My love/hate relationship with the Rock n Play

I first heard of the Rock n Plays when SB and BW were a few months old.  Many twin moms were singing their praises, and I thought about purchasing them, but also read a number of reports of flat heads and needing helmets, or a nightmare crib transition, and after dragging my feet for a while decided that we were past the stage of usefulness. 


When Nugget was baking, I decided to dive into the Rock n Play fan base, as I thought it would be something that I could easily carry to and from the different levels of our house so Nugget would have a safe place to be/sleep with two rambunctious toddlers around.* I thought it would also be a sleeping place for Nugget for the time being if we went to grandma's so we wouldn't have to invest in another pack n play.


I bought one used, since the useful life of a rock n play appears to be a few months, and they usually resell quickly and easily. I didn't use it for the daytime sleeping place that I intended - mainly because SB and BW can just reach into it if they balance on their tippy toes and are very unstable in the process, and I was worried they would fall onto it while trying to give Nugget kisses.  However, with Nugget getting a cold within her first month of life as well as having reflux, I tried it for night time sleep one night.  Which, as everyone raves about, works wonderfully.  Nugget sleeps SO well in that thing, and it really helps if she is congested (which, she is, again.  Poor kid is on her second cold in the first three months of her life).  However, I am paranoid about letting her sleep in it for overnight sleep; so I put it in our room, next to our bed (Nugget otherwise sleeps in the crib in her room across the hall).  I try to use it as infrequently as possible.  It's like a parenting drug.  I try to control my use of it, I know the consequences could be bad, but it feels SO good to get a nice long stretch of sleep.  (For both Nugget and I). 


So, I continue to use it as sparingly as I can.  I always put Nugget down for the night in her crib (which, so far, has been going swimmingly since her chiro adjustment).  But, in the middle of the night when I'm tired and she's congested and tired and restless, I can't help but succumb to the RnP.




*Note - it's not.  It requires two hands to fold and unfold, which I appreciate for safety reasons, but it just wasn't workable as easily folded/transported if I also had to keep Nugget safe from bouncy toddlers and fold it up and then pick them both up.