The Story of the Baby-Pen
The Story of the Baby-Pen
July 19, 2024
(haha, will update with pictures once this software likes me again)
This is the story of the baby-pen. It has many names over time and depending on mood. It’s the baby-pen, the trap, the beach pen, the baby room, the kid cage, or whatever creative name we decide in the moment; basically, it’s an oversized collapsible play yard for a baby, toddler, or child yet incapable of climbing the very well crafted outside supports!
What happened was that I made an online purchase when Lucas was a baby and we still lived in our first house which had three bedrooms. Our plan was to add on to the house, but in the meantime, we needed a safe place for the babies to play where little things like doll shoes and lego bricks were forbidden as those pesky (but very good at building imagination) things were all over the house “by accident” (aka, dropped from some creation mom was shown or hitching rides outside of the playroom on hair, in the dog fur, or in a jean cuff).
For the girls, we had used an archaic-style (the collapsible sides that folded in half circa 1990s) fold-up playpen that had worked amazing through its ten year lifespan, but as with a lot of our baby items, Jillian was the last to use it. After Jillian outgrew things, we had either given the items away or they were completely worn out. It was also that time in our company when we were slowly selling off vehicles so purchasing power was limited. I’m thrifty by nature – we don’t do waste and secondhand is usually best in most things. In my searching, the tiny pack-n-plays were running $60 – $100 used at that season and this was a $63 online special with “free shipping” (I always call it “included shipping”). I’d been buying car parts online for quite a few years so figured I could safely buy a baby pen online – I mean, the picture showed it, right? “Details” on this item didn’t give dimensions, just weight. I bought what I thought was a small octagonal collapsible play pen, you know, the lady standing next to it on the internet photo made it look about three feet tall, three by four feet unfolded maybe. I was worried it wouldn’t be tall enough.
Surprise, surprise!
What we received was a very sturdy, giant play pen that stretched six feet from side to side when open! It was so big that we would use baby blankets to make a “bed” mat for the baby to sleep on, put the baby toy box in on another wall, and have room for two or three big sisters to play! We used it as “Lucas’ room” except for nighttime and outside time. Lucas and two of his cousins spent a lot of time in and out of that little baby safe pen. When mom was done chasing them around but they still had energy, into said pen they went. It was big enough that even the sisters wanted to get in and play inside!
It’s been a wonderful tool! It folds into a small six-inch “log” about four feet tall and slides into a protective bag when not in use. It was Lucas’ room. Later, it was Thea’s room. Now, it takes up the entire living room if we use it for Laud at the house, but if we set nine foam squares under it, it makes a safe play area for Laud at the property (since he’s outgrown the bassinet with the bug net). It fills up one side of the kitchen, so it gets some house use for Laud.
When I see the baby pen, it reminds me that sometimes what we get is not what we expected. Often, when I try to plan life, that’s what seems to happen. I expect something; I end up with something else. If we choose to be grateful and find the positive, we can end up enjoying the unexpected. I chose to enjoy the over-sized play pen and see what it could be rather than to be upset that it wasn’t what I wanted. In the case of the baby pen, it was easy to find the positives!
Thank you for reading.
Type at you next time,
~Nancy Tart
