Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought this elsewhere during a great sale. I always read amazon reviews before I make purchases, particularly baby products. Some of the reviews made me nervous so I wanted to share my experience thus far. My son is a little over 5 months old. We have a two-story house. His crib and changing pad are upstairs while this pack n play is downstairs. Cuddle cove- This thing was awesome. My son was a little premature and always balled up so he needed some nesting to be able to stay on his back. This fit the ticket. The vibration was our savior while he slept in this because it helped him fall asleep. The canopy was great to block out light from the bathroom door or hallway. It's removable so I've even put it on our rock n play too. He slept in it for about two months until he became too tall for it. I didn't find it too soft to be a safety concern at all. I'm a neurotic NICU nurse so I definitely wouldn't have used it if I felt it was unsafe. Noise machine- I used the nature sounds and it also plays music. The vibration unit can be moved from the cuddle cove to the bassinet (raised pack n play bottom). There is a button to control the vibration on here. The most useful tool is the flashlight feature which I didn't fully appreciate for at least a month or two. I put it next to the cuddle cove and it points down to be able to check on the baby in the middle of the night. The light can point either up, down, or both. I would block the downward-facing light with my hand when I was worried about waking the baby. Changing pad- This had me most worried because of the reviews. We've used this changing pad for 95% of his diaper changes since he was born over 5 months ago. There's a slight slant so when he was a newborn, I laid him more toward the interior and he laid just fine (see pic). Once he got a little bigger and not so curled up, I've been able to lay him down in the center. He's almost 16 lbs and it still works great for us. The storage tray is great too. The one closest to us is used for diapers, the big center one holds wipes, and the furthest one hold diaper cream. Pack and play- The actual play yard is great as expected. The bottom raises up to be a bassinet. You can buy sheets to put over the bottom. You could also buy a mattress of sorts but it hasn't been necessary for us. Once our son can sit or pull up, we'll lower it to normal level to use a containment device for safe play and naps. This pack and play has been the best purchase we've made and I'm glad I gave it a shot. I recommend it to my friends and have every intention of using it again when we decide to have another baby. UPDATE: My son is now 10.5 months old and we still use this everyday. He happily plays in the playpen and we still use the changing pad. Nearly every diaper change for the past 10.5 months has taken place on this changing pad and my husband and I are really sad that our son is about to hit the weight limit (25 lb). It has been SO convenient!