DD is 7.5 months old and so far has not had anything in her crib per the AAP recommendations. Now that she does so much moving around in there though, I'm starting to wonder if I should get her bumpers. Does anyone add bumpers at this stage? Or do people just never use them at all.
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We just used a breathable one since the beginning.
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We've always had a bumper. She doesn't really need it now at 1 yr, but I leave it in there to block some of the light out when the sun comes up.
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Just curious.. are you thinking about a bumper because your LO gets their legs through the slats? This has recently been happening to us now that LO uses his crib as a play arena.
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My sister used breathable bumpers once her son started moving around. I'll probably do the same.
She did use regular plush type bumper that was handed down in the crib at my parents' house, but I think he was a little older then.
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I was thinking about it because wen LO rolls over she hits her head on the crib
I haven't put any in though because I'm too paranoid about SIDS. -
Nay. Kids have been killed by crib bumpers, but not by getting legs or arms stuck in the slats. Sure they may get a bruise or even a fracture, but far better than a dead baby.
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@Mrs. Jacks: Are breathable bad as well? I don't have plans to put up a bumper, just curous...
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@littlek: Yes. She always gets her arms and/or legs stuck and starts yelling for me. I'm pretty sure she hit her head the other day too.
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@Mrs. Jacks: good point. Is there anything I can do to mitigate the possibility of injuries without resorting to use of a bumper?
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Hmm, we have a breathable one, I'd be curious to hear if those are considered just as dangerous..
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@littlek: @plantains: With any bumper, the highest risk is not with suffocation in older kids (they can move away from the bumper pretty easily), it's with strangulation. Super scary, right? If they get tangled up around their neck, they might not even be able to call out to you!
An article published in 2011 in Pediatrics, titled "Injuries Associated With Cribs, Playpens, and Bassinets Among Young Children in the US, 1990-2008," stated that "The use of crib bumper pads is strongly discouraged because the possibility for serious injury, including suffocation and strangulation, greatly outweighs any minor injury they may prevent."
Breathable bumpers are better, in the sense that they avoid the problem of suffocation but they still have the risk of strangulation.
Getting a leg or arm stuck is really a small price to pay for avoiding these bigger problems. The best way I can think of to avoid the slats problem is to buy a crib without slats. But by the time our kids are old enough to get stuck in the slats, they are also old enough to call out and bring us to their rescue
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Nay. we tried the breathable one and hated it
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We don't use bumpers.
We found that using a sleep sack helped keep his legs from getting stuck.
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@Sammyfab: Great suggestion!
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We used a bumpers when she was tiny, mostly to keep her warmer in our drafty old house.
At 6 months old, we took them off and put her in a sleep sack. It generally keeps her from getting caught in the bars or trying to climb over them.
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I think I'm the only one here who uses bumpers. At first, LO was in a bassinet, then a cradle. My mom made really thin padded bumpers that specifically fit this cradle. Then when we put his crib together, at six months, we put the standard crib bumpers in and have ever since. At one year, the only bumper not in place is the one at the 'head' of his crib. He kept trying to step over the bumper out into the world but he'd only do it at that one spot. With the bumper gone, he doesn't try it.
We don't use a sleep sack. Never have. Never heard of them until we joined this site. He hasn't fallen, jumped out, bruised himself, gotten tangled or anything else and since he tends to roll around in his sleep - I often hear this 'thump' in the middle of the night as he rolls - I intend to keep using them. They keep his little head from getting knocked around too much.
I'm sure this makes me a terrible mom but we'll probably continue the same routine with this next LO unless something changes. So far we've had absolutely no injuries or issues and it gives me peace of mind.
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We never used bumpers. There was a period of maybe a month where occasionally LO would throw an arm or a leg through a slat and need to be dislodged (this made me really love my video monitor- usually I could tell from his crying whether he was just fussing and would quiet or really had a problem, but the video monitor was great for letting me know whether he was just being pissy or whether he had a problem, like being stuck, and therefore how fast I needed to get over there!)
It was a pain when it happened, but looking back, it was only a short period of time that it was a problem, so I was never like "must find solution to problem of crib slats."
He may occasionally thunk his head or limbs on the side of the crib, but that is NOTHING compared to what he does to himself during the normal course of a day (not a cautious one, my child. Much with the falling down). -
We went with a breathable bumper weaved in and out of the slats. We added it around 6 months, when he was suddenly much more mobile. It's been great so far.
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We don't use them. I've read too many horror stories.
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We used breathable bumpers for a couple weeks after we moved LO into her crib (at 4 months). I didn't like it at all - it was always falling down so I felt like it wasn't really doing its job anyways. No bumper for us now, and we've been fine so far. Most annoying thing is that her pacifiers fall out of her crib all the time.
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I'm thinking I will stay bumper-free then. Thanks for sharing all your experiences everyone.
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@Mrs. Jacks: I'm a complete novice here: 16 wks pregnant! I don't think I've seen cribs with no slats? Can you give me a link with an example? I tried googling "cribs no slats" and got images of cribs with slats.
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no bumpers! he only gets stuck once in a while and doesn't seem to mind that much when it happens. I'm happy to follow the official reccomendations from the likes of the AAP.
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@MrsLilybugg: here's an example: http://bluebadgerbaby.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/generous-furniture-crib.jpg
They are pretty rare.
Another option is going straight to a Montessori room. I haven't done it with an infant, but some people do.
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I was too nervous to put one in. My LO went through a period of time where he banged his head a lot in his crib when he was first mobile. He doesn't get limbs stuck in the slats but we do use a sleep sack.
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@Mrs. Jacks: thanks!!
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I've ordered a breathable one.
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