Graco Pack 'n Play Travel Play Yard - Dempsey

Comments about Graco Pack 'N Play Travel Play Yard - Dempsey:

I received this PnP as a baby shower gift. It is a nice neutral color pack n play. It is sturdy and travels well. I am a first time parent so I do not have any experience with other perhaps better pack n plays. However, I was not able to use the changing table because there was no way I was going to place my 9 lb baby on that flimsy table. I just did not chance it. My son slept in this PnP as a new born because I wanted to keep him close to my bed. I noticed that he was uncomfortable sleeping on that hard uneven board with just a fitted sheet. I know babies are supposed to sleep in a firm mattress but not a hard board. Weeks later, we bought a quilted padded play yard sheet that made it more comfortable for him. He was having sleep issues and as a new parent, I attributed it to being newborn. NOW, I know it was because he was uncomfortable. Again, this review is for this specific PnP "Dempsey". At 4 months, he moved to his crib and "sleeps like a baby". This play yard has been very helpful. I take it to my mom and dad's house when he is over and needs to take a nap. He loves playing in it. It also plays music, which is very soothing.

Overall, I like it. I just wish I would have known to add that quilted pad. Since, I already had a changing table; not using this accessory did not bother me. I would recommend going to the store, compare this table with the others, and specifically look at the changing table. I went the other day and I saw some newer and better ones that had a safer changing table. Actually, that is the reason I wanted to write this so others do not have to go through what we went through. He loves it and I love it for that.

Comments about Graco Pack 'N Play Travel Play Yard - Dempsey:

We decided to get this pack-n-play because of the compartments on the bottom and neutral colors. Its been in our bedroom since the first day our daughter came home. My concern is with the poorly constructed changing table, which leans to one side and does not keep our daughter level. Instead, we change her on the bassinett area. Also, I do not understand the use of the mobile, which is manual and serves little to no function. Why bother??

Comments about Graco Pack 'N Play Travel Play Yard - Dempsey:

While easy to put together, sturdy, etc, the appeal of this was the changing table -however, given the way it sits, it slants so that when you put an 8-10 lb kid in it, they roll to the edge. Not exactly safe. We don't use the changing table aspect of this, which is unfortunate.

Comments about Graco Pack 'N Play Travel Play Yard - Dempsey:

I wish that I had read reviews more closely on this product. My main purpose in having a pack 'n play in our living room is for changing purposes for my twins. They are now two weeks old and probably about 10 pounds each, and the dreadful 'changing table' portion of the pack 'n play is dangerously close to tipping over. The weight limit for the changing station is 15 lbs - I doubt it will last another week in our house. The flawed design of this product is glaring. The table is only supported on one side which makes this mommy pretty uncomfortable. Now I'm resigned to back breaking changing in the crib portion of the unit. The Dempsey pattern is lovely, but if you want to use this as a changer, well, don't get it.

Comments about Graco Pack 'N Play Travel Play Yard - Dempsey:

I was so disappointed in this product, I e-mailed Graco to let them know. I include my mail to them below:I'm writing you this e-mail to express my deep dissatisfaction with a recently purchased Graco product.My wife and I are new parents and as expected the Graco brand was quite heavily represented on many items that expectant parent's need.Among other things, we purchased a Graco car seat, extra seat base, and a Pack and Play.At this point (our daughter is only a week old), the car seat has seen limited use, but the Pack and Play has already been put through some paces and it is this product that I am writing to you about.The model we purchased was the Pack n Play Dempsey. The main reasons we chose this model were the design/color and the fact that it had a changing table. The additional storage seemed to be a nice feature, thought not something that we will probably use at this point and, as it disappears when not used as a bassinet, it has limited usefulness.I have quite a few reasons to be dissatisfied with this product, but by far the biggest disappointment is the changing table:The design flaws with the changing table are glaring. It is supported only on one side leaving the other side to hang across the bassinet/playard with nothing to brace it. Our daughter who is just barely 8 pounds places enough weight on the table that it dips down on the unbraced side causing her to roll over on the side. Even if placing her as far as possible over to the braced side, even a few pounds of weight over the center of the table will cause it to slant and thus cause a baby to roll over to their side. As you can imagine, trying to change a baby on a device like this is akin to placing them on a slide or ramp - it is not conducive. Furthermore, I don't believe it to be safe as newborns do not have full control or strength in their necks and this table causes their bodies to slant underneath them - causing them to contort in uncomfortable and possibly dangerous ways.Your website states that this changing table is to be used by babies up to 25 lbs. I can't possibly imagine how a child that large wouldn't cause the table to dip at even more dangerous angles. Reviewers at Babies 'R Us (which unfortunately I didn't consult until after this product was purchased and assembled) state that children as small as 5 lbs experience these same issues. In fact out of 43 reviews at the Babies R' Us site almost every other one speaks of issues that people have found with this table. The overall review (as of this writing) is 3.3 out of 5 stars, which equates to 67%. I wouldn't expect my daughter to bring home grades like that once she enters school - and you should find such ratings for your products absolutely unacceptable!What is even more disappointing is that this could have easily been averted had the table been given a similar design on both sides. A couple inches of plastic leg support on the floating side of the table could have braced it against the frame and completely avoided this issue. How could something like this even have made it past your design and quality control divisions?While the changing table situation is enough to sour me on this product I must also mention briefly some other problems with the product:The small sound machine that comes with this model plays at such a low volume that you can legitimately not hear here it in all but the quietest room. Standing 3 feet from the crib the sound couldn't be heard over a lower than normal conversational tone. While I understand there could be safety issues from glaring sounds, this device errs way to far on the side of caution to be unusable. We have plenty of other noise making baby toys which don't suffer from these issues. If the baby is quiet enough to be able to hear these sounds, they are most likely already asleep in a quiet room and don't need to be soothed.I was also very surprised that the mobile was not electric. While your site does not specifically state, the Babies R' Us site (which I have no doubt Graco writes and/or approves the copy) states as a feature "Electronics module and mobile." This misleading combination of the two features infers that the mobile is indeed electronic, and therefore would move of its own power. Not only does the mobile not move on its own, its design is such that spinning it by hand causes it to move around maybe on 3-4 revolutions (2-3 seconds) before the friction of its design causes it to stop. It is also placed at such a level that it would never be reachable at all by a child to play with or spin on its own (perhaps, from a safety issue that is best...). So, instead of a functional mobile, what the child gets is the opportunity to stare at the feet of a few stationary turtles.While not incredible difficult to assemble, the included instructions are poorly designed at best, and misleading of incorrect at worst. I probably could have assembled the device in shorter order without referring to the instructions. For example, why instruct the installation of the mattress in the bottom of the unit and then go back to instruct that it must be removed in order to configure the bassinet? Won't most people be assembling and using this as a bassinet first, until their child grows into the playard???I also find the advertising of these products as portable "pack" and plays a little absurd. While you can certainly collapse them to a smaller size, the ability to fit them back into their original carriers is not an easy affair. Forget about trying to disassemble the accessories - snapping apart the mobile, or attempting to remove the metal frame from the changing table fabric would certainly cause damage to these parts after several times. Additionally, while my wife certainly is getting better muscle tone carting around a new child, your prevalent advertisements with the mother toting the collapsed playard in one hand as if it were an empty picnic basket is patently absurd.Unfortunately these last few complaints about the model seem to be inherent in most all of your Pack n Play models and as such I don't believe that returning this Dempsey model for another Graco playard would really make much of a difference. I suppose I could trade it for a cheaper model with no storage or changing table, but the time and effort involved isn't worth the $60-75 that would be saved. To be honest, I am surprised based on the quality of this product that Graco has established such a reputation and large market share in the playard department.I certainly won't be recommending these products in the future. Additionally I will be placing this review on both [@] and the Babies R' Us website. I invite you to answer these concerns at least in those forums should you choose not to respond to them here.Thank you for your time, but no thank you for the product!Sincerely, A Disappointed Customer

Comments about Graco Pack 'N Play Travel Play Yard - Dempsey:

Aside from being enormous, we do really like this product. I keep it downstairs in the living room so I don't always have to go upstairs to change a diaper. The storage underneath is great for diapers, spare outfits and blankets. he changing table is stble. I think it is WAY too big but very functional.

Comments about Graco Pack 'N Play Travel Play Yard - Dempsey:

I had three pack n plays added to my registry. I didn't think they would all get gifted to me, but they did.
Out of all three I recieved I found this one to be the best!
Mainly because of the storage space. When my son was younger and sleeping in it, I could fit his diapers and clothes and wipes, etc, in there with ease!

Not too big on the pattern, and the mobile wasn't anything fancy, but what matters is that it is fairly easy to put together and again, can't say it enough- SHELVING! =]

Comments about Graco Pack 'N Play Travel Play Yard - Dempsey:

The playard itself is good, however, the changing table is very unstable. It tilts to the side and therefore baby rolls with it making changing very difficult. I was very disappointed with this, as we purchased this for the purpose of changing and napping without having to run upstairs.

Comments about Graco Pack 'N Play Travel Play Yard - Dempsey:

1. Height: I'm only 5'4" and my back hurts every time I put baby in because play yard and changing station are too low.
2. changing station: Unsafe because it is weak, only supported on outside part so that baby literally rolls over into the unsupported area into the play yard. Inconvenient since it is so low, it covers almost HALF of the crib area. This thing now occupies space in the closet corner. I had to stop using it at 2-3 months because I felt it was too unsafe since baby weighs it downward.

Love the space below the play area, especially convenient when your bedroom serves as the nursery in those first weeks and early months of frequent nursing.
I wish the changing table were HIGHER, Sturdier, and that it was removed or at least partially removed from the crib space. Otherwise, I have to remove everytime I put baby in...trust me, it was a pain.
I would not choose this play yard again and would try to find one w/ my wishlist.

Comments about Graco Pack 'N Play Travel Play Yard - Dempsey:

i did have some trouble with the changing table. I found that if I take it off and put it back on it will level out. Also, this is a problem I have heard from moms with other pack n plays. It is not unique to this one and not a reason to not consider this one. My baby is now 13.5 pounds and we still use the changing table without a problem.

The best feature is the underneath storage. Every mom that comes to visit is extremely envious of this. It has been much more helpful to have items within arms reach without having another diaper caddy taking up space. Also, it is extremely easy to put up and take down.

Only point to note is that the bassinet and changing table do not fit in the travel bag. It hold the pack n play portion only. Again, this is the same for all pack n plays, not just this model. Overall I am extremely happy with this purchase. We use it everyday and would not change my mind if given the opportunity to exchange for another model.