Reddit reviews Summer Pop ‘n Play Portable Playard, Green – Lightweight Play Pen for Indoor and Outdoor Use – Portable Playard with Fast, Easy and Compact Fold

Been there, done that. Moved into this house with a 2-year-old, started the garden, got pregnant, had that one, had another one, still gardened all the way through.

My advice to you is: Figure on dialing it wayyyy back for 2017. New Babby can be overwhelming. You probably won't have time or energy for much else besides Babby, and you don't need guilt about the messy garden added to that. I made the mistake of basically digging up my entire yard in enthusiasm the first few years, and it turned out to be a maintenance nightmare that gradually, inevitably, nearly all went back to weedy lawn, because I couldn't keep up. My husband just basically started mowing the weedy overgrown bits that were obviously no longer garden.

> We already have blueberry bushes, black currant bushes, grapes, strawberries and raspberries that come back each year.

Don't add anything else to this that can't survive on its own. These are already a set of "enough to do, enough to think about" things for this year. Those things require paying attention to them, which you can't do if you've got Baby Brain all during May, June, and July.

Honestly, I would strictly limit Super E-Z new baby stuff to add to this to the one no-brainer: tomatoes, and cage them, don't single-stake them or florida weave because those require training and pruning, which cages don't. Make them some concrete reinforcing mesh cages and turn them loose.

Everything else--zukes, cukes, pole beans--if you ignore them, they stop. They ripen that one fruit to monster size, and then as far as they're concerned, they're done, so you finally get around to going out there one day and there's nothing to pick except a baseball bat cuke or zuke, and a few pods of monstrously huge dried Kentucky Wonders. Great, your seedsaving for 2018 is all taken care of, or you can make a very small pot of bean soup. Lettuce needs thinning, which you can't do in April when you've got a bowling ball strapped to your front. You might be able to get kale in and out by the time Babby arrives, but it really does better as a fall/winter crop, as trying to beat the summer heat deadline doesn't always work. Doing it in the fall gives you a lot more leisurely harvest.

So. You need to batten down the hatches for 2017 because there's a storm coming, smack in the middle of busy season. Line up a selection of tomato plants, either from seed or a garden center, give them to a trusted gardening friend to keep watered and alive until June 1, and plant them after Babby arrives, since it's pretty simple to sit in a lawn chair with Babby on your lap and instruct Daddy in how to drop a tomato transplant into the ground. Dig hole, insert plant. It's not rocket science.

You also dodge your "cold soil" and "frost" bullets if you wait until afterwards, as even in south Michigan the end of April, beginning of May is too early to plant tomatoes outside, so you can't plant them before Babby arrives. I'm in Illinois and generally May 15 is the earliest I'd plant tomatoes. Your date is probably more like June 1. Talk to the extension office about scheduling. http://msue.anr.msu.edu/county Your Tax Dollars At Work.

Mulch them heavily with shredded bark or straw, mulch everything else you can reach, get a big wall calendar and write down your pruning and other duties for your small fruits on it in red Sharpie, and call it done. You'll thank me in July when you don't have to feel guilty that you haven't touched anything in the garden in weeks.



Then once you get your own brain back during the summer, you can start planning for fall crops, which go into the ground at the end of August, and begin picking up your gardening where you left off. If you have your own brain back earlier, garden centers usually start clearancing things like flats of annuals in the middle of June. Put in some cheap 75%-off petunias or marigolds. Just to keep your hand in.

Putting Babby in a playpen in the shade works sooooo much better than wearing him in a carrier. Your back will thank me. Get one of those light cheap portable play yards. https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-Play-Portable-Playard/dp/B00KBGTRAC?th=1

You're only going to be using it under your close personal supervision, 10 feet away, and all it needs to do is keep Babby up out of the mud and the bugs. Or strap him into the stroller and park it next to you.

https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-Play-Portable-Playard/dp/B00KBGTRAC/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1540482637&sr=8-1&keywords=summer+infant+play+yard&dpID=41ScPp5hwoL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

This is what we have for our 11mo boys. It packs up like a camp chair and is easy to setup and tear down. The floor of it is slightly padded and the boys enjoy it. Also came with a hanging tablet mount if you want to put up a movie or something for them.

We used this:

https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-Play-Portable-Playard/dp/B00KBGTRAC

Not nearly as big (especially if you combine multiple giant gates together), but it's easily transported to non-child-safe houses and works great outdoors too.

Until they hit ~2.5, and decide that the tiny area allocated to them is no longer big enough, no matter how many toys are inside. And then they hit 3, and are able to climb over the walls.

My son tossed an animal into his crib this weekend. He climbed in after it, and asked to be let out. Thank heaven there's some kind of cognitive block there; he hasn't yet tried to climb out but he certainly could. I think I have less than a month left before nap time becomes much more difficult.

Invest in a pop and play. It's super portable, much bigger than a pack and play, and you can put the kiddos toys in it and let them go to town no stress.

Summer Infant Pop N' Play Portable Playard https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KBGTRAC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ruHvybGPTTGXX

Highly recommend this one. Now that my 9 month old is mobile this is a lifesaver! You can also bring it to the beach and ours came with a sunshade. https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-Play-Portable-Playard/dp/B00KBGTRAC

That playard is really cool, but just a tip - it's way cheaper on Amazon!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00KBGTRAC/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1492548762&sr=8-1&keywords=summer+infant+pop+n%27+play+portable+playard

Here is the playpen. It's so easy to travel with.

P&Ps: We have two Graco pack & plays that have seen a lot of love and use over the last 2.5 years. I had one with an infant napper and changing pad, and one without the napper. We really used these mostly for Grandma's house and traveling, but they're fantastic to have.

Crib: We did a Baby Appleseed Davenport crib, which was pricey ($700), but we love it. My son is 2.5 and still in the crib, but it can transition to toddler bed and full standard bed as well. I am pregnant with our second child, and instead of buying a new crib, we're going to buy my son a low loft bed and use this crib again for the new baby. The workmanship and quality of Baby Appleseed is amazing, and you can use 20% off for them at BuyBuyBaby.

Carseat: We actually did two, we initially bought the Britax B-Safe 35 Elite system with the B-Agile Stroller. This stroller is amazingly light and compact. The carseat is manageable weight, easy to install base, and holds baby snug and secure. It's also infinitely easier to move the shoulder straps because it's on a slide, rather than having to take the seat apart. We also bought a Graco ClickConnect Jogging Stroller and Carseat. I was not a fan of this carseat when my son was a newborn. It was too large for him, and he moved around too much when strapped in, ending up at weird angles that gave me anxiety. Once he was about 3 months old though, this was fantastic. I highly recommend getting a jogger if you like to be outside. Despite being in a brand new development, our sidewalks are wonky and the jogger absorbs a lot of the shock. We took him to Renaissance Festival in this stroller and we still take walks with this stroller, when he tolerates it. Once he was around 8 months, we transitioned to Graco Extend-2-Fit and we're still in that now.

Extra non-newborn necessity item: Summer Infant Portable Play Yard - we spend a ton of time outside and this was great for when my son was smaller (5-11 months) and we didn't want to plop him in the grass or throw down a blanket. It's super portable, super easy to set up and take down. Highly recommend.

Summer Infant Baby Jail for an option to keep kid and toys cleaner, camped with other adults do there were people to hold the baby sometimes, especially packing up. Because of course, you want to leave for the long drive at naptime. It would not have been possible to camp just the 3 of us last summer without a baby meltdown packing up. At 16m he was walking for 3m and listened to voice commands to stay close and we spent time establishing the "boundaries of the site" and we packed everything we possibly could the night before and went bare bones in the morning. He didn't mind being in the tent while we packed up what was inside. I could do some stuff in a front carry, there was the cold day he would not nap except in my wrap, and my ultimate plan after 6m was a back carry while packing or cleaning if he wouldn't cooperate. Our biggest issue this summer has been the tent being too hot for naps, but luckily I trained mine to do walking naps in the stroller that reclines as we approached a year ago I could walk the camp loops, etc and then roll him into the shade with me. For sure the brightness of a tent is sometimes an issue too, including at bedtime so some backup plans for naps is a good idea, they are more important than ever. This last trip instead of 8:30-7:30, he slept 9-6:30, so almost an extra 90 min needed to be made up in napping if he was going to stay on schedule. But we didn't stress too much, we just looked hard for nap cues and sprung into action so he could get the best rest he could. And no more elaborate meals, if it takes more than 15min to prep and cook, it's too long.

Summer Infant Pop 'n Play Portable Playard https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KBGTRAC/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_0sCBwbBJ759YM

This one! It's amazing. Sets up and tears down in less than a minute, no tools or anything, and is big enough so he doesn't feel trapped like in the pack n play / not so huge that it takes up my whole living room

This is what I immediately thought of when you mentioned the box. Not sure if it's the same thing, but maybe similar?

I bought a portable playpen of Amazon bc I too bring my baby to work - works really well. Easy to put up and put down and he still has space to move.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00KBGTRAC/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1498957675&sr=8-1&keywords=playpens+for+babies&dpPl=1&dpID=41ScPp5hwoL&ref=plSrch

I have a playpen like this: Summer Infant Pop N' Play Portable Playard https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KBGTRAC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_1WBdzb0F3WVKK

I just stick him in there with some toys, cheerios or a pouch, and something to drink. I throw on some baby Einstein or Daniel Tiger or whatever and shower away. I keep the door cracked so I can hear him and I make sure the doors to the house are locked in case anyone just walked up but that's it.

But why subject your child to a suffocation risk like this in the first place? You can get well-rated play yards for $55. Is your child's safety really worth less than $35?

I recommend borrowing the following two things from friends -

Summer Infant Pop-n-Play
https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-Play-Portable-Playard/dp/B00KBGTRAC/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1495664261&sr=8-1&keywords=pop%2Bn%2Bplay&th=1

Canopy - for shade and hanging towels

Something that looks like this (or smaller): https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Pop-Up-Canopy-Tent-10/dp/B0145R49C8/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1495664326&sr=8-6&keywords=beach+canopy

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As for getting them to the beach, you can get a beach cart - or borrow/rent a jogging stroller (with giant wheels for getting over the dunes).

Don't forget that you can always back-carry your twins in carriers (Ergo/Tula, etc) - to leave your hands free to carry stuff and set up.

If you've never back-carried before in a carrier, it's awesome. And generally people will think you and your wife (and babies) look super adorable as you walk along. Here's a how to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImBAhltsbRQ

We're headed to the beach in June with what will be 7 month old twins, along with a couple similarly aged cousins, and will be taking one of these with us. It's decent sized for containing them, somewhat keeps them out of the sand, and collapses into a carry bag the size of a camping chair. You can also buy versions with canopies to help provide shade. We're also bringing a 10x10 popup/tailgate tent with us, so we can use that for added shade if needed.