I'll get even more specific than that, Jenny... LOL
When we were looking for the necessities... I thought I needed a cradle/bassinet and a pack n play.
Everyone needs the pack n play as it is a lifesaver when sprout get's to be about 4 months+. It helps create a controlld environment that you can feel safe walking away for a minute while they're playing. Not to mention every time you travel you'll have a handy little bed for sprout as well... also in those first weeks when you're healing up - it's nice to plant the pack n play by the sofa so you can rest, watch tv and be out of "bed" and sprout can have his/her own little place to sleep...
Having said that... we decided to use our pack n play as a bassinet/cradle... saving us that additional expense...
HUGE Pros to doing that:
Our pack n play has a diaper changing station right on it... so in for that 4 am feeding when you're half asleep - I was able to just sit up in bed, and change her properly, feed her and put her back to sleep (we're not co-sleep'er kind of people... way too dangerous - but I still wanted her close to me) without ever having to get out of bed... SOOO nice. My best friend didn't do this with her first one... and did with her second - she said the amount of sleep she's gotten has nearly doubled, b/c she didn't have to wake up her entire body walking into the nursery in the middle of the night to use the changing table.
Here's the pack n play we went with:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/inde...&cp=2255986.2256245.2256274&parentPage=family
If you choose to do this though, becareful to not get a pack n play with a "set in" Diaper station... eg:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2373424&cp=2255983.2256188&parentPage=family
Notice how the second one sits down inside the playard instead of resting above it?
Sprout could easily roll under this and that could create a potential room for suffication... so that one's a no no when using it as a bassinet.
But, the above, windsor model sits high above the bassinet and is a permanent part of the unit. My other reasoning for not using the one that sets down inside was that, though I know you can remove it and put it back when you go to change the baby... I didn't like the idea that at 3 am I would be responsible for hooking it on the sides correctly so my baby and the diaper changing thingy didn't fall. That didn't set well with me. I wanted something attatched... that I knew would be stable, when i was less than so. :lol:
Ok... this just got really long. LOL
Anyway - I love that we were able to use our pack n play as a bassinet. It created more space, allowed me to get TONS of use out of our pack n play, saved me an additional equipment expense and gave me alot of additional sleep when i needed it most.
Hope that helps a little!