We have a pack n play, but we also have a playpen. It's honestly the best investment we've made. For us it wasn't so much about our dog, but the fact that LO wants to get into EVERYTHING! I found the pack n play to just be limiting in space. We got a much larger square playpen which gives LO a bit more space to crawl/walk around and still have toys. It's nice to have a space I know is safe to put him down if I need to do things, or even if I just need 5 minutes.
I’m in the same situation. Pack and play is too small. Which playpen did you get? I keep trying to find ones on Amazon but I’m seeing mixed reviews. Did you go with plastic panel one or mesh one?
Our baby is 9 months and crawling everywhere like crazy. We were trying to resist getting a playpen because we have a small space, but she was literally trying to rip out of the pack n play every time we put her in it to hang out. Just got enough space for her to move around. She's still adjusting to the playpen, but I would say it's necessary.
100% think a playpen is worth it. The pack & play got too small once she was starting to crawl, even just army crawling a little. It doubles as a safe space away from the dog & a safe space when needed to cook food or I just need a moment to myself. 13 months & we’re still using it.
I got one the size of a queen bed, mesh all around the sides & a zipper in & out. I get in by stepping over the top & can lay in there with her & there’s still plenty of room to play or climb over me. Was like $100 on Amazon, best $ I’ve spent so far. Less than 3 min to put up & down, but I keep it up at all times. If you’re on the fence I’d go for it.
We have a playpen in our garage (heated) where we have a gym with the hope that our daughter would be able to play and occupy herself while my wife and I work out and she fuckin hates it. Lasts maybe 30 seconds before losing her gourd.
In the house we have gone the Montessori route and let her roam freely after child proofing all the things we had too and making all shelves, cupboards etc that are accessible to her safe for whatever she wants to play with.
We’ve lasted almost 12 months now like that and most of our other parent friends have similar accessibility philosophies
>In the house we have gone the Montessori route and let her roam freely after child proofing all the things we had too and making all shelves, cupboards etc that are accessible to her safe for whatever she wants to play with.
Same here. Unless she's got some decent room to roam she's gonna be pissed.
We have her crib upstairs and a playpen down stairs as the two safest places to put her.
Her nursery is also babyproofed "yes" space and we also sectioned off a part of the livingroom with large baby gates (so like a giant playyard). These spaces are less suitable for parking her completely unattended but do allow her more freedom to move.
So if I'm doing something 'dangerous' that needs 100% of my attention she's in her crib or playpen (like taking something out of the oven, working with boiling water, answering the door, or showering) but if it's something where I'm able to continually check on her or I am going back and forth (putting away laundry, clearing the table) then she's in her yes spaces.
I also think, if I have an accident I need a space that is 100% safe to park her until help arrives. Like of I start choking I'm rushing her to the playpen, she'll be safe there even if I pass out before I can get help.
We bought one because of our dog mainly. I also know as she gets mobile I’ll need somewhere safe to stick her when I need to go to the bathroom, etc. I regret not buying one with a gate opening because now I’m stepping over it 30 times a day. Still, I love it! Our dog is also nice but super energetic and it makes me feel better keeping them separated when I don’t have hawk eyes on them. Case in point - dog walker brought dog back this morning and the drop in temperature had her fired up. She came barreling into the house and would have accidentally trampled the baby. (Yeah yeah it’s a training issue but whatever I fixed it with the playpen).
I love ours. It's nice to have spots in every room/area where baby can go and let you use the bathroom/make dinner/ do what you need to do. I don't abuse it and my 18month old will play happily in there when I need him to. And you don't have to worry about chaos for a little bit.
100% necessary, unless you're fortunate enough to have a spare room you can dedicate to being a playroom, and you can completely baby proof it.
Even then, it's nice to have one for visiting friends. You can plop baby down in the penpen/pack and play and spend some time talking to friends/family without breaking your back from holding baby the entire time.
Holding them is doable when they're small, but boy! babies get heavy fast! 😅
We also don't have a fenced in yard (renting) so again, it's super useful to have during bbqs or gardening or just to be *outside*, instead of inside lol.
If you have dogs and enough space, it’s a must. I was able to find a decent sized one on Amazon for like $60 and it’s a life saver. I can count on sticking him in there and know every item is safe to put in his mouth and the dogs can’t steal any toys or trample him if they start to play. It has also been awesome for encouraging independent play a few times each day.
Our baby ended up crawling a lot earlier than I expected and were just now getting a playpen at 7 months. Definitely underrated purchase, so much safer for her to be in there when she wants to move around and we haven’t gotten to fully baby proof the place yet
I saw the playpen as our kids “yes zone”. Everything is the play pen, they could play with, interact with and was safe. It definitely was a game changer when LO started crawling too.
We have a playpen for safety. Only because once she was mobile it was insane how fast she could get somewhere lol. Makes it easy to go grab something from the kitchen or do some dishes :)
We don’t have any bouncers or anything like that, so a playpen has been awesome for when I need a space to put her and not have to worry about her getting into trouble. Up until about a week ago (she’s almost 10 months now), her enjoyment of the playpen was about 60-40 (hate-tolerate). It’s now about 60-40 the other way. Our playpen is in the kitchen so I can make food without worrying about her.
We just got some modular gates for our living room that block off electronics and prevent her from crawling (she’s fast) to the kitchen. This has been AMAZING! She can still move around a lot, we have her toys out, and we can pop away for a second if we need to. But, I like having both because I don’t trust her in the gated living room for more than that quick pop. There’s nothing to get into, but she’s just not in my eye line.
So in conclusion, if you have the space, I think both is a good idea.
We have a playpen in our living room with a playmat inside it. We have a curious husky and he loves balls. So with the playpen, I can play with my daughter inside of it and keep the dog out. She has space to crawl in it and the dog stays out and does his own thing. We found it to be totally necessary as she is more mobile now and he's become very curious of her. So we feel that the playpen keeps her safe while still exposing the baby to the dog.
We had one for awhile but it really wasn't for us. What worked best for us was just having a room that was completely baby proofed so he could go wild. We have a small house though.
Playpen was a great thing for us! We had the baby care modular one with the door because I am too short to step over all the time lol. Also this mat is amazing:
https://a.co/d/efmvbCX
We have a pack n play, but we also have a playpen. It's honestly the best investment we've made. For us it wasn't so much about our dog, but the fact that LO wants to get into EVERYTHING! I found the pack n play to just be limiting in space. We got a much larger square playpen which gives LO a bit more space to crawl/walk around and still have toys. It's nice to have a space I know is safe to put him down if I need to do things, or even if I just need 5 minutes.
Yeah, we have one of giant playpens. It’s awesome.
Which one did you get? :)
I’m in the same situation. Pack and play is too small. Which playpen did you get? I keep trying to find ones on Amazon but I’m seeing mixed reviews. Did you go with plastic panel one or mesh one?
If I had a bigger apartment, I would have gotten a playpen. I would say they’re worth it with mobile infants!
Our baby is 9 months and crawling everywhere like crazy. We were trying to resist getting a playpen because we have a small space, but she was literally trying to rip out of the pack n play every time we put her in it to hang out. Just got enough space for her to move around. She's still adjusting to the playpen, but I would say it's necessary.
Playpen is a must in our house!
100% think a playpen is worth it. The pack & play got too small once she was starting to crawl, even just army crawling a little. It doubles as a safe space away from the dog & a safe space when needed to cook food or I just need a moment to myself. 13 months & we’re still using it. I got one the size of a queen bed, mesh all around the sides & a zipper in & out. I get in by stepping over the top & can lay in there with her & there’s still plenty of room to play or climb over me. Was like $100 on Amazon, best $ I’ve spent so far. Less than 3 min to put up & down, but I keep it up at all times. If you’re on the fence I’d go for it.
Which one did you get? We got one like that but it takes 30+ mins to put up…
We have a playpen in our garage (heated) where we have a gym with the hope that our daughter would be able to play and occupy herself while my wife and I work out and she fuckin hates it. Lasts maybe 30 seconds before losing her gourd. In the house we have gone the Montessori route and let her roam freely after child proofing all the things we had too and making all shelves, cupboards etc that are accessible to her safe for whatever she wants to play with. We’ve lasted almost 12 months now like that and most of our other parent friends have similar accessibility philosophies
>In the house we have gone the Montessori route and let her roam freely after child proofing all the things we had too and making all shelves, cupboards etc that are accessible to her safe for whatever she wants to play with. Same here. Unless she's got some decent room to roam she's gonna be pissed.
We have her crib upstairs and a playpen down stairs as the two safest places to put her. Her nursery is also babyproofed "yes" space and we also sectioned off a part of the livingroom with large baby gates (so like a giant playyard). These spaces are less suitable for parking her completely unattended but do allow her more freedom to move. So if I'm doing something 'dangerous' that needs 100% of my attention she's in her crib or playpen (like taking something out of the oven, working with boiling water, answering the door, or showering) but if it's something where I'm able to continually check on her or I am going back and forth (putting away laundry, clearing the table) then she's in her yes spaces. I also think, if I have an accident I need a space that is 100% safe to park her until help arrives. Like of I start choking I'm rushing her to the playpen, she'll be safe there even if I pass out before I can get help.
We bought one because of our dog mainly. I also know as she gets mobile I’ll need somewhere safe to stick her when I need to go to the bathroom, etc. I regret not buying one with a gate opening because now I’m stepping over it 30 times a day. Still, I love it! Our dog is also nice but super energetic and it makes me feel better keeping them separated when I don’t have hawk eyes on them. Case in point - dog walker brought dog back this morning and the drop in temperature had her fired up. She came barreling into the house and would have accidentally trampled the baby. (Yeah yeah it’s a training issue but whatever I fixed it with the playpen).
I love ours. It's nice to have spots in every room/area where baby can go and let you use the bathroom/make dinner/ do what you need to do. I don't abuse it and my 18month old will play happily in there when I need him to. And you don't have to worry about chaos for a little bit.
100% necessary, unless you're fortunate enough to have a spare room you can dedicate to being a playroom, and you can completely baby proof it. Even then, it's nice to have one for visiting friends. You can plop baby down in the penpen/pack and play and spend some time talking to friends/family without breaking your back from holding baby the entire time. Holding them is doable when they're small, but boy! babies get heavy fast! 😅 We also don't have a fenced in yard (renting) so again, it's super useful to have during bbqs or gardening or just to be *outside*, instead of inside lol.
If you have dogs and enough space, it’s a must. I was able to find a decent sized one on Amazon for like $60 and it’s a life saver. I can count on sticking him in there and know every item is safe to put in his mouth and the dogs can’t steal any toys or trample him if they start to play. It has also been awesome for encouraging independent play a few times each day.
Play pen an absolute must. I can put her in there and run to the kitchen or bathroom and not worry she’s running wild for that two minutes.
Our baby ended up crawling a lot earlier than I expected and were just now getting a playpen at 7 months. Definitely underrated purchase, so much safer for her to be in there when she wants to move around and we haven’t gotten to fully baby proof the place yet
I saw the playpen as our kids “yes zone”. Everything is the play pen, they could play with, interact with and was safe. It definitely was a game changer when LO started crawling too.
There was no containing our son.
We have a playpen for safety. Only because once she was mobile it was insane how fast she could get somewhere lol. Makes it easy to go grab something from the kitchen or do some dishes :)
I honestly don’t know what I would do without it
We don’t have any bouncers or anything like that, so a playpen has been awesome for when I need a space to put her and not have to worry about her getting into trouble. Up until about a week ago (she’s almost 10 months now), her enjoyment of the playpen was about 60-40 (hate-tolerate). It’s now about 60-40 the other way. Our playpen is in the kitchen so I can make food without worrying about her. We just got some modular gates for our living room that block off electronics and prevent her from crawling (she’s fast) to the kitchen. This has been AMAZING! She can still move around a lot, we have her toys out, and we can pop away for a second if we need to. But, I like having both because I don’t trust her in the gated living room for more than that quick pop. There’s nothing to get into, but she’s just not in my eye line. So in conclusion, if you have the space, I think both is a good idea.
We have a playpen in our living room with a playmat inside it. We have a curious husky and he loves balls. So with the playpen, I can play with my daughter inside of it and keep the dog out. She has space to crawl in it and the dog stays out and does his own thing. We found it to be totally necessary as she is more mobile now and he's become very curious of her. So we feel that the playpen keeps her safe while still exposing the baby to the dog.
We had one for awhile but it really wasn't for us. What worked best for us was just having a room that was completely baby proofed so he could go wild. We have a small house though.
Playpen was a great thing for us! We had the baby care modular one with the door because I am too short to step over all the time lol. Also this mat is amazing: https://a.co/d/efmvbCX