How to Make a Pack-n-play More Comfy

My son was a light sleeper as a baby and just rolling around on the pack-n-play mattress was too noisy for him! I put a polar fleece and/or flannel blanket on the mattress and then covered with the pack-n-play sheet so it was tucked in and not possible for him to get rolled up in the blankets. It helped and the mattress was not so "crunchy" sounding then! If you're worried about it being too warm with the polar fleece, a towel should work fine too. Good luck!

for my daughter i put a few pillows down and then covered it with a tight fitting sheet...i even have to do this in her crib...it makes it more comfy but the suffocate themselves cause the pillows are under the sheet! Good luck!

I put a blanket in my son's pack 'n lay when he was little i just put it under the sheet so he didn't get tangled up in it

Pack-n-play makes a fitted sheet for the playpen...it's a wee bit loose...soooo...i would get a large, soft blanket...fold it to the dimensions of the pak-n-play and fit the fitted sheet over the whole thing...i am betting this should resolve your issue quite nicely...

good luck!!! ;-)

What we do to make our pack and play more comfy is put "egg crate" (it is a piece of foam with divits in it) underneath the sheet. You can buy a big roll at Walmart, I believe, and then cut it down to the size you need. We typically fold it in half to give extra padding. The sheet will fit tight, but you will be surprised by how comfortable it makes the babies. Our first two babies would not even sleep in their pack and play unless we put the padding in it. I hope this helps.
L.

my brother and his wife use 2 layers of egg crate padding for my nephew in his pack-n-play. They cut the padding to size and then put a sheet over them and the bottom of the pack-n-play. They use those small vacuum bags to put the padding in for transporting/traveling with it. Works like a charm. It's a nice little set up.

hi T., maybe put blankets under the form board or sleeping bag to make it alittle bit more comfortable. hope this helps . god bless

what about a portable crib or something else other than the pack and play? Good luck.

I put several blankets down so the Pack 'N Play would be softer and more comfortable. Since the baby was sleeping right next to us, we could hear everythng. If you are concerned about SIDS, your baby can probably flip over by himself since he is 9 months old by your post. The current approach has changed from sleeping 100% on their back to flipping them so they will have a round head and get enough tummy time. Our second and third babies slept on their tummy all the time--they sleep better and digest better.

When we had to take a couple of trips with my daughter I went to the fabric store and bought some foam ( like a matress topper) and cut it to the same size as the pad in the pack and play then just placed it over the pad and put the sheet over both. It worked very well.

We use a PeaPod by Kidco for our daughter. It's a little pop-tent that zips closed. It has an air mattress that goes into a pocket underneath the entire tent so there is no way your little one can get under the mattress. It does come with a sleeping bag (it's supposed to be used up until 4 years - or until the child can't fit into it), but I didn't start using the sleeping bag until our daughter was older.
The main thing I love about the peapod is that no matter where we stay, our daughter feels comfortable inside her tent since it looks the same to her (she can't see outside unless we roll up the fabric that blocks the screens).
I agree with Wanda, don't alter your child's pack'n'play. Especially if he's not sleeping well. Any agitation could dislodge a blanket or foam and he could get under it which would be bad.
I bought our peapod off of ebay (there are 2 sizes, I recommend the larger - PeaPod Plus P201 so you can use it longer), but here is the official site:
http://www.kidco.com/main.taf?p=4,5

Good luck!

My kids never liked the pack-n-play either--it was way too hard. I started taking along a thick blanket to use as padding, kept in place by the pack-n-play sheet, and they would sleep much better in it.

We found a little mattress at Babies R Us that is not as thick as a crib mattress, but is sized just for pack & plays (and waterproof). There's also a quilted mattress cover/pad that you can put over the mattress (all cotton for breatability), and the pack & play sheets will still fit very snugly over the whole thing.

We made sure the pad and sheest were washed at home before the trip, so all the bedding smelled like home. It did the trick and we were able to do this for several trips. We rolled the mattress up and tied it with a couple of bungie cords to transport.

We drove on all our trips, so the extra gear wasn't a big deal. Not sure if flying will accommodate as well. If you are flying, maybe you could pick up the mattress when you get to your destination?

In my pack-n-play I bought the waterproof matress pads that are not fitted. In fact, they are shorter than the matress. This will give a little cushion to whick it will not be so hard. At Babies R us, they sell pack-n-play fitted sheets that will make it like a sheet on the bed. The sheets wraps around the corner of the base of the pack and play. These sheets are about $8 a piece and they come in diffrent colors.
Best of luck with your search!
J.

I hsve used the pack & Play playpen on all of our trips. But I put a baby comforter (its thicker than a blanker)in the bottom of it with a fitted playpen sheet over that. It helps cushion it much better & the sheet keeps the comforter in place.
My son is 19 months & we have done this since he was much younger. If you child is old enough to roll over, sit up etc you shouldn't have any trouble with the comforter as padding. I have never encountered problems doing this.

PLEASE do not alter your pack-n-play. This is not safe and just because it worked for others, does not mean that nothing will happen when you do it. There are thousands of children that ride everyday without a car seat and live to tell about it. Would you do that too? Three options
1.)Put him on the floor after childproofing the room you are in. this can be hard to do in a hotel. Buy cord keepers, and plugs. Move things around to block dangerous things that you can't do anything about.
2.) Find a travel bed that he will sleep in without alterations and buy it.
3.) Put him in the pack-n-play and he will get tired enough to eventually to sleep in it.
I suggest the laast option, but again, PLEASE do not alter anything in the pack-n-play or any other commercial product. They do testing for a reason and still have recalles on occation. I've taken SIDS classes to become licensed childcare providers and the photos that are shown in these classes of what can happen when pack-n-plays are "improved" are nothing that any parents should ever see.
Here are some good options for travel beds.
http://www.albeebaby.com/baby-bjorn-travel-crib-light.html
http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B001MG8UN0?traffic_src=fro...

Hi T.
When my grand daughter comes to visit and we use her pac and play- I use extra pillows, or a large comforter and wrap it in a large sheet- that makes it very soft and comfy for her and the large sheet keeps everything in place. If carrying the extra comforter or pillows are a hardship while traveling ask your host if they have one. Or you can put it into one of those bags that crushes it flat to make it easier to transport.
good luck and Blessings on your travel

I posted something then reread your question so I am retracting my comment.

My newborn has slept in the pack-n-play with the quilted fitted sheet from Babies R Us, which I think is probably the only safe way you can make it more comfy. Even with that, you have to make sure you've got it stretched all the way or it might get lumpy and block little noses.

Have you thought about getting one of those "egg crate" rolls of foam and cutting to the size of the pack and play. I did that for my daughter when we were at my MIL's our rooms were on separte floors and I wanted her closer to me. I flipped it over so that it was the smooth side and then put the pac n play fitted sheet over it and it made all the difference in the world for both of us
good luck!

Graco makes a quilted pack n play sheet thats soft and fleecy with just a little padding. thats what i use. It's probably the safest way that you can add a little comfort.

My son bought a piece of memory foam and cut it to fit the bottom and put it under the fitted sheet and it work very well.

I traveled in the winter to some place really cold. We are from South Texas and my baby was not use to the cold. I put a blanket down in the pack and play and tucked it under the mattress so it would not move. I was nervous about this but she did fine. I checked on her during the night to make sure that the blanket was not moving. Actually on one of the coldest nights she ended up in bed with me because she was so cold in the pack and play. I barely slept but she did. I hope this helps a little and I also hope you have a good trip.

You can also buy a quilted fitted sheet for your pack 'n play (the only place I've found it is Babies R Us). I believe the goal in this sheet is for a warmer option, but this fitted pack 'n play sheet is also slightly thicker/more cushioned than the normal fitted sheet.

My friend bought a mattress to insert in her pack-n-play. I believe she purchased it from Babies R Us. It was about a 2" thick pad/mattress. If you don't want to buy something else,we have laid down a few blankets for comfort and then secured with a sheet over all the blankets and the base pad in the pack-n-play.

They make a little tiny mattress for the pack n play. We used it for my son when we went on trips (via car). It fits in your trunk and it slips right in the pack n play when open. Very easy and comfy for him.