Crib bumpers?

[jessmke]

Is there a safe age to start using crib bumpers? We were given a crib bedding set that has them, but have just been using the mesh ones since the real bumpers are a suffocation risk. DD has started doing all sort of crib gymnastics, rolling all over the place and pushing/army crawling herself from one end of the crib to another. I can hear her smacking her head on the bars of the crib. The mesh bumpers keep her from getting her limbs stuck in the bars but they don't provide any sort of padding. Is there a safe age to use the padded crib bumpers?

 

[DaisyDreamer]

Everywhere I've read just says no b/c SIDS. I would use at your own discretion, are they easily removable so you can take them out as she sleeps? Though IDK how practical THAT would be..... I've seen in your prev posts she's got great head control but the question is would she move into the bumper whilst sleeping and not move away??

Is she getting hurt by the bumpers, maybe you can wrap some fabric around the bars to soften them instead???

 

[jessmke]

Everywhere I've read just says no b/c SIDS. I would use at your own discretion, are they easily removable so you can take them out as she sleeps? Though IDK how practical THAT would be..... I've seen in your prev posts she's got great head control but the question is would she move into the bumper whilst sleeping and not move away??

Is she getting hurt by the bumpers, maybe you can wrap some fabric around the bars to soften them instead???

I could definitely see her rolling so her face is right into the bumper because right now she is sleeping with her face about an inch away from the crib bars, but I really don't know if she would have the awareness in her sleep to move if she wasn't able to breath well. She definitely has the motor control to move herself if she is uncomfortable, but if she is asleep I'm not sure if she would do it if you know what I mean. I have heard her smack her head and limbs on the bars but so far it hasn't made her cry so I don't think it is hurting her yet. Maybe I'll just wait and if she hits her head often enough maybe she will learn to stop doing the gymnastics! Maybe we could cover the bars in some foam, on the outside of the mesh crib bumpers, but then wouldn't that be a suffocation hazard as well if she rolled so her face was against on of the padded bars?

 

[wannabemomy37]

I've been told even the mesh bumpers are a no-no...but obviously use at your own discretion.
Same for the rear-view mirrors in a car so you can see your rear facing baby...I plan to use a padded one regardless but there are so many "extra" things that are considered unsafe.

 

[DaisyDreamer]

looks like you have a pickle on your hands Jess.
I would try to keep an eye on her gynmastics... If you hear her banging around maybe just take her out (if she's awake) and put her on the floor or something?

 

[Kiwiberry]

Any age if you get the breathable ones. As for an age for the regular ones at least from my experience I would say when the baby is capable of rolling over front to back and back to front. When babies able to do that it's my personal opinion that the bumpers don't pose any more risk than the crib mattress itself.

 

[jessmke]

Any age if you get the breathable ones. As for an age for the regular ones at least from my experience I would say when the baby is capable of rolling over front to back and back to front. When babies able to do that it's my personal opinion that the bumpers don't pose any more risk than the crib mattress itself.

She can easily roll both directions and always rolls on her stomach to sleep, so I guess if she doesn't suffocate herself in the mattress she won't suffocate herself in the bumpers.

 

[Kiwiberry]

My baby is the same way she loves to sleep on her tummy with her butt sticking up in the air lol.

 

[DaisyDreamer]

My baby is the same way she loves to sleep on her tummy with her butt sticking up in the air lol.

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I'm sure everything will be fine Jess

 

[jessmke]

It's probably one of those things that I will do and stress about it for the first week or so and be glued to the video monitor. Then I'll get used to it and it won't be a big deal anymore. That's what happened when she started sleeping on her tummy!

 

[DaisyDreamer]

It's probably one of those things that I will do and stress about it for the first week or so and be glued to the video monitor. Then I'll get used to it and it won't be a big deal anymore. That's what happened when she started sleeping on her tummy!

Z only sleeps on his tummy! Freaks me out but I can roll him over without waking sometimes

 

[Snufflepop]

You could try bumpsters as a compromise. They are padded bumpers but they go around each individual cot bar and leave the gaps open so that the bars don't hurt babies head but the suffocation risk is minimised. Quite expensive but might give you peace of mind.

 

[jessmke]

You could try bumpsters as a compromise. They are padded bumpers but they go around each individual cot bar and leave the gaps open so that the bars don't hurt babies head but the suffocation risk is minimised. Quite expensive but might give you peace of mind.

Thanks I will look into those!

 

[loeylo]

Id not use bumpers. My wee one is a terrible wiggler, she spins 360 degrees, moves from the top to the bottom of her cot, rolls round in all directions - she literally sleeps all over her cot, feet to foot is completely useless for her. She has got limbs stuck in the bars several times, she has banged her head multiple times and wakes up with marks from the bars all the time, but id rather all of this than suffocation. They are actually trying to ban them here in the UK. Even the breathable ones are a strangulation risk if they climb up and then slip.

 

[JumpingIn]

We have the same dilemma. He often ends up with red marks where he's banged his head! It gets worse when they're standing...we had bumpers attached but he just pulled them down so they weren't offering any protection anyway so we took them off

 

[jessmke]

I think I have found a solution! My LO is quite still when she is actually asleep, she only does her gymnastics when I put her down in her crib for a nap and she will play around for a bit before settling herself to sleep. So yesterday I hung a few blankets over the two sides of her crib to cover up the bars while she was settling herself, and then once she fell asleep I went in and pulled the blankets off. I watched her on the video monitor while she was playing around to make sure she didn't pull the blankets down onto herself, and they were quick and easy to remove once she was asleep.

 

[tiffanyvd87]

I have two girls, 7 and 1, I have always used bumber pads. I know everyone says there is a suffocation risk but its your own discretion. About a month ago i had the bedding out of the crib for wash and my little stuck her leg between the bars and twisted her leg, thankfully no more than a bruise resulted but that is one reason I have always used the bumper pads