Fun in the Sun #2: Carter's Animal Parade Comfort n' Care Playard and Changer from Summer Infant ~ Review & Giveaway

One of our family traditions growing up was taking a summer vacation. It's something I always looked forward to and I love the memories we were able to make and will cherish them always. I want to create those same experiences for my kids, which is why I love summer. It's a time for us to go on family trips and start making memories even at a young age. Knowing that we'll be doing some traveling this summer, I want to make sure I'm prepared with the necessary baby gear. And, what better place to turn than Summer Infant?!
With the mission of making this 'the best time of your life' and putting their heart and soul into everything they design, Summer Infant is dedicated to bringing parents a large selection of products that are both safe and sensible for little ones. Between their high quality baby products and excellent customer service, they have become a name parents know and trust.

We own several Summer Infant products and have always been impressed with their high quality, innovative gear for little ones. Such care is taken to create products that are made with both parent and child in mind which I love. Having had such great experiences in the past, I was thrilled to learn we were going to have the opportunity to review their Carter's Animal Parade Comfort n' Care Playard and Changer.

Features/Benefits:

• Removable activity jumper featuring sounds and lights for baby in comfort and safety inside playard
• Parent assist tray helps organize baby essentials
• Fold over changer stows away during non use
• Fold over, full size bassinet
• Music module helps soothe newborn
• Compact fold, wheels and travel bag for portability
• Full size newborn bassinet music, nature and womb sounds

With two little ones, traveling means remembering all the necessities. One of those items being a playard! Kaelyn is old enough to sleep in a bed pretty much wherever we go, but Kaden is still too little. That's why I knew this playard would be absolutely perfect. He was excited too! :)

As I pulled everything out of the box, I could tell right away that this was not your ordinary playard. It has a lot to offer and I couldn't wait to try everything out.

I was immediately impressed with the convenient carrying case. It fits everything except for the changing table and activity jumper which I thought was great! A person can choose to either carry it using the two handles on the side, or wheel it using the handle on the top. There are two holes on the bottom where the wheels stick through so it can be wheeled easily. I thought this was a great feature, as carrying a playard into a motel or wherever we're going can be quite a chore.

I first set up it up as a playard, which is how we would use it for Kaden to sleep in when we're away from home. It was incredible easy to set up....simply click the sides into place, push down the center of the base and place mattress inside. In no time it was up and ready to use.

I absolutely love the colors and prints on this Animal Parade playard. They're neutral and very cute. Best of all...the quality is amazing. I am very impressed with how durable it is and know it's something that will last us a long time. This is much appreciated, especially with baby #3 on the way!
Kaden saw it set up and wanted to get in right away. With a weight limit of up to 30 lbs, it's something he can still easily use. I could tell he was more than happy to lay down and get comfy. This is going to be the perfect place for him to sleep when we're away from home this summer. He even enjoyed sitting in it to read his books.

I've seen and used various playards in the past, but none of them have had such a unique feature as the removable activity jumper with sounds and lights. This is probably one of the neatest things about the playard and something I think almost every parent could use at some point. When Kaden was about 4 months old, we took a short trip to an indoor waterpark and stayed overnight in the motel that was connected. We took all kinds of things to keep him entertained and off the motel floor. Looking back, I SO wish we had had this playard at the time. It would have been the perfect way to keep him entertained and happy without having to bring so many other items.

Not only can a baby jump in it (there are adjustable straps to fit it just right), but there's a neat tray with different things for the baby to do as well. What a GREAT idea!

With a weight limit of 25 lbs, Kaden is a bit too big to use it...however, Kaelyn was more than willing to let her stuffed animal test it out. It was incredibly easy to set up and securely slides into place. I would be very comfortable letting my baby sit in it (from 4 months+ or once he/she could hold their head up) knowing that they were completely safe. Once this next baby arrives, I look forward to using this activity jumper a lot!

Another must when it comes to any playard, is a bassinet. It's the perfect place for newborns (up to 15 lbs) to sleep when away from home or still in mom and dad's room. It's very easy to convert from a playard to a full-size bassinet and seems like a very comfortable place for little ones to relax. There's even a music module that helps soothe newborn with music, nature and womb sounds! It attaches right to the side of the playard for convenient use.


Another handy thing to have is a place to safely change a baby's diaper. That's why I was happy to see that the Carter's Animal Parade Comfort n' Care Playard and Changer has a changer for babies up to 25lbs. With a couple of screws put in, I had it ready to click into place in no time. It's a really nice size and has a waterproof material for easy clean up. With as many diapers as newborns go through, I think this is a great feature to have.


To make it even better, there's a parent assist tray to help organize baby essentials. It has enough space to hold things like diapers, wipes, lotions and more! I love it!

Putting the playard away was just as easy as setting it up. Hubby had it folded and put into the carrying case in just a few minutes. It's easy to store when not in use and will be incredibly handy for travel this summer. We have been very impressed with the quality as well as the many features the Carter's Animal Parade Comfort n' Care Playard and Changer offers. I would highly recommend it to parents with little ones!

Of course this is just one of many great products Summer Infant has that would be perfect for summer fun. With everything from booster seats and travel swings to infant car seats...they have it all!

Buy It: You can purchase the Carter's Animal Parade Comfort n' Care Playard and Changer for $179.99 on Amazon.com, as well as at a number of other online retailers.

Win It: One lucky reader is going to win a Carter's Animal Parade Comfort n' Care Playard and Changer of their own!

Mandatory Entry - Visit Summer Infant and let me know another product you'd love to have.

Extra Entries: (Only valid after the mandatory entry has been completed. Leave 1 comment for each extra entry)

1. 1 extra entry- Enter the Summer Infant Disney Booster Seat Giveaway (winner's choice) at Thanks, Mail Carrier

2. 1 extra entry- 'Like' Summer Infant on Facebook

3. 1 extra entry- Follow Summer Infant on Twitter

4. 3 extra entries- Grab our Fun in the Sun Button and leave a comment with the URL where it can be found.

5. 3 extra entries- Blog about this giveaway (linking to this post and Summer Infant) and leave THREE comments with the URL to that post.

6. 1 extra entry- Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway (You can tweet once a day for one extra entry every day)! You can copy and paste:

Fun in the Sun 2: #WIN a Carter's Animal Parade Comfort n' Care Playard from @SummerInfant! ARV $180! http://bit.ly/jDwxJk Ends 6/17

7. 3 extra entries- Post my blog button or blog URL to your blog and leave a comment with the URL to your blog. (If it already is, leave me a comment letting me know)

8. 2 extra entries- subscribe to A Mom's Balancing Act via e-mail (found along the side column) and leave TWO comments letting me know.

9. 2 extra entries- 'Like' A Mom's Balancing Act on Facebook

10. 2 extra entries- Follow my blog publicly on Google Friend Connect

11. Enter any of my other Fun in the Sun giveaways running now. Leave me a comment on which one(s)....ONE entry for EACH giveaway you enter!!

Leave one comment for each entry you complete. Be sure to leave your email address with your comments or make sure it's visible in your profile so that I have a way to contact you if you win!

This giveaway will end June 17th and is open to the US and Canada!

**The products for this review and giveaway were provided for free by Summer Infant. All opinions found here are my own and were not influenced in any way. The opinions of others may differ from my own**