Crib Bumpers

[Anonymous]

Let me chime in here. Every parent has to live with their own decisions. Just keep in mind that the SIDS folks say that we should not use bumpers; we should put our babies to sleep on their backs; we should not leave toys in the crib etc. SIDS rates have gone down dramatically since people have started following these guidelines. So - I am not going to take the risk with my child's life.

[Anonymous]

Used them with DD #1 until she was out of the crib at 2 1/2, now DD #2 has them, she is 14 months. Both kids move around so much at night that I couldn't imagine not having them.

[Anonymous]

I started using a bumper around 4 months after my son started moving around a lot in his crib. He would hit his head and wake himself up. I feel like the bumper really helps cushion those blows.

[Anonymous]

I started using a mesh bumper around 3 months when DD kept waking herself up because one of her limbs got stuck in the slats.

[Anonymous]

I have to fess up. My son is 9 months old and this is THE FIRST I AM HEARING about experts recommending no bumpers in the crib. I got the message re: only sleeping on his back. done. Got the message re: blankets. only use a sleep sack. Got the message re: no overheating, no smoking, etc. But where or where does this no bumper rule come from???

[Anonymous]

DS is almost 11 months and we are still using them. When he started standing up, I thought we would take them down, but he hasn't used them to climb on, and like others, he seems to enjoy cuddling up next to the bumper. I'll just continue to see how he does w/them and if it seems like he is going to climb on them, then out they'll go.

[Anonymous]

We have the mesh breathable bumper. Never had a problems or worried about suffocating.
It actually helps keep the hallway light out of DD's eyes too. DD is 12 mo.

[Anonymous]

To the poster that did not know the information about not using crib bumpers due to SIDS risk, I thought that this was pretty common knowledge, but I also know that our Dr mentioned this more than once at his infant appts.

The risk with the bumpers is that they can roll into the bumper and then not have the strenght to pull themselves away if their face gets too close to the bumper. The fear is that if their nose and mouth is up against the bumper then they can suffocate.

[Anonymous]

We use one and just as I was getting ready to remove it, our baby started rolling around more in the night. That bumper has saved him from numerous head banging incidents! He now curls up next to it like a pillow. Guess we are stuck with it.

[Anonymous]

I am not saying here has never been a crib bumper infant death, however wouldn't you think if an infant suffocated in the crib bumper there would be a recall of them and it would be blamed on the bumper just as the child who fell off the table in the Bumbo caused a Bumbo recall even though the parents should not have had the baby on the table in the Bumbo?

My lactation consultant said that babies have little pug noses so they can breath while breast feeding as their noses are smooshed into the boob - yet the babies breath. Once a baby is mobile enough to roll over or move around isn't it at that time that they have enough neck/head strength to move their face?

I am not condoning use of the bumper, just saying it seems unlikely to cause death.

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I had heard that part of the reason for no bumpers was that they don't allow air to circulate through the crib, leading to a lack of fresh oxygen, which could be a contributing factor to SIDS. That being said, my 5 month old DS is so squirmy and gets his feet caught in the slats of his crib so we have purchased a breathable bumper to help solve this problem.

[Anonymous]

never used them. Tried to keep things to a minimum in the crib.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not saying here has never been a crib bumper infant death, however wouldn't you think if an infant suffocated in the crib bumper there would be a recall of them and it would be blamed on the bumper just as the child who fell off the table in the Bumbo caused a Bumbo recall even though the parents should not have had the baby on the table in the Bumbo?

My lactation consultant said that babies have little pug noses so they can breath while breast feeding as their noses are smooshed into the boob - yet the babies breath. Once a baby is mobile enough to roll over or move around isn't it at that time that they have enough neck/head strength to move their face?

I am not condoning use of the bumper, just saying it seems unlikely to cause death.

They don't recall little baby blankets even though everyone says not to use them.

[Anonymous]

Ok, good post. My ds is 8 months. We did not have a bumper for the first six months but then used the mesh one when he started sticking his legs through the slats. Now, we use a the thick comfy bumper since he also cuddles up to it and bumps his head when he moves around. The unfortunate part is that we have a converter crib and the one length of the crib does not have slats so you can't attach the bumpers etc. and that is the side he bumps his head the most. Ugh!

I started using blankets too the last few months, which he kicks off all the time and chews on. Sometimes, I find the blanket (breathable) a little over his face. This scares me but he seems to be able to pull it off his face too. I may resort back to the sleep sacks. But, he moves around so much I would hate to impede his new found mobility.

Also, I made the daycare take off the bumper (ds was 4 mos when he started daycare) yet I am now using one at home. Should I give the daycare a bumper now or at this point does it matter?

[Anonymous]

I don't think the daycares are allowed to use bumpers, at least I don't think so if you are in VA.