Is a Pack and Play necessary?

[Anonymous]

Just wondering... we're working on our registery and we were unsure if we'd need this.

[Anonymous]

I found that it is one of those items you can do without, but it is also nice to have around. We use it to safely hold our 8 month old when we need to do laundry or cook dinner. We tried using the jumperoo for this, but she would get bored after a few minutes. With the pack and play, we have several toys and books to keep her busy.

[Anonymous]

No. Unless your house is so big that you really want a second place for the baby to sleep (i.e. rec room etc), its probably not necessary. And, its is really not all that packable.... if you want something portable to bring on vacation to friends houses, etc. try the Phil and Teds T2. We have both, and if we'd known about the T2 we'd have skipped the pack-n-play.

[Anonymous]

We used ours every single day for four months. I didn't plan on being "that mom", but I honestly couldn't stand the idea of having my teeny newborn in another room. So she slept in our room, half with us, and half in her pack-and-play (with the bassinet insert thing).

If you'll have a co-sleeper, or a bassinet, or some other small place for the newborn, you won't need the PnP for the reason I needed it. Of course, now that the baby is sleeping in her regular crib, I plan on moving the PnP downstairs, so I have a place to contain her when she starts to crawl.

Though packing it up to go somewhere takes some time and concentration-- it's not something you'd want to do on a daily basis-- we find that it's nice and self-contained and very easy to take to grandma's house. It can go easily as checked luggage, and come out with no damage, thanks to the design.

[Anonymous]

Very few baby items are "necessary." We live in a 2 floor townhouse. We have used ours everyday on the downstairs level.

[Anonymous]

never had one for either child.

[Anonymous]

We've used it when we travel - more reliable than beach houses/hotels that say they have cribs.

[Anonymous]

Like PP we use our for travel and really only for travel. Most hotels/motels have portable cribs though so in those cases (when we're flying) we just pack our own sheets and some anti-bacterial wipes.

[Anonymous]

Nice for a two story home and nice for travle- also nice when they are mobile to use while you are in the bathroom, or need two hands for something. You know they are safe.

[Anonymous]

i never used mine at home (except when friends came with their kids and we needed a place for their kids to sleep) but did take it with me when we travelled to friends houses. i didn't take it to hotels that i flew to, though. many hotels have these already so i just brought sheets in those cases.

[Anonymous]

Never used one at home. DS was happy to sleep in his near-group level swing. Bought one and gave it to my mother to keep at her house for our visits. My mother-in-law bought one as well to keep at her house for visits/babysitting.

[Anonymous]

Oops! That should have read "ground" level.

[Anonymous]

Depends what else you get. We used ours A LOT - in our bedroom as a bassinet/changing table for the 1st 4 months; then in living room as a playpen until DS could walk and refused to stay in; then as a place for him to sleep while on vacation; and we also pull it out when friends come over with little ones and want to put them down to sleep while we eat dinner. If we have #2, it will get even more use!

[Anonymous]

In my opinion, yes.
Our son never really slept in his when he was young, but it was nice to have a place to be able to contain him when it needed it now and then. More importantly, as others have mentioned - I don't know what we'd do w/o it for travel. We've used it a ton in that regard (they are extremely easy to check as luggage for plane rides). It's incredibly useful for anywhere you go where your baby will need to be sleeping outside your home. We even use it locally - we have some good friends who invite us over for dinner a lot. We just throw the pack n' play in the car and put him down upstairs when it's his bedtime and then have the rest of the evening free to enjoy wine and dinner with friends. It's great.

[Anonymous]

I have to say I LOVE MY PACK AND PLAY. We did not touch the thing until DS was crawling. I am not sure how I would manage now without it. He doesn't sleep in it or really play in it either... I use it as a "cage" when I need to pee, unload the car quickly, run down to get laundry. He goes in it for less then ten minutes at a time but he is safe and that is what is important. I can get something done and know he isn't getting into trouble... I hope.