Graco Pack 'n Play Playard Nearby Napper Review

Being a busy mom of four is not an easy task. My children keep me hopping from sun up to sun down and there are some days that I wish there were three of me. I just don't seem to have enough hands. When all three of my older children were babies, I always ALWAYS had a pack 'n play nearby. I never had a fancy one with all the bells and whistles, but just having the play yard was enough at the time. Pack and plays are the new version of play pens. Remember those? My mom had one and it was so handy, she used it all the time. When I registered for baby items for my first baby I made certain I had a Pack 'n Play on my registry. I knew for a fact that it would come in handy and boy was I right! I would wheel that pack and play all over my house. It was in the kitchen, my bedroom and my livingroom...anywhere I was, baby was nearby within view. My first baby was very attached to me (all of them were, actually) and had to see me all the time so a pack and play was a no-brainer.

Now that I have had three children and now our newest addition, I have a worn out pack and play. It sure has gotten alot of use and I was due for a newer one. Well, you can imagine how excited I was when I received the opportunity to review a new Graco Pack and Play and this time, I was getting one with ALL the bells and whistles. Graco is by far, my favorite and most trusted company for baby gear and when someone asks me, I tell them that Graco is the company I love. Their products have lasted me the longest and have held up the best.

So, for this review I was sent the Graco Pack ‘n Play Playard with Nearby Napper in the Trinidad design. I was really excited because this particular pack 'n play comes with some neat features that I have never been able to enjoy before so I was looking forward to checking all the fancy features out.

The above picture is what this pack 'n play looks like straight out of the box. A whole pile of...well...parts. :) I have to say that this wasn't as easy to put together as the high chair was. There were several similar looking parts and I was confused alot of the time. The directions were printed out well, but I think there should have been markings on the parts to help me determine just where they belonged...especially the pipe parts. There are alot of pieces and it looks overwhelming, so I just sorted it all out and started with step 1. :)

You can first set up this as a regular pack 'n play with the mattress in the bottom. This would work well for a small toddler. The next thing you can do is take out the mattress part and create a full-sized, elevated bassinet. Basically, you can clip on a secondary support that holds the mattress up higher towards the top. This is perfect for a rolling baby, but not a baby who is learning how to pull themselves up. As you can see, this is a great feature for my baby, who is 6 months old. Isn't she cute? :))

Secondly, there is an attachable changing table that securely clips right onto the play yard. It is curved on either side to help baby stay put while you change them. There is no seat belt though so be sure you stay close to baby when using this changing table. It has a soft area on which baby can lay, which is nice.

I absolutely LOVE the two in one Portable Newborn Bassinet & Napper . This is so cool! First, you have a small bassinet that has netted sides, making it perfect for newborns and babies up to 15 pounds. The base can rock or you can flip up the rock stops on the ends of the legs and the bassinet will sit still. This bassinet can then be rotated and turns into a seat in which you can belt the baby in securely and all them to snooze, play or do whatever. You can use this piece with or without the pack 'n play and would be PERFECT for travel if you didn't want to take the entire pack and play with you.

This bassinet/napper piece locks into place on top of the Pack 'n Play as well, making it a great place for baby to hang out. Doesn't it look great? My daughter is too big for this piece though (she is really long) so I will not be using it until the next baby comes along. Whenever that is. :)

There is a cute little battery operated mobile that clips onto the bassinet/napper and doesn't get in the way when you rotate the bassinet around. Simply push a small button on the post of the mobile and it begins to move. My daughter just stared at this mobile...she loves things like that. 

Some of the smaller features that come with this Pack 'n Play are the easy to rotate bassinet/napper. Simply push the button and pull up on the bassinet and it rotates very easily. There is also a nice electronics module that clips onto the rail of the pack 'n play. This module does a number of things. It provides ambient lighting, music and nature sounds and also has a convenient timer that runs for up to 15 minutes. 

So, what do I NOT like? The Pack 'n Play itself stores nicely in a zippered bag while the other two parts - the changing table and bassinet/napper have no bag in which they can be stored. I ended up putting them into plastic garbage bags to store. I wish there was separate bag into which I could put both of those pieces so they could stay together and not take up so much room. That is about all I didn't like about this particular Pack 'n Play.

All things considered though, I simply love this Graco Pack 'n Play. It is versatile, easy to use once it is put together and offers many different options for baby. I would definitely recommend this product to any new moms or even, to moms who have been around the block a few times, like me. :) Very cool product with much to offer. Check it out today!

Disclaimer: I received no monetary compensation for this post. I did receive free Graco products for review purposes. All quotes and stock photos are from the Graco website and email. All thoughts and opinions are 100% mine.