Mamas of mobile babies...

908 Views 27 Replies 26 Participants Last post by khrys, Mar 16, 2007

amnda527

Discussion Starter · Mar 13, 2007

So I'm not a fan of those pack and play things. They seem so big and clunky and our house is quite small. I really don't even know where I would stick it. I also don't like them because to me, they look like cages, and I really don't think I would like my child in one! But anyways, my mom got me thinking about getting one, bc where else would I set baby down once she becomes too big (and mobile) for a bouncer or swing? I plan on being a SAHM, so there will be plenty of time spent alone with baby, and if I need to go to the bathroom for 2 minutes, where will I put her?? I will get the pack and play if it is my only option, but at the moment it seems like that IS my only option. So mamas, if you don't have one of these, and your baby has outgrown the swing/bouncer, where do put your lo if you need to have your hands free for a moment?

1 - 20 of 28 Posts

WhaleinGaloshes

· #2 · Mar 13, 2007

We didn't have a pack n play or even a crib for that matter, so I can say with confidence that you won't *need* one. You may decide that you'd like one, but it is not the only solution and probably not something you need to buy in advance.

I'm alone in the house virtually all the time with my little mobile one (I'm a single mom) and we've gotten on just fine. I took my crawling DD with me everywhere (now she follows me around

); they really like to be with you where the action is. If you need to go to the bathroom, Baby comes with you.

It seems like you'd need your hands free more than you actually will; you get used to doing alot of things while holding the baby. Slings and carriers are also life-savers, I couldn't live without mine.

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Miasmamma

· #3 · Mar 13, 2007

We don't have one and we have one gate that is used only to keep my dogs out of the cat food. DD just goes where I go. She showers with me and helps me with laundry and cooking. I will sometime set her in the highchair if I have a lot of chopping to do, but other than that, she's doing her own thing.

amnda527

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 13, 2007

Highchair! That's a good idea. I plan on wearing her as much as I can, but it's hard to guess/know ahead of time if she will enjoy it once she can get down and move, and if I will be able to, say, sit on the toilet while wearing her! (Can you do that!?) So let me ask you this now...should I put one on my registry, and see if maybe someone would buy it? Then if someone were to buy it for us, I could just keep it in the attic until she is outgrows the bouncer/swing.

tigress

· #5 · Mar 13, 2007

2

you can wear while sitting on the toilet

, but we have a saucer that lives in the bathroom for showering--ds gets into all sorts of dangerous trouble in there, including locking me into the shower by pulling up onto the door and wobbling there with his two hands pressed against the glass

:.

Miasmamma: what are your logistics of showering together?

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snoopy5386

· #6 · Mar 13, 2007

my DD is 11 months old and we just got one, just in case. Just in case of what I'm not sure!! The ONLY scenario where I can see using it is to cook if DH isn't home since she is growing out of her exersaucer. We have done a good job babyproofing, esp the bathroom, so if I have to go she comes with me or she just stays wherever she is. We have a basket of toys in the bathroom and she plays in there while I shower.

Selesai

· #7 · Mar 13, 2007

First, I don't think you need a swing. I also don't think you need an exersaucer. But that's just me. We used a "bouncy chair" (really it was the fisher price toddler chair) when P was small so that we could shower or toilet with him nearby

So all I think you need is-- a high chair (which is what we use in the bathroom now), a carrier (sling/mei tai/wrap), and some baby fencing. (Our is 10 years old and is by little tykes, but there are other types).
the baby fencing can be used to section off the part of the living room you want the kid in. Now that P is a great crawler, I'm thinking we'll switch to sectioning off the parts we DON'T want him in, so he has more space to explore. I don't think you need a pack n play, and I think fencing is better than a pack n play.
And we just use the crib for nap time when I'm not home (since he's very mobile and DH obviously doesn't nurse him to sleep, but I do).

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mkmama

· #8 · Mar 13, 2007

Hi! We have a small apartment, and i'm a SAHM too. We DO have a pack and play and NEVER EVER use it. We have had to stay at other homes for various reasons and so he uses that to sleep in (not the topic but he will NOT co-sleep, he likes his space, has since infancy, not joking at all).

So he follows me around. Plays with pots and pans and tuperware while i cook. Comes and plays in the bathroom while i shower, etc. There is barely anything he can get into trouble with (at 11 months not walking) so sometimes he disappears down the hall and comes back. I know where he is at all times, he will leave for 5 minutes, find something fun, and come back. So if you place is basically babyproofed (all we did was move lamp cords, lock the cleaning cabinet, and plugged the plug ins, that's IT)

So no, i do not think you need one unless you use a crib and would want one for him to sleep at other places. i could never see plopping him in it to play, he would never go for it. Ever. he'd hate it.

Ape94

· #9 · Mar 13, 2007

My DS is almost 11 months old and I have a pack n play, an exersaucer, a swing.....pretty much anything you can think of to keep a baby in one place

: and I don't use any of them! The pack in play stays packed away except when we are out of town and he needs a place to sleep and the exercersaucer and swing will be garage saled this weekend actually. I have a gate at the bottom of the stairs and have baby proofed enough that I feel comfortable with DS crawling around the house, doing his own thing. I do try to keep him on the same room with me (more like he follows me from room to room)....so if I am cooking, i'll open the tupperware cabinet for him to play in. But I don't stress about him crawling off into another room. And if I have to shower and DH isn't home, then I just stick him in our bathtub with some toys. We have a fairly big garden tub that is separate but attached to the tub, so he can see me in the shower but can't crawl out of the tub.

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Momma2SoSweet

· #10 · Mar 13, 2007

My dd is slowly getting mobile. (Right now she rolls as soon as I set her on the ground. Diaper changes are fun.

) Anyway, we also have a ton of baby contraptions (in our small apt) and really the only thing dd uses is the exersaucer. She loves her saucer and will sit in it for a few minutes when I need to get something done. Most of the time she's in my wrap. I also put her in the high chair when I'm in the kitchen with her (usually doing dishes- haven't mastered back carries yet). I really don't think you'll *need* a pack n' play.

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myhoneyswife

· #11 · Mar 13, 2007

I have a pack n play that in theory I'd use while she naps so that I can step outside for a second, answer the phone, shower, whatever and not worry that she'll roll off the bed when she wakes up. Right now it's nice to hold laundry and I use it as a side rail on my side of the bed

. I don't think any of those things are necessary at all, but they can be convenient.

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NYCVeg

· #12 · Mar 13, 2007

2

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkmama

View Post

Hi! We have a small apartment, and i'm a SAHM too. We DO have a pack and play and NEVER EVER use it. We have had to stay at other homes for various reasons and so he uses that to sleep in (not the topic but he will NOT co-sleep, he likes his space, has since infancy, not joking at all)..

This is the exact same post I was going to write!

Our neighbor gave us ours (used). It's currently being used to block off some bookshelves that bunny is attracted to. We do use it for sleep when we travel, and that's about it.

If I'm cooking or something, I put her in her highchair (I would just put her on the floor, but our kitchen floor tends to get a little icky). When I need to use the bathroom, I just set her on the floor right outside the door (with the door open) with something entertaining.

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JamieCatheryn

· #13 · Mar 13, 2007

I take DS in the bathroom with me and let him play on the floor with his bath toys while I use the toliet or shower, when I shower I take the trash basket and the TP roll out of reach.

2 in August

· #14 · Mar 13, 2007

Well, I have a pack n play that we got when dd was little. She used it a handful of times. Mostly when I was fortunate enough to bring her to work with me. I never used it in the house. I did take it outside a couple times so she could play in it while I weeded or raked. If I hadn't gotten it really cheap from a friend, I probably would have never gotten one and we would have been fine.

KrystalC

· #15 · Mar 14, 2007

My son isn't mobile yet, but I still have to take him just about everywhere with me. He doesn't particularly like being placed somewhere (not even in a sling) - even long enough for me to go to the bathroom most of the time. He does have a bassinet in the living room for those times I'm actually able to put him down without him screaming.

As time goes on, I've just gotten more used to doing things with one hand. For example, I've been nursing him and really, really had to pee, so I kept him latched on, pulled my pants down with one hand, went to the bathroom, pulled my pants up, and washed my hands... all while he was nursing.

cjcolorado

· #16 · Mar 14, 2007

I have two mobile babes (and a toddler) and have never needed a Pack-n-play except to use for sleep when traveling. Just let the baby muck around on the floor and explore. We just gate off our stairs and chilproof everything else. Am sort of fond of my free-range babies (except when they get in the dog's food and water)!

SPOpa

· #17 · Mar 14, 2007

I used our crib for this.

Swandira

· #18 · Mar 14, 2007

I have a pack and play that I've really only used for diaper changes for my two kids. I use baby gates to block off any areas where my toddler can't safely be, and then just set her down when I need to. She toddles or crawls off and plays with her toys. It works fine. Sometimes when I'm cooking, though, she'll stand at the gate and cry for me to hold her, so I hand her some fruit juice in a sippy cup and it keeps her entertained for a little while.

:

Nealy
Mama to Thales, 12/9/02, and Lydia, 2/26/06

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GooeyRN

· #19 · Mar 14, 2007

I have a pack n play but dont find it necessary. I only put dd in it for about 15 seconds a day, just long enough to carry a pot of boiling water from the stove to the sink. (I don't want to risk tripping/falling/dropping the pot and burning her) Otherwise, I just clothes doors to rooms that I don't want her in. I let her explore while I do stuff. I completely child-proofed my home, though. I took all dangerous things out of cabinets and filled the cabinets with safe things.

nichole

· #20 · Mar 15, 2007

hmm questions

Well i mostly use these kind of things for a shower or so i can play with ds1 while the baby naps. Otherwise he screams in his face and wakes him up or my back gets tired with the sling.

but my questions are..how do the play in the bathroom? my baby can pull up and i feel like whenever i turn my head he is pulling up on something and about to hit his head on the hard bathroom floor. do you have older children? i dont want him putting some of ds1's toys in his mouth b/c they are small. so usually i wash a dish, go move the baby back to a safe spot, go wash another dish, go move the baby again, etc.

also tmi coming...

i cant wipe effectively while baby wearing

.

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