We recently upgraded the twins’ play space, and it’s been a total game-changer for our everyday routine!
When we first started out, we had this 4×4 playpen that we received at our baby shower. It worked great for the early days, but now that the twins are mobile, we quickly realized its limitations, and they need more space.
If we could go back, we would have exchanged it for this foldable 4×4 playpen that our friends have. It folds up easily for storage and travel, and they use it both indoors and outside. Bonus: it comes with a mat, whereas we had to buy ours separately, which ended up costing almost as much in total as the foldable one. Having a non-folding playpen is a hassle when you need to move it out of the way or want to bring it outside while doing chores so the babies can play safely in the shade.
🏡 The Setup:
For our updated setup, we used the Regalo Playpen/Baby Gate Combo, which makes about a 4×4 area with a locking gate. And to make it larger, we used two sets. We already had an older Regalo pen from a few years ago and thought we could connect the two, but the new version isn’t compatible anymore. But, rather than buying a whole new set, we used heavy-duty zip ties to join them, and it worked perfectly!
Our living room isn’t very big, so instead of a 3-panel-wide and 4-panel-long layout (like I originally wanted), we went with 2 panels x 4 panels (about 4’x8′). It fits our space beautifully and gives the twins plenty of room to crawl, play, and pull up, while still leaving room for us to access the couch and storage. If you have 2 compatible sets, you can easily just integrate the panels an gates that you need and store the rest.
🧩 The Floor Base:
We added this Vevor 1’x1′ Puzzle Mat underneath as a soft, customizable, and easy-to-clean base to protect our bumbly one year old twins from falls on our hardwood floors. We used 4 tiles wide x 9 tiles long, and it fits the playpen set up great! If you want a larger setup, just add another set of puzzle tiles.
🌿 The Rug:
To make it cozy (and to keep the kids from picking at the puzzle mat corners), we topped it with a washable rug (ours is 6×9 ft). It’s super soft and thin enough for the washer, which is a must with dogs and babies! We just rolled one end under since it was slightly too big with our configuration change, and that also keeps the dogs off the excess. They have lots of patterns and sizes, so measure your space before ordering – and unlike me, make sure you account for space to walk around the pen if you need it, haha.
And in true real-life fashion, within three hours of putting the rug down, Isaac had a blowout that went right down his leg and onto the new rug… and it wiped clean so easily! Definitely a win for washable rugs in this house.
🏔️ The Obstacles:
Their favorite part is the soft climbing obstacles first birthday gift from their grandparents! The kiddoes can climb, pull up, crawl, and even tumble off without fuss, thanks to the cushioning from the puzzle mats.
💛 Why We Love It:
This set up fits right in our living room, which we can easily see from the dining room where Jeff and I both work from home. Having a safe, independent play space where the twins can explore while we work, cook, or clean has been a huge blessing.
They do so well with their independent play together, too, learning to share, take turns, experiment, and copy each other on big milestones like crawling, balancing, climbing, and standing. They also get safe, controlled exposure to our pets (four dogs and two toddlers can be a lot for everyone!). Now we know everyone is safe happy, and comfortable, even when we aren’t right in the middle of it all.
This setup has been one of the best investments for our twin parenting life for a little freedom and peace of mind. Ava and Isaac seem SO happy with so much room for activities.
