeper like the Arm's Reach one when the PNP w/ the bassinet is essentially the same idea and it is more versatile.

[Anonymous]

Why not? It's basically the same thing as the co-sleeper especially if it has the bassinet feature where you can raise the bottom up.

[Anonymous]

We did it for our firstborn, when we had major space issues. The bassinet portion of the PnP worked just fine for the newborn.

[Anonymous]

Yup- our pack-n-play was where DS slept until he was 6 months old (he was just at the 15 pound weight limit for the bassinet setting at 6 months). It worked great for us!

[Anonymous]

Do those of you who have used the pack n play miss not being able to rock your baby like you can with a traditional cradle?

[Anonymous]

Wait, is the OP asking if the P n P is in lieu of a crib? Until a certain age...or just in the first week or so?

And does the OP mean the actual P n P or the bassinet thing that comes with it?

I would hesitate only because I thought a good sturdy crib mattress would be a better choice than a semi-padded P n P.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I'm asking about usinga P-n-P for the first 2-3 months, until we move the kiddo into his/her crib in his/her room. The P-n-P would be next to our bed. It doesn't have a bassinet feature, so the kid would be on the oh-so -comfortable but firm "mattress" that it came with. My first son slept in it from 8-12 weeks, while we were traveling, and he was fine, just curious about a newborn, though they don't really move much and will be swaddled so that that should be sufficient "padding" I would think.

[Anonymous]

OP, did you check with your pediatrician?

I didn't ask that question, but I did ask my pediatrician about using a car seat instead of bassinet as a newborn stroller and she definitely had some thoughts about the support/position for a newborn.

[Anonymous]

I think it is fine. My DS slept in the pak in play for the first 4 months even when we had a crib.

[Anonymous]

Not to ask a dumb question, but I am trying to figure out why OP wants to be her newborn in the P n P if eventually the baby will go into the crib.

Why bother with the extra step and the potential "drama" for a transition later on when it's time to move baby from P n P to crib? Why not just put baby in crib from the very beginning and save yourself the extra trouble?

Is it a space issue? I didn't really think that P n P were that much smaller (or cribs that much bigger) than cribs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why bother with the extra step and the potential "drama" for a transition later on when it's time to move baby from P n P to crib? Why not just put baby in crib from the very beginning and save yourself the extra trouble?

Many people like to have their babies sleep with them in their room, especially during the first few months. Usually once cribs are assembled they are too bulky to fit through doors, set up in another room, etc. And yes, most cribs are much larger than pack and plays.