Reddit reviews Toddleroo by North States Superyard Colorplay 8 Panel Baby Play Yard: Safe play area anywhere. Folds up with carrying strap for easy travel. Freestanding. 34.4 sq. ft. enclosure (26" Tall, Multicolor)

• Baby-proof the shit out of your house. Every cabinet, every stair, every plug. That way you can relax on the couch and your little crawler, walker cannot get into any trouble. We have 4 gates in my house. My kid could try with all her might to kill herself, but she wouldn't be successful.
  
• Your baby won't remember this time. That's a good thing. Don't beat yourself up about what you're not doing. What you are doing is giving him a forever buddy. They will be closer than close, and thicker than thieves. You haven't messed anything up.
  
• Invest in a baby jail.
  
  
  
• Have family come later--we had support in weeks 2-6 this time, and the emphasis was wearing out the toddler, and letting me sleep with and nurse the baby.
  
• If you can do it: have another wave of support set up for the 4 month sleep regression. It feels so much worse with 2.
  
• You'll be able to get them napping at the same time--don't worry about that. The first month, the baby will sleep anywhere and everywhere.
  
• Get your older baby used to hand washing, as soon as you can. My second born was sick a lot b/c she was born in December, during the worst flu season on record. We avoided the flu, but she got cold after cold from her sister. Persistent hand washing, and keeping the oldest's fingernails short helped.
  
• Your second baby will be better at putting him/herself to sleep... pretty much out of necessity. I'm able to put down my baby and walk out of the room (unheard of with my first!), because I have to tend to my toddler.
  
• Teach your oldest sign language. He will be right in the middle of trying to speak and not being able to yet. Sign language will help you communicate without a lot of frustration. Pick up "baby signs" to start, and then add on books as he masters the first signs (it took until my daughter was a year to really get the baby signs down. By 14 months, she had a sign language vocabulary explosion, and could ask for water, juice, to go in her stroller, to sleep, bathe, and for lots of different types of food. It helped us avoid many breakdowns and tantrums.
  
  The bad:
  
  
• Your partner and you will be like passing ships in the night for a while. Two babies: two parents, two baths, two bedtimes... you'll both have your hands full. Try your best to connect with a hug each day.
  
• There were many days where showering wasn't possible due to one baby or another needing me. I've had to jump in with my toddler a couple of times--once to her extreme emotional dismay, and another she didn't mind since we used mama's bathtub (the SPECIAL bathtub).
  
• Pregnancy is harder. Your body is looser. You'll feel the aches and pains earlier, The nausea is more intense. You won't feel connected like you did with your first because you'll be so busy with your first.
  
  The good:
  
  
• Birth is much better. Dreamier, even. I had a hard first birth, a very long labor, and was too sore to walk without pain for 6 weeks. The second birth was gentle, quick, and I was walking without any pain days after birth.
  
• You will be so confident this time around. You'll know what works, what works for you, what works for your family.
  
• You'll already be in the shit, so it won't feel like going backwards. And when you're out, you will be out (if you want to be).
  
• Your oldest will love being big brother, and he will love his sibling. Being a big boy helper is so exciting! Pushing a stroller is fun! Showing baby how to do things is thrilling! Soon you will be able to sit back, in your baby proofed home, and watch your similarly-aged children entertain each other like magic.
  
  You can do it. It will be hard. Very hard, but then suddenly, it won't be. And you won't even remember what life was even like with a family of three, because your children will love and need each other. It will be like you've been waiting for this child, and life is unimaginable without them--it happens so fast, and it is so worth it.
  
  Good luck!
  
  And now that I have a 3 year old and 18 month old:
  
  
• Your second kid will make you feel like you don't know WTF you're doing sometimes. You will learn. Be gentle on yourself.
  
• Miralaax for constipation saved my life with my second kiddo. It is non-stimulating, and was suggested by our pedi around month 8. If your kiddo is having trouble pooping (esp if formula fed), this is a very helpful option to ask your pedi about.
  
• Two small kids in the bath--woo that was dangerous for a minute. There are some sit-me-up baths that will help facilitate a safer bath with two for your little one. I found a mom who had this bath seat from germany. If you order it new, be aware it will take a while to get to the US. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it definitely helped!
  
• I had PPD/PPA(gression), and it took me until almost a year after having my second baby to get on medication. I was in heavy denial, even in counseling, thinking that the meds would change me in some fundamental way. THEY DO NOT. They help you shake off that terrible voice in your head (mine sounds like my mother) telling me that I'm not doing a good enough job. If you are feeling like a total failure, are angry at the whole world--that's also postpartum depression, but it's expressing itself in anger. Please, please, don't suffer. Zoloft has saved my last pregnancy from being a complete torture. I'm looking forward to seeing how post partum is without the depression!
  
• My kids start sleeping through the night around a year old. So that's how long it took for me to feel like "we made it" through the hard part. Naturally, I got pregnant around 10 months PP.

Kids get into a crazy amount of stuff. When my son was about to turn two, he stood up on his tip toes, opened the silverware drawer, and pulled out a large knife, then fell backwards (while holding the knife) with the force he used to pull it out.

Babyproofing is amazing for peace of mind (and also so you don't have to be on them saying 'no' every 2 seconds). There are a few key things which have helped me feel confident to leave my son alone for a small period of time while I go get a drink of water, or go to the bathroom.

Here are some of my best babyproofing finds:

Baby fence - put this around your entertainment center/computer area.

Door Monkey - no installation, takes literally 1 second to put onto the door frame, and keeps the kids out of non-babyproofed areas, like the bathroom, or spare room, etc.

Latch - can be used on drawers or appliances that you can't or don't want to drill into, such as the storage drawer at the bottom of the stove which my son loves pulling open, even if its hot!

You may want to look into something like this. It's a play area, but it can be folded up in such a way that it makes a gate. I used this (or something similar to this) to block off my kitchen back when my daughter first started walking.

The downside is that when the kiddos get big enough, they can move it. But you can probably figure out a way to secure it sufficiently - i.e. eye hooks in the wall and just tying it to the railing.

Hmmm...idk how easily it would be to attach one, especially to the metal. I know it sounds odd, but we've always used a playard. Every section is removable and you can rearrange the entire thing to the dimensions you want. To make it work as a gate (to like block off the kitchen, for instance) we've just bended and folded around furniture. Anchoring behind heavy things my son can't move. The gate is placed between the wall and the heavy object, and then bent just so that it can't easily be moved, even if one of us trips over it and falls...which has happened lol. Currently it's anchored behind a washer and an old sewing machine table. Also when we need to place it somewhere else, it's really easy to move and folds in on itself, accordian style.

We've lived in two places since our son was born and neither really had an easy place to secure a gate. We kinda just got creative lol.

This is what you're looking for: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006NTY1HU/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

We've got a couple of tricky spots and these always do the trick. What I'd do with that setup is take two of the panels and create a 90 degree angle. Set them on the floor and tie one end to the rail with the other end turning into the wall behind that piece of furniture that seems to be on the opposite wall.

Maybe even take 3 panels and wrap around the rail entirely. It's a very versatile gate system. We use them everywhere.

I'll help, I have one of those. Product: http://www.northstatesind.com/index.cfm/event/productview/id/182/catid/11

From: Toys R US $96 / Target $77 / Amazon $92

This isn't a pretty solution, but I'd just get one of those panel gates like this one that you can shape the way you want and use it to block off the tree. Alternatively, you can get a small tree and put it up on like a table that is too high for your LO to reach and also put the presents on the table.

We got what we called the "cage" lol! Its those big gates that you can make into an octagon shape or a square. It worked well for us. We mainly got it to kind of separate the living room and keep toys organized we were able to use it until a few months after walking when he figured out how to loft it up. Best 100$ investment! It comes in neutral colors as well.

North States Industries Superyard Play Yard, Colorplay, 8 Panel https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006NTY1HU/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_ctssub15PZ34N

Maybe something like this? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006NTY1HU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_sjE0BbSQ61DKJ

Though how many people will be there? I've found with lots of family around kiddos have a lot more people who want to sit and play with them, chase them from room to room etc. than normally at home. As long as there are some toys and at least one kid safe space (like a living room rug) where people will be sitting around too I don't know that you'd necessarily need to contain just the two of them together.

My solution, right outside my play area.

First, i would talk to your family and see if they are willing to do some baby proofing to help you out. You might offer to provide some of the things you need to make that possible. Ask if fragile things in low spaces can be moved while he is still learning the boundaries. They agreed to let you bring you kiddo so I hope they are willing to help you out on this part.

In the mean time, a playyard might be best for you. It can be used in a circle, used as a barrier to block rooms/doors, and is easily taken apart and stored. It was a life saver for me when i watched babies in places that weren't baby proof.

Edit: As an unintended benefit, the kiddos i've watched that spent time in this 'baby jail' learned to pull themselves up on furniture/gates much earlier than other kiddos. Motivation to try hard!

Eh - they learn quick what things hurt - tho mine won't stop climbing onto the back of the couch. these are pretty awesome. But instead of containing the child, we put them around our entertainment center which keeps him out of it.

the superyard is without doubt my best friend/purchase to date.

We got a couple sets of these: https://www.amazon.com/North-States-Superyard-Colorplay-Playard/dp/B006NTY1HU/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1468943895&sr=8-1&keywords=baby+cage and they've been great for caging off electronics.

Once our daughter was big enough we got her an activity table that went around a seat, it converts to a high chair/booster that grows with kiddo which saved us buying a high chair.

Activity center: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LTI0ARO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_vt5MDbQPJ4TAX

Once she was a bit bigger we used her bouncer and kept her in our line of sight.

Bouncer: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016XS2O7O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Mu5MDbGS0KDD7

Now that she’s walking we use baby gates and a play yard fence to keep her in a solidly baby proofed area and she still loves her bouncer at 17 months old

Play yard fence: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006NTY1HU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_vv5MDb89CNM0C

Edit: we also had a larger swing in the living room and a smaller portable swing I’d move around when I’d need to go to a different room to clean or something.

There are several variations but this is the most popular one where I live:

North States Superyard Colorplay 8 Panel Playard https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006NTY1HU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_I-55AbM54XEYE

So, for poop in the bark yard issue I've got one of these that sits outside permanently in a circle so the dog can't poop in that area and the babies have a grassy area to play in. Once we get their outdoor play house I'm going to hook two of those gate things together and it will live around the playhouse to keep dog/poop out and babies in.

I've got no solution on the behavior issue though. Our dog is an asshole and almost 11 years old, so she isn't changing any time soon. She growls and nips at them if they get close, so now that Ben's crawling we've had to make sure he doesn't get too close to her.

I have two of the same cages for my birdies! I'm planning on just putting this play yard thing around the cages, and using binder clips to secure the doors as those take a good bit of squeezing to open. I already have to use them on the little side doors in my budgies cage because she has learned how to push them open, lol. Black or grey zip ties that blend in to prevent chewing or leather toy straps would probably also work.

Setup a playard like this (if you have hard floors setup a playmat as well within the gated area. This type of setup gives them lots of room to play):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006NTY1HU/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_eoiXCb43A4D11

Or use a playpen like this (I think this option is better for small spaces and/or you want to be able to move it from room to room easiest):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0725JZ9KQ/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_vpiXCb5JR7RH8

A baby gate. You can even buy two and hook them together if needed. This is what we used. You can move it when watching a movie if desired and put easily put back: https://www.amazon.com/North-States-Superyard-Colorplay-8-Panel/dp/B006NTY1HU/ref=pd_cp_75_3/135-4847551-3754254?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B006NTY1HU&pd_rd_r=26d33f3d-e5b3-4ac9-9d8f-5730e2beb2ee&pd_rd_w=M1Myt&pd_rd_wg=Mj46I&pf_rd_p=ef4dc990-a9ca-4945-ae0b-f8d549198ed6&pf_rd_r=XFR1JT4SK18HDWKP64X5&psc=1&refRID=XFR1JT4SK18HDWKP64X5

It does not have to be totally enclosed. Most toddlers will leave it alone if the ends are just secured to a weight or something (or nothing, depending on the child).

Practice getting her to sleep on whatever you're going to bed her down in while camping. The clothing and the playpen or whatever.

Turn off the lights in the house and play with flashlights. Maybe even a campout in the backyard if you're able.

Bring benedryl just in case and a good first aid kit.

Also bring the comforts of home like blankie, stuffy, whatever.

Bug spray or lotion only works if you reapply it as recommended. There are 'family safe-non-deet' options, but they don't work as well and need reapplication frequently.

Sunscreen.

Glow sticks. Toss one in her bed in case she wakes up scared at night. Tie one around her wrist or pin it to the back of her jacket. It'll help you spot her if she wanders. Plus, they love them. They're nice in the ice chest too.

Stock up on baby wipes and a spray bottle to fill with water if you're not near a water source. You can do alot of clean up with those.

Embrace the filth. She's bound to eat some dirt, gnaw on a stick, etc.

Those cheap, fit together, padded mats you can get at Harbor Freight come in handy and can provide a crawling, playing space. The collapsible play yard (not play pen) things are the bomb too. https://www.amazon.com/North-States-Superyard-Colorplay-Playard/dp/B006NTY1HU/ref=sr_1_4_a_it