NCDR free standing playyard

[DGM]

We have wood floors in our main living area, and my mom gave L a big foam mat that I've been putting her activity mat on. Now that she's turning/soon to be rolling, I think I want a free standing playyard, but we already have a pack n play with bassinet set up in the same room. Would the playyard be overkill or will I appreciate the bigger contained space? We have a BRU giftcard so the playyard would be free. TIA.

[Stringy]

we used the pack n play as a play yard for like a month. I actually didn't know there was a difference for a long time. My brother was all about containing his LO in a play yard when she got mobile - to the point I was a little concerned about it. Now, a month or two later - She gets PISSED if she's in there so they only use it for quick things like showering or something. And she's still under a year old. Just an anecdote that its not really a long term investment.

[SAK]

I have never had a play yard for any of my older kids, but that's actually what I asked my mom to get for F's Christmas gift. I have intentions of using it in the basement over the winter if he gets mobile enough over the winter since it is NOT baby proof but we play down there a lot with the bigger kids. Really I want it more for the summer though when we are all outside playing together and I need to help the older kids with stuff or take care of the animals or something. Like stringy said, I wouldn't plan to use it for long periods of time because , in my experience, kids don't like to be penned up. I definitely see times it could be handy though.

[ellebeedub]

I had one with G1, and it just didn't really work for us. Ours wasn't sturdy enough on a hard floor, so he could move the whole thing really easily. I guess I liked the theory more than the practice. I know they're great for some situations, though.

[DGM]

Thanks Stringy. What your brother is going through is my exact concern. The pack n play just seems so small to keep her in, but I'll admit I haven't seen the playyard IRL to see if it's much bigger. I just found this portable one which seems more practical than the hard sided gated playyard though. Hmm...

m.toysrus.com/skava/static/product.html?type=TRU_product_us&url=%2Fproduct%2Findex.jsp%3FproductId%3D38350336%26cp%3D2255956.2273442.2850038.23088636.18816716%26parentPage%3Dfamily&domain=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.toysrus.com


ETA thanks SAK & LBW too. I'm so freaked out about her becoming mobile but my FTM thinking she'll be content penned up obviously isn't the best solution LOL.

[ellebeedub]

Don't worry she'll learn soon enough what she can and can't play with. She'll cry if she gets stuck under a chair. You'll probably find out you didn't babyproof quite as well as you thought... It'll be fun!

[sasq09]

In my experience it doesn't matter how big or small the space is, if L feels contained, she is mad. I still use the pack n play for short stints but i have to give her just the right toy and then leave the room and not come back until I am ready to get her up. She refuses to be contained if I am in the room. This, combined with our large, difficult to baby proof living room makes getting things done very difficult with a one year old who can run and climb lol

[DGM]

Jan 26, 2015 8:34:02 GMT -5 ellebeedub said:

Don't worry she'll learn soon enough what she can and can't play with. She'll cry if she gets stuck under a chair. You'll probably find out you didn't babyproof quite as well as you thought... It'll be fun!

Thanks but how did this stage get here so quickly?! Ack!

[Stringy]

Yea, what I told my brother was, essentially just starting baby proofing cuz pretty soon she's gonna rule the whole house no matter what. I think he wasn't ready to essentially redecorate and take away fragile things. Him visiting at xmas helped to see how our house is no longer anything but toddler toys, and she can go anywhere and we don't worry. Now I shower and don't even bother doing anything different.

ETA: but, SAK's point about outside is a good one if you think you'd use it for that.

[DGM]

Jan 26, 2015 8:38:25 GMT -5 sasq09 said:

In my experience it doesn't matter how big or small the space is, if L feels contained, she is mad. I still use the pack n play for short stints but i have to give her just the right toy and then leave the room and not come back until I am ready to get her up. She refuses to be contained if I am in the room. This, combined with our large, difficult to baby proof living room makes getting things done very difficult with a one year old who can run and climb lol

Thanks. I already have enough trouble getting things done because I just want to snuggle her, but she's moving past that stage now It sounds like the pack n play is what most moms prefer over the playyard but in reality, baby will want out of both when I need her in there LOL.

[brandiewine11]

We have one of those big play yards that is lots of gates put together that you can put in many shapes. We have one blocking the area where our pellet stove is (HOT!) and another set up as a baby safe zone. It's filled with toys and works well for us right now. I only use when I need to take the dog out, answer the door, make coffee, etc.

It's set up on carpet, but we have a huge set of foam mat flooring blocks under it. If you use that it would keep it stable on the hardwood floor.

It's pretty large, so at least for now he doesn't feel too penned in and likes playing in it.

[chickypoo2468]

We have one of those 6 sided gates. They usually get mad about it, but if an older kid gets in there too then it's ok for a bit. I think it's great for when you have to do something and need them contained, and they're pretty roomy compared to a pack n play

[DGM]

brandiewine11, that's the same foam mat we have! So you and chickypoo2468 are for the playyard.

I'm so torn now :/

[brandiewine11]

Well, my house is not open concept or anything so it's a necessity here. I also have a very large dog. She's awesome and really doesn't care what anyone does, but R likes to pull her hair now and she's old - I don't want him climbing on her and messing with her. So I need to keep him somewhere where he can't get to her when I'm out of the room.

One thing that helps, is that the toys in the play yard mostly stay there - that way they are "new" when he's in there since its only for a few minutes a day.

[TJ]

I've never had one, and it seems really weird to me.

[rockiesnugget]

Our house has an open concept to it and when we were trying to figure out a way to contain LO, we looked into these. We ended up deciding against it due to knowing that LO would hate the small space and the stability. I really needed a space that LO could freely play that I could still monitor as I was getting dinner ready and keep him separated from the animals, especially since it is just LO and I most nights. We ended up blocking off half of our living room with furniture and baby gates. It is a semi-ghetto setup but it works. It is a very large space and LO still gets pissed that he is contained...

[MapleMe]

I wish that a play yard were a solution for my bakery. There is no way my bakery will be remotely babyproof (shelves full of knives and 500lb stacks of oats anyone?). Right now I can wear M in the bakery or put her in the pack n play with toys for short periods of time, but I can already see those opportunities diminishing.

[clldll]

Yeah we had a big playpen for D. He hated it. We rarely used it. With G we got a gate similar to Brandiewine's for use outdoors/camping. We don't use it inside at all. We just baby-proofed everything. That's worked well for us.

[DGM]

Thanks everyone. I have the stair baby gate in my BRU cart and am going to skip the playyard for now. She's not even rolling yet and we may be in a different house when she's crawling so I'm not sure why I felt the need for it.right.now.

[mimsy]

Jan 26, 2015 8:25:35 GMT -5 DGM said:

Thanks Stringy. What your brother is going through is my exact concern. The pack n play just seems so small to keep her in, but I'll admit I haven't seen the playyard IRL to see if it's much bigger. I just found this portable one which seems more practical than the hard sided gated playyard though. Hmm...

m.toysrus.com/skava/static/product.html?type=TRU_product_us&url=%2Fproduct%2Findex.jsp%3FproductId%3D38350336%26cp%3D2255956.2273442.2850038.23088636.18816716%26parentPage%3Dfamily&domain=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.toysrus.com


ETA thanks SAK & LBW too. I'm so freaked out about her becoming mobile but my FTM thinking she'll be content penned up obviously isn't the best solution LOL.

We got this for Xmas from a well intending great gram. I have every intention of using it but it takes up a good bit if real estate in my living room. I think she meant it more for outdoor use, but I'll set it up and see how The Sageling likes it when she's moving just a little more than she is now.

[DGM]

Jan 26, 2015 10:37:04 GMT -5 mimsy said:

Jan 26, 2015 8:25:35 GMT -5 DGM said:

Thanks Stringy. What your brother is going through is my exact concern. The pack n play just seems so small to keep her in, but I'll admit I haven't seen the playyard IRL to see if it's much bigger. I just found this portable one which seems more practical than the hard sided gated playyard though. Hmm...

m.toysrus.com/skava/static/product.html?type=TRU_product_us&url=%2Fproduct%2Findex.jsp%3FproductId%3D38350336%26cp%3D2255956.2273442.2850038.23088636.18816716%26parentPage%3Dfamily&domain=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.toysrus.com


ETA thanks SAK & LBW too. I'm so freaked out about her becoming mobile but my FTM thinking she'll be content penned up obviously isn't the best solution LOL.

We got this for Xmas from a well intending great gram. I have every intention of using it but it takes up a good bit if real estate in my living room. I think she meant it more for outdoor use, but I'll set it up and see how The Sageling likes it when she's moving just a little more than she is now.

LMK how this portable one works for outside if/when the time comes!

[mimsy]

Will do.

[nanaosaki06]

We had the Joovy Room 2 for Cade once he outgrew his swing. With Rosie we had the whole play area caged off using multiple playyard kits.

[flumma]

Jan 26, 2015 9:36:40 GMT -5 MapleMe said:

I wish that a play yard were a solution for my bakery. There is no way my bakery will be remotely babyproof (shelves full of knives and 500lb stacks of oats anyone?). Right now I can wear M in the bakery or put her in the pack n play with toys for short periods of time, but I can already see those opportunities diminishing.

I think the only time V liked playing in his pack n play was when he started cruising. I would clip some toys on the sides, and he would hold on to the sides and walk around as happy as could be. Now, he loves standing at the counter"helping" me. Would something like a learning tower help when she's able to stand? You would only have to keep a small area safe for her at a time them. 

ETA: damn autocorrect

[unaveragejane]

We have a portable play yard fence gate thingie. When N first got mobile enough to reach the switches on DH's AV equipment, I used it to create a semicircular at area in front of the sofa to keep him away from the gear. As long as we were inside it with him, he was cool with it. It was also handy when we needed a temporary gate across a wide doorway when we had work done on the kitchen. Since it sounds like you aren't in immediate need of it, keep an eye out for one on Craigslist or at consignment sales.

[grumpycakes]

I'll be the lone dissenter and say that our play yard worked great for us for a long time. We had an extension for it so it was eight panels instead of six and it was pretty roomy. DS would play in it all the time. We kept different toys in there and would switch them out to keep it interesting. He started getting frustrated with it probably around the time he started walking, but he was a late walker so we really got a lot of use out it.