All the Bells and Whistles
May 19, 2015
Well, this playard pretty much has it all. (This is a long review, but I find the detailed ones to be the most helpful.)
I was very excited about trying out the Snuggle Suite, because of a disappointing experience with a different brand of playard. Here's the breakdown of my experience with the various features and accessories.
Playard: Very easy set-up for the basic playard & mattress. It took about a minute! The thing I love most about it is the mattress. Our previous playard had a mattress that felt like a board-very hard. This one feels comfortable, with a little bit of give, while still being firm enough to be safe. My baby definitely sleeps better/longer on this mattress than he used to on the other one.
I also liked that the playard was narrow enough to fit through doorways after being assembled, so I could wheel it into the living room to give my baby a safe place to play and watch me do some cleaning.
My husband was impressed with the stylish appearance of the playard, including the curved ends. I think it looks pretty classy myself--if it's possible to have an elegant playard. :)
Bassinet: Attaching the bassinet was simple: remove the mattress from playard, snap the plastic clamps over the edges of the playard, connect the metal pieces in the base of the bassinet to support the mattress, and replace the mattress. Again, ease of assembly is key to making this an item I would want to use.
Changing table and diaper/wipes caddy: The changing table is a good height, and easy to attach to the playard. However, the assembly of this piece was tricky. I followed the directions in the book and managed to get it together eventually. The cover is wipeable, but if I had a baby that was prone to accidents, I'd put a pad of some sort on it, since I don't think it would be a simple matter to take apart for cleaning.
The diaper/wipe holder has three generous compartments, and is also easy to attach to the end of the playard. It's convenient to store diaper changing supplies right next to the changing platform.
Bouncer: This took a while to assemble, but wasn't too complicated. Again, I read the instructions. I haven't actually used this piece, since my baby is too big for it, but I'm glad to have it for future children (I hope) since I borrowed one last time. It's a bit larger than the one I was used to, but still looks pretty portable. It snaps onto the playard frame easily, although I'd use it as a freestanding bouncy seat.
Music/Nature sounds player & nightlight/look light: This handy gadget snaps onto the edge of the playard. I actually put it on my baby's crib for regular nighttime use. It plays music and nature sounds (I use one of the sounds for white noise while my baby goes to sleep) and has a timer for five, ten, or fifteen minutes. There are several different settings for the nightlight and "look light."
I'm not sure how long this thing stays on if you don't use the timer, but it does shut off eventually, because I left it on without the timer once and when I came back several hours later it had shut off.
Summary: If you are looking for a product that does a lot of different things, and does them well, this might be just what you need. I am very pleased with the Graco Snuggle Suite LX and think it will continue to work well for me and my family.
Disclosure: I received this product for free, but the opinions and experiences in this review are my own.
This product review was collected by the manufacturer.