PLAYPEN - worth it or a CAGE they fight to get out of????????

[MissyBabee]

DD starting to get the hang of crawling so... am thinking about a playpen but there seems to be one company supplying the market with one product - the Babydan hexagonal one. They really do have the monopoly!

Is there anything larger anyone can recommend?

Can't see DD lasting 5 minutes in the Babydan one.

I have a John Lewis wooden one. Still using it and DS is 20mths

Why would you want something larger? Do you live in a large mansion??

We had a wooden one which we bought from Mothercare, but this was 5-6 years ago. It was strong and wellmade, but we usually used it just at certain times of day, e.g. after breakfast I would put ds in it for a while so I could dash round tidying up, get washing in machine etc. It was also useful for situations where you suddenly have to deal with something like person at door with large parcel which needs manouevring into the house, or washing machine leaking, and you need to put mobile baby down somewhere and know they will be safe.

Worth it, every penny, but you must start the baby in it ASAP, preferably before they're mobile so that they don't realise that they've been 'trapped'. The BabyDen is excellent, you don't need to break your back putting the baby in and out, it can be reused as a room-divider, stairgate for awkward spaces, and you can also get a tent top for it and continue using it as a playspace long after it's no longer needed as a playpen. The only disadvantage I think is that it has no floor, and I'm not impressed by the mat that is supplied with it.

John Leiws do a more old-fashioned wooden one with bars, as do some of the male-order catalogues. The bars are better than the travel-cot style playpens as the child can use them to pull up and cruise, you can attach toys to them, and the child has a better view out of them than through netting.

Size really isn't an issue. Where the playpen is positioned (so that the child can see what's going on and isn't completely alone) and what toys you put in it and what your and the child's temper is like when you put the child in it are fare more important than the size of the playpen. Have you seen how many hours of fun a child can spend in a cardboard box?!

WORTH IT

I didn't get one because I thought "Ooh they are just little prisons"

Well now I know better and that is the point.
THey are fab. DS had one at ILs (they are no fools) from 1year (late) and I could see he loved it. I felt so stupid.

The BabyDan one is the tops.

You can get a tent cover for later - fabbo.

Am I imagining this or can you buy more than one BabyDan and make a huge playpen?

well, i did wonder if you can buy 2 and stick them together .

it's not that i have a mansion, i've roughly measured out the size of the babydan one and can't help but think DD's going to get frustrated after 2 minutes. i was hoping to put her in there say, while i had a shower, or yes, if have to go answer door etc. wasn't planning on her being in there hours but sometimes you do have to get things done don't you?

prettycandles, think idea of putting in before fully mobile is good one.

a company called Bambino sell a massive one on ebay - you can add bits and take bits away. The giant one is £89.99... ill put a link up in abit.

Play Pen

grrr, didnt work, post in abit.

TIA QQSB

I had a big wooden Mothercare one & with DS there were some favourite toys he only had in there, so he never minded if I had to pop him inside to answer the door or something. When DD came along, I'd sometimes put her bouncing cradle in there to give her a rest from DS's over-enthusiastic cuddling.

I also put the Christmas tree in there a couple of times, on a small table & filled the space around with balloons. It also meant I could wrap the presents early & put them round the tree with no risk of their being 'investigated'

I used our travel cot when ds2 arrived - not for him, but for ds1 who liked climbing in and out of it and keeping his toys safe from ds2. so you might get more use out of one than you think! a travel cot did the job fine for us.

DS had one from a few months old, it wasn't big, but it had a padded floor, as it doubled as a travel cot.

DS loved it, and I would put him in it after breakfast as dh went to work. I would dodge about doing jobs, then put on telly-tubbies so he could watch in his playpen while I grabbed a shower and got dressed. Very soon he developed the habit of dozing off for his morning nap just as I came back downstairs, so I'd cover him up, have a coffee, get ready what we needed for the day (lunch, changing bag etc) and when he woke up I could devote my time to him.

I can't remember how long we used it. I know he first learnt to stand up inside it, while I was in the kitchen. I sold it to a mumsnetter's mum, who wanted it as a travel cot.

\linl{http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230037818093&ssPageName=MERC_VI_RSCC_Pr12_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT&refitem=230035102428&itemcount=12&refwidgetloc=active_view_item&usedrule1=StoreCatToStoreCat&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget\Playpen}

oh, pants.

LOL QQSB
don't worry, i'll find it. Bambino you say? i'll check it out.

I WILL do it!

The babydan one (and presumably the others too) is good for cruising around too. DD (8 months) just pulls herself up on the bars and wanders around it peering at me with a big grin on her face!

As someone else said, you can turn it into a room divider too - you just need a wall mounting kit which babydan will send to you free of charge if you call them.

We bought a second one to use as a fire surround (which she also cruises along!).

yay!

QQSB blimey that IS massive!!!!!! and well done BTW!

CWS presumably then, you can join the 2 together if wanted?

Well I know you can buy an extension piece, but I left all the 'building' to DH, so I'll have to ask him for you when he comes home tomorrow.

just realised that huge Bambino one is only £10 more than the Babydan! For the size difference, that's amazing.

if you could let me know tomorrow CSWS that would be great.

i'm off to feed DD and bed. Night all.

they come in different sizes... and you can add bits, take away bits, make a fireguard etc. Im getting one I think

Have you thought about getting a travel cot MissyBabee, or a pop up play pen? We got one for DS and had it erected in the living room until he was walking and we knew he would be safe for the odd 10 minutes without us in the room. We made it really nice. The mattress theat came with it was nice and soft, we put a playmat over that and strung up toys on the edges. We put lots of toys and books in it and he loved it! It was a safe, funy, comfy place to leave him in when we needed too.

Travelcots/Popup playpens are smaller than the Babydan. There are no bars which look a bit 'prisony' and can have toys posted out of. The gauze is much nicer for them to stare out of than bars IMO and makes it feel like a soft, enclosed play space. And - they are cheaper & can be used for travel!

I didn't like the idea of a playpen either, but I couldn't have got by without one unless I cleared out house of all objets & furniture! It made life allot easier and DS had lots of fun in his.

Morning. Spoken to DH and he says that yes, you can join 2 or more together, but be aware that then the padded cloth base pieces won't fit, so you'd need some other soft surface to put them on.