Monday, January 14, 2008

Major Purchases: Playard

As with my last post we have started purchaing items for our first child. Yesterday we purchased two items. One was the stroller I previously talked about and the other was a Living Room Playard. We spent more that we probably should have, as we talked to a salesperson at a store and she indicated that there was a cheap one on sale at a Baby Days Sale this coming weekend. I never even knew there was such a thing as Baby Days, but it seems like every store is having one the coming weekend! She told us that some babies even sleep in this until they are two years old and not to be fooled by all of the bells and whistles on expensive systems. Anyways, we purchased a maching playard to our stroller and car seat combo that was three times the price of the cheap one she told us about. Are we suckers for buying the bells and whistles and trying to match items? Guilty. Anyways, we purchased the Graco Pack 'n Play® Playard, it sure looks good.

Here is some information that I found on this product (found at Albee Baby):

Product Features and Benefits:
  • Silhouette style frame blends flowing lines, ideal proportions and purposeful details to define quality and comfort.
  • Posture plus changing table fits your life with uniquely convenient height and functionality.
  • Cozy oval bassinet embraces your baby with Graco signature quilting.
  • Baby basics organizer blends practical baby care with style and flair offering diaper stacker, refillable wipes container, and storage compartments.
  • Deluxe electronic mobile entertains and soothes with:
    • 2 speed mattress mounted vibration
    • 5 classical songs + 5 soothing nature sounds
    • LED lights "dance" to the music
    • Check light shines on baby's sleep area
    • Timer settings of 5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes
    • Full slumber dome canopy shades bassinet with a calm charming influence
    • Squeeze latch adds graceful detailing to natural folding motion
    • Accented with elliptical aluminum legs
    • Wheels for better mobility in the home

Recommended Use:
For use by children unable to climb out, less than 35" tall.Changing Station for use by children less than 25 lbs.; Bassinet for use by children less than 15 lbs.

Care and Maintenance:If unit gets sandy, carefully remove sand from all surfaces before packing into bag. Sand may damage top rail lock. Clean with household soap and warm water. Drip dry. NO BLEACH. Machine wash carry bag in lukewarm water.

Was it worth the cost? What are your experiences with Playards?

7 comments:

Rob Monroe said...

We had our daughter in her pack and play for a few months. We chose to have her sleep in our room, and it was small enough to fit in there.

(Warning: cribs, when you get one, are designed to NOT fit through a doorway, so don't try to assemble in your living room and move it to the baby's room! My brother-in-law found that out the hard way)

I'm starting to profile the things that we have bought/gotten/used on my blog. It's really good to talk to folks at the store, but also ask around at work/church/when you see other parents.

Anonymous said...

I recently ran into some friends at the supermart, they told me some great advice:

a) Do NOT buy the comforter set----the bumpers are unsafe and could suffocate/strangle a baby
b) Look for an organic mattress as the regular mattresses have evidence of causing SIDS--just look up the research done in New Zealand---apparently when the gases from the fire retardant chemicals that are put in the mattresses mix with fungis--which tends to grow in the mattress, it causes very toxic fumes which can lead to suffocation or death

Rob Monroe said...

Re: Bumper - they make breathable ones, which we have, but have found it useless. Save the money.

Re: Mattresses - we found out that it's much more important to get a firm mattress than organic. If you can get both, do it! The less "give" a mattress has, the less the baby sinks, therefore less chance of suffocation.

(Glad to see concened wife commenting!!)

Sarah said...

Play yards are great. That one looks really cool. I love the bassinet feature. I used mine until my son was about 1, then he started climbing out but it was great until then.

Our New Baby said...

We are still looking into the mattress, I am hoping to post on what I have been reading about this week. This is the first time I heard about a hard mattress thank you for the advice.

Steph Garvey said...

A friend of mine chose to get a regular mattress and wrap it once, tightly in organic cotton material and then put the sheet over it. A little less expensive than the organic mattresses!

Play yards are a mother's savior! I don't have anything that I would recommend more (other than clothes and pacifiers! *wink*)

I have often found that you can get a lot of practically new items on Craigslist.org for baby with only half the price.

Congrats on your baby! Yay for kiddos.

Our New Baby said...

Thank you for your comments Steph.

I have read online that wrapping the mattress in an organic cotton material and then putting a sheet on it will work. I think that is what we will be doing.

We are also on the clothes and pacifiers. I have never been on Craigslist before. I will check it out. What have you purchased there?

Google Search

Google

Technorati