Playpen or playprison

inkie

We never had one - if I found that I needed to put the baby somewhere safe for a few moments - then i would use the cot. As you are in a flat, then could not this idea work for you - it's not as if they would be upstairs out of the way.

Spendless

I used the travel cot and from the time my son learnt to crawl he hated it.

liney

I had a travel cot and a baby den as my son could crawl at 4 months and walk at 10 months !

I wouldn't bother with a baby den, as i also ended up using it as a room divider too and it was a real waste of money. I used the travel cot for our regular sleep overs at grandma's house, and as a play pen only a handful of times; but i am a firm believer of teaching children not to touch precious things, and managed to move everything dangerous out of reach. He always slept in his cot at home, or pushchair if we were out.

pukkamum

I think part of the trouble is they don't really teach a child boundary's i never had one i just taught my children from a very young age (crawling onwards) where they could and couldn't go.
I also removed any potential dangers as far as i could.
After all if you go to someone elses house or someone else has them at their house they aren't likely to have a play pen so baby needs to know what they can and can't do.

Jo_F

I got a lobster pot one, the eldest wasn't too keen on it, but would happilly use it as a travel cot if she stayed at my mum's.

The little un loved it, there was many a time I caught him trying to climb into it. He would sit in there pushing his cars about the floor of it and be able to play without his elder sister getting in his way.

It was positioned so that he could see everything that was going on, see the tv, look out of the window and if he had enough, he used to curl up and go to sleep in it. We used to struggle to get him out of it, I think he just liked having somewhere that was his and away from his sister.

Js_Other_Half

I have one in the kitchen that occasionally got used for time out, or sitting in when he'd had enough of being in the highchair, but I hadn't finished eating.

I often don't use it for days now, but it contains an easel and chalks/crayons, so they can't be taken around the house without me noticing;)

Agutka

I have a travel cot in the kitchen for just such use. There are toys in there and sometimes he hates it and sometimes he'll happily play for ages. He detests going in his cot unless he is tired, but he can be left safely in his room to roam around.
Might be a cheaper option to get a travel cot instead of playpen, as you won't want to leave her in there for too long and they take up soo much space. I miss having a baby that could be confined by a blossom farm padded gym...

Miss_Kitty_Fantastico

thanks everyone

you've all giving me a lot to think about

i think ill sit down over the the weekend with oh and we can look at the several options

thanks again

kirstle99

I also have a travel cot and I wouldn't be without it. If you are short on space a travel cot is also good because at the end of the day when baby is in bed you can just fold it up and stick it in a corner.

:-)

Violetta_2

You can easily pick up a travel cot for £30, we had 1 and it was so handy I'm sure some think I was an evil mother , but we live in a maisonette flat with an upstairs and downstairs, I had physical problems that meant I found it difficult to carry my dd up&downstairs so I was happier to pop her in the travelcot for 5 min's when I nipped upstairs for the loo, she was happy playing in there out of harms way, and like you say (especially if you have pnd) sometimes you need 5 min's peace.
I think a travelcot would be better than a playpen though especially looking at cost's involved.