The Play Yard

A Play Yard (which I had always thought was called pack 'n play, but I learned that is actually a specific brand) was one of the baby items that everyone has said is "essential" both at home and for travel. As I've been thinking about it, I'm actually having a hard time deciding if I'll want it upstairs in our bedroom or downstairs when she first comes home! Because we aren't totally sure how we'll use it, we decided to get a "full functional model". Plus, Josh really liked the idea of having one that is "fully loaded"! :)

We decided to go with the Graco Pack 'N Play with Newborn napper. Graco is the Baby Bargains pick because they are "the best designed and least recalled". That seems like a good thing. They are also fairly affordable and light weight compared to some of the others. I love that the model we chose has a napper with sun shade and a changing table with diaper storage. It also has a bassinet level for the next step up and then is a normal play yard for when she is older.

As for color and pattern, we decided to go with the same design as our infant car seat. I think it is fairly muted and won't stand out too much if it is in our living room. It is also fairly gender neutral, so we'll be able to use it if we happen to have a boy in the future. I think it will come in very handy no matter where we put it.