Bumper in the Crib?

I left mine in until we transitioned him out of the crib (at three), because he did flip around alot and I was afraid he would hit his head or get a limb stuck between the posts (wow, don't know what they are called). Luckily for me he never got out of his crib without asking first, but he did use them as a little step to do so when he had permission to get out.

We left ours in for the same reason- our little guy is all over the place and has banged his head when we remove the bumper. He has been a safe sleeper and our ped said that after 6 months (or when they can roll themselves over) the SIDS risk drops significantly.

I started out with the bumper in the crib because it was cute and matched baby's bedding. Then after reading many articles and being worried, I replaced it with a "breathable" mesh-type bumper from Babies R Us. It prevents their limbs from getting in between the rails, but doesn't do much for head bumps. Fortunately, I didn't have any incidents and it was piece of mind that he could neither climb out or get smothered. Good luck!

At 8 months I wouldn't worry either way. He won't suffocate on them if he's moving around, and he's not tall enough to climb on them and get out of his crib. Those are the 2 concerns about bumper pads that I know of. We took them out of our son's crib several times between 12 and 20 months, and every time we had to put them back in. He is a light sleeper and also restless - he would slam his head into the side of the crib, wake up, and scream inconsolably and we would have to go in. Even in a twin bed now, we put a pillow against the wall because otherwise he'll slam his head into that. Our daughter did fine when we took her bumper pads out at 11 months. We took them out because she had rotavirus and I didn't want to wash vomit off the bumper pads in addition to all the other extra laundry. We didn't have to put them back in, but she does throw her pacifiers through the slats onto the floor and that drives us all crazy.

Hi A.. I felt torn with this issue myself. I used the breathable bumpers, they are more of a preventitive of get limbs stuck or bent in the spokes of the crib. But I felt I'd rather him bunk his head than suffocate. I did put the regular bumpers in for a little when he was able to lift himself a little but then came to another issue of him hanging his chin on the inside of them posing a stragulation risk. So, I would defintely stick to the breathable bumpers. Once he bumps his head a couple of times he'll learn not to do it anyway. Good luck!

I think that as long as your son is not climing on them and falling out of his crib they are okay. My younger son is 18 mos and I still have the bumbers. I left them on with my older son the entire time he was in his crib (I moved him out when he was about 22 months). Good luck!

If you are worried about him smushing his face into the bumper, then take them out. if he bonks his head, he won't hit it that hard and he would be fine. i thought the same way with my two and neither ever hit their heads even hard enough to wake themselves up. you'll probably get a better night's sleep if you took them out!

Hi A.,
I know you received a bunch of responses but I'll give you my input anyway LOL... when I was pregnant with my son I took a class at a hospital, they said the bumper was a cause for SIDS. Needless to say the cute frogger bumper I had came right out... I waited until my son was about 6 months and got a breathable bumper or mesh bumper. If you look on amazon.com and search breathable bumper you'll find one. I finally at about 12 months old put his frogger bumper on, only lasted about 6 months, now his in a toddler bed. I'm one of those mom's that takes everything seriously, especially anything I was told when I was pregnant. Good luck!

They say that you shouldn't use bumpers ever. But I did. For both my kids actually. My daughter is 19 mos old and they are still up in her crib. Honestly, it doesn't matter if you take them off or leave them on at this point. He is old enough to move himself if he gets close to them and can't breath. I like them in because once my daughter spits out her binky it keeps it from falling out onto the floor, where I'm searching for it at 2 am. So it's really up to you.

Hi A.,
I only used the bumper pads before they were able to move around and just for looks. I took them out once my kids were moving because of possble strangulation. Both of my daughters loved to stand up in there cribs around 7-8 mths. and I didn't want them to figure an easy way to climb out as they got older. The hit on the head from the crib rails is a lot better than the fall on the floor!

hi A.-
my (active) son is 13 months old and still has his bumpers. His pediatrician said she would be more worried about bonking his head than suffocating. I agree. Usually by 8 months, especially if he rolls around a lot to sleep on his belly, he won't suffocate. My son is also a stomach sleeper and also constantly moves throughout the night. I've watched him, and when he is in a situation where it "looks like" he is going to suffocate, he always readjusts himself. I think as they get older they know.

get the breathable bumpers. much safer

just make sure they are tied on really good and tight so they don't bunch up. I had more problems when I tried taking them out for a week, she constantly got her arms and legs stuck in the railings while sleeping and would wake up terrified.

Hi. Take them out, we had the same fears, but when we took out the bumpers, our kids were fine.

I had my breathing sensor ring one night and found my daughter's face pushed up in the bumber when she started to be more mobile. Of course I freaked out and took them out the next day. But what I did was i wrapped it around the outside of the crib so it would still prevent her arms and legs from going all the way through, but there was a space where her face couldn't get stuck and she couldn't climb on them. It has worked great. she is 20 months old and I still have it like that. they don't look quite as pretty and there is a space in the back since they are not designed to fit around the outside. But it is totally functional.

We never had bumper pads in our baby's crib when my kids were little. They didn't make such things back then. haha And our babies did just fine without them. If they bumped their heads a couple times it wasn't hard enough to really hurt them. And they learned not to do that after a few bumps anyway.

I NEVER had a bumper by choice for my children! They are just for looks, if he moves and bumps his head it is not going to hurt that much and he will learn too. He could get strangled from the bumper.

Check out this article http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/82944.php

Also I am a NICU nurse and have worked all over the country and every place I have worked, we tell the parents to not use the bumper pad as a part of the discharge instructions.

Hi,

My son tried stepping on them to help themselves climb out of the crib to freedom.

Enjoy!

If he is moving, you don't really have to worry about him getting smooshed up against the side and not breath. My son liked to cuddle up againt the side and I kept them in till he was over 2! I would have taken them out if he tried to use them to climb out- he however loves his crib, I only took them out to make it easier to change the sheets and get him ready to aviod cuddling up aganst the side in preparation for moving to a bed!

Babies R Us sells a mesh "breathable" bumper. It keeps limbs from being tangled and your little one can breathe if he smushes his face against it. If DS tries to use it as a step to get out of crib it smushes down so he can't do this. Only thing it won't help with is the head bonks but I've been using one for awhile and so far so good...

We bought the Breathable Bumper Pad sold at Babies R Us. It is made of mesh so if they put there face up against it they can still breath. Also if they try to stand on it - it collapses.

Around that time, I took them out. I was pretty worried, because he was a mover and shaker too...I was sure he'd end up with a concussion! (But I was more worried about him getting stuck in them, as he pulled himself up to cruise around the crib.)

To my surprise, it made no difference at all. He slept great! I guess they adjust. :) It's pretty dangerous to have them in, once the baby is standing up (even just holding on). They can use them to get over the side! Yikes!

I wouldnt worry about him bonking his head, The problem with crib bumpers for older babies is they use them as ladders or step stools. As soon as they can stand they step up on the bumper which raises them up and then they can topple out of the crib. You should remove them as soon as he starts to stand up.

I have regular bumpers in our crib. My 7 month old has been moving all over the crib since 5 months. Realistically, if you didn't use the bumpers the likelihood of any serious injury to his noggin would be slim. If he is able to move around, then he would probably move his face if smushed against the bumper.

They recently came out with bumpers that secure around each rail on the crib with a zipper, called wonder bumpers. They are somewhat expensive, but if you can afford it, they will solve your problem. They are only sold on-line. www.gomamagodesigns.com/wonder-bumpers . Or if you are crafty, you can make them yourself with foam, fabric & zippers.

We use the breathable bumper, which we got at onestepahead.com, but you can buy it now at bru. It's not cushiony like the traditional bumper, but does ease the bumps a little. Overall, if you're worried about him getting his face smushed, I would remove it, if he bumps his head, he may cry a little, and then get over it.

Hello A.,

Most pediatricians will suggest using only thin bumpers once a baby starts to move around as it can be a suffocation hazard. The thick, plush bumpers are a real no-no. Whatever bumps or bruises your baby may suffer from getting an arm stuck or a bumped head is considered a worthwhile risk compared to the potential alternative. Hope this helps!

R.

I never put the bumpers on my daughter's crib (although I wanted to becuase they look so cute). I was worried about the same thing when she started rolling over and moving around but I decided to leave them off because I figured it was better to have her bump her head than suffocate. She has bumped her head a few times but it never seems to bother her.

I had those same fears. My twins are over 2 years old, so the bumpers didn't do any harm. My son got stuck between the mattress & the crib rails when he was just learning to roll. That's when I knew bumpers were a must have (in my opinion). What I was doing when they were younger was just push the bumpers way down so they just filled the wedge between the mattress & the crib. My son loves to twirl the ruffles of the bumper in his fingers while sucking his thumb as he falls asleep. My daughter could care less about the bumper. She has her stuffed kitty to fall asleep with. =) Hope this gave you some ideas.

~A.

Hi A.,
We used a bumper for our first son and I plan on using it for my second. With my first, he moved around a lot! And he would wake up when he bonked his head. Once I found him on his back (sleeping) with both legs through the bars. One night, he woke up crying and his knee was stuck inbetween. That's when I put the bumpers back on. If he can move his head around and roll over, he's not going to suffocate. It's an involuntary reaction to move your head so you can breath. But I agree with Nan. My child never tried to climb out of his crib but many do and a bumper just gives them that little extra they need to get over the top of the crib.