Graco Pack ‘n Play Review

Price $69

Echelon$$$$

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Updated April 2023

In the budget category, our favorite option for a play yard is the good ol’ Graco Pack ‘n Play.

Friends, if you have a Pack ‘n Play, you can get by in life.

In other words, if you only bought a Pack ‘n Play, it would fit the bill for so many categories: a bedside bassinet, a crib, a travel crib, somewhere safe to put baby down while you fold the laundry/shower/eat an apple/sit on your porch/carry in your groceries/work/workout… everything we affectionately call “GSD” (getting stuff done). It will last you well into toddlerhood, guaranteed. So if you’re working with a tight budget, limited space or simply don’t want to overbuy unnecessary baby stuff, get one of these and call it a wrap.

Seriously, it’s just that useful.

At home, you can move the Pack ‘n Play around your house fairly easily, and it assembles and disassembles in about 30 seconds. When taken down, it folds into a nice, portable, rectangular package you can take anywhere. They’re all pretty heavy and clunky (~25-35 pounds), though, just FYI.

PSA: Pack ‘n Play Assembly

The setup and takedown of a Pack ‘n Play is not intuitive. Order of operations is critical. You just need to know one thing:

To set it up, you must lock the top rails (all 4) FIRST before pushing the base of the floor flat. Otherwise you’ll be stuck for a long time wondering what the hell is wrong with this thing. It might take you a minute the first time or two, but we promise you’ll be able to get everything just right in seconds — blindfolded and sleeping — before long. Here’s how it looks:

When taking it down, the order of operations is reversed: you must pull the hub of the “floor” up FIRST, then un-pop the side rails.

Don’t forget!

Despite its weight, by far and away, the PNP is the most useful baby item we have bought to date (and no, Graco doesn’t pay me to say this stuff).

Heads up: Graco makes a zillion different versions of the PNP with different trim, levels and features, but don’t get overwhelmed. At the end of the day, a Pack ‘n Play is a Pack ‘n Play is a Pack ‘n Play.

There are basically three main options worth considering, which can be a bit confusing. I mean, how different can they really be, right? That’s why we wanted to do a Pack ‘n Play review — to help you choose the right one for your family.

1. Classic Pack ‘n Play

The bare bones version of this classic will set you back ~$70 and will not let you down. It’s a little lighter (~19 pounds), and it doesn’t have much by way of bells and whistles, but here’s the big secret: you really don’t need any! You *may want to “upgrade” to the version that DOES come with a bassinet insert that raises the base level of the sleeping surface, because this is a big help with newborns when you’re laying them down/picking them up (however many zillion times a day… this part is definitely nice to have). It’s about an extra ten bucks; we think it’s worth it.

the bassinet insert shown above raises the “floor level” so you don’t have bend alllll the way down to place/pick up your baby

2. Pack ‘n Play with Portable Seat & Changer

This next upgraded version (~$169) is your classic play yard with an optional removable seat and (flip it over to reveal)… a flat changing surface. You can’t go wrong with this model; it’s a long-time fave. The seat (pictured below) sits on top of the PNP — or you can remove it and use it wherever you want, like a bouncer. It cups the baby on all sides; it’s like putting an egg into a carton, and it’s perfect for the first couple of months.

Again, you can flip over the napper to reveal a diaper changing surface, but I honestly don’t know many parents who used this feature very much — it’s just a little awkward, so I always just used the changing table, or the floor/bed when we were traveling.

Pack ‘n Play with Reversible Napper/Changer

3. Pack ‘n Play Snuggle Suite

If you want more bells and whistles, this one (~$329, below) adds a storage “cubicle” at the end for diapers and such as well as an electronics module with music/soothing sounds and a vibration feature.

You can also remove the seat and use it separately with this one:

You may also be interested in Pack ‘n Play-sized fitted sheets. You can also get a more permanent mattress to add comfort to your little one’s ZZZs, but you don’t need this until toddlerhood (or at all). If you do get a mattress, just be sure that you get one that’s meant to be used with the PNP!

Like I said, there are a seemingly infinite number of PNP options and upgrades, but these are the all-around favorites. Don’t overthink it!

About the Authors

Meg Collins Editor in Chief

Meg Beilsmith Collins started Lucie’s List in 2010 after learning everything about babies the hard way; she is now the Editor in Chief. She’s an Industrial Engineer from Georgia Tech and a former car seat technician (CPST) who lives near Clearwater, FL with her husband Rich and daughters Lucie and Alice. She enjoys 90s music, MomFit, camping and anything on the water.

Brittany Clair Researcher and Sr. Editor

Brit is the author of Carrying On: Another School of Thought on Pregnancy and Health and Rest Uneasy: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in Twentieth-Century America. She has an MA and a PhD in history and previously worked as a medical history professor. She's taught and written on the history of women’s health, pediatrics, parenting, and motherhood. Brit lives in Maine with her family and spends her days reading esoteric academic literature, walking, listening to audiobooks, and writing about anything that interests her (which is many things). Outside of work, you can find her packing lunches, waiting out a tantrum, making a list, or looking for something one of her kids lost. Her favorite time of day is after her kids go to bed.

Comments

David says:

August 16, 2020 at 8:41 pm Reply

Hi Meg and Brit!

Very thorough review of the product. We’re definitely planning to get a PNP for travel to grandparents and elsewhere, but curious to know if the version with a seat is necessary for a newborn, or if he/she can be comfortable in the “bare bones” bassinet with a swaddle. Any thoughts here?

Thanks so much! your reviews are the best!

David
1. Brit says:
  
  August 17, 2020 at 6:00 pm Reply
  
  Hi, David — You 100% do NOT need the version with the seat for a newborn. The bare bones PNP with a good swaddle will definitely do the trick (if your baby usually does well in swaddle, I mean)! The seat can be nice to have around as a “placeholder” for baby, but if you only need somewhere for baby to sleep, the minimalist version is great. Good luck traveling 🙂

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