Bump The Crib Bumpers? 09-18-14
When I was pregnant with my first baby, my favorite thing about decorating her nursery was finding the perfect crib set. I mean, the overpriced, matching bedding is what the nursery is all about, right? Your tiny person has to come home to a cushy, finished room worthy of your expectant friends pinning to their “Future Nursery” boards on Pinterest.
I followed the guidelines about no “pillowlike” bumpers to avoid suffocation. Her bumpers were more “quilt-like” and tied tight to the sides. They were on her crib for most of her first year.
Then the American Academy of Pediatrics came out with new guidelines saying, and I’m paraphrasing here, “No bumpers!!! Your infant will die!!!!” I promptly untied those baby killers and stashed them in the closet. She was an older infant at that point. We had already dropped her crib down. What happened next, I didn’t expect.
The thrashing! My God the thrashing! She was a mobile, rolling, crawling baby, even in her sleep. We would hear bangs and bumps, then the occasional cry over the monitor in the middle of the night. We would go get her in the morning and her feet would be wedged between the bars of the crib. I suddenly understood the need for bumpers, even though her crib met the safety guidelines for proper for crib bar spacing. How foolish of me to believe bumpers were just aesthetic.
Okay, so crib bumpers are a suffocation danger and the ties pose a strangulation threat, but if you don’t have bumpers your kid will bang into the side of the crib at night?
So, when I had my second baby I weighed the pros and cons and went ahead and got my son a full crib set with bumpers. Again, they were quilt-like and tied tight to the crib. The ties are not long enough to go around a throat, just a crib bar. The bumpers looked adorable and posed no hazard that I could see. No hazard until the night his face got close to the bumper and I freaked. He was too little to roll over at that point and I didn’t want his face so close to the bumper. SIDS! Ah! I couldn’t sleep. I tiptoed around his crib and took them off that night. I put them back on in the morning. I did the same the next day. Hey, I paid for the second baby’s bumpers. I didn’t get them at a baby shower, so I was going to use them! The on and off got old real fast.
By the time he was rolling over and crawling, I figured he was big enough to move his face away from a thin bumper and I left them on all the time. I watched him. He was fine. It wasn’t a problem. Then he started pulling up and we lowered the mattress. Pulling up means he pulled the bumpers down or off or used them as a pillow. I also heard of babies using them to step up on and subsequently flip out of the crib. I took them out. He’s 10-months-old now.
I kid you not, the day I am writing this he starts screaming when I put him down for his nap. I go up there to check it out and his leg is wedged through the bars, up to his thigh. He couldn’t pull his knee through. Poor little guy. He was all traumatized and weepy when I rescued him.
So, that leaves me to wonder if I should put the bumpers back on. Do I need to buy the mesh bumpers? (Please say “no.” I’m not a fan.) What’s your take on this?
- Did you use crib bumpers at all? What type?
- How long did you leave them on?
- Did your child ever get hurt from having bumpers on his/her crib? Did they get hurt NOT having bumpers on their crib?
Spread it around:
We used pottery barn bumpers – very thick and sturdy – not floppy at all. I left the bumper on for the first several weeks because it was cute and he wasn’t moving at all yet. Then – my NICU nurse sister-in-law gave me a stern talking to and I took it off. The first week that Walker learned how to roll over to his tummy we heard an awful, awful cry. We ran to his room to find his arm wedged through the slats up to his armpit! His face was buried in the mattress and he couldn’t lift it. He was obviously breathing because he was crying but all I could see in my scared mommy imagination was that stupid crib pinning him down like a wrestler down for the count. I picked my sweet boy up and rocked him while David tied the bumper back on in the dark because I didn’t want to blind Walker from the bright lights. They didn’t come back off again until he was well more than a year old.
See! I think there’s a good reason for them sometimes! That is terrifying! Poor Walker!
I used a bumper with my first baby, pre “bumpers kill” and he survived. Never even worried. We just had our second baby and we are using the bumper. She’s a wild one, she flips and flops all over but I have a video monitor so if she gets too close I move her. I feel like I need it with her. I don’t know anything or anyone who has tried the mesh. I have friends that live in Maryland where it is illegal to buy a crib bumper in that state but them elsewhere because they want to use a bumper!
Crib bumpers are illegal in MD!?! Who knew????!!! Omigosh! Wow!
We used a quilty bumper for Travis back in the stone ages (2008) before there was such a big ruckus about them. We put it on 3 sides of Justin’s crib after the bumpers-cause-SIDS outcry (the restricted air flow thing). For Rachel we have the mesh bumper. I didn’t buy a crib set this time, I just picked out some sheets I loved at Target. The white mesh one matches most any sheets, keeps her pacis and limbs inside the bars, and it didn’t pose a suffocation risk before she was mobile. Win-win-win. It’s also super easy to change her sheet without having to untie or move the bumper. Bonus.
I didn’t think of that! That would make the sheet changes easier.
I am a pediatrician’s worst nightmare. I used bumpers for both of my kids and let them belly sleep around the 2 month mark. I think it all comes down to common sense. What’s more of a risk at this point? Henry shoving his face into the bumper and not moving it if he’s uncomfortable (read: unable to breathe) or him getting his leg jammed in between the slats and possibly hurting or breaking his leg?
True. Good points all around. I may just leave it as is. Thanks!
Thanks for the inhtgsi. It brings light into the dark!
Hahaha! Not sure if I want to wake up to see that face first thing in the morning. I'd probably thought I'm lying on top on some operation table ready to be dissected ^^;Love the helmet though!
Bumpers came in the crib set I bought for my son, but I never used them in the crib. I bought the breathable baby bumpers (mesh style) the day before he was born. They kept him from getting his arms & legs caught between the rails and I felt safer. When he was old enough to pull up and about to start teething, I pulled the old thick bumpers out of the closet, cut up part of them and made a crib teething rail cover out of it to protect our crib. Although the fabric came in handy for that and (yay!) matches the set – I’m still amazed any crib sets come with bumpers anymore. Seems like they have been doomed as safety hazards. We’ll be using the breathable again with Baby Girl.
I used them with all three– the thick fabric ones that came with the crib set. My only complaint with crib bumpers is how damn hard they made changing crib sheets. Other than that, I don’t see what the big deal is about them. That said, I never used baby monitors, so for all I know, all three of my children almost died on multiple occasions from their crib bumpers and I was none the wiser. I’m kind of free-range when it comes to all that safety stuff though. I think parental worry is a bit over-the-top these days.
I mean, I had my fair share of “oh my god, the kid is quiet; he must be dead” moments, but SIDS is actually really rare. About 2500 U.S. babies die with it each year and that’s out of 4 million born in the US annually. Of those babies who die with SIDS, many were born prematurely, or live in homes with smokers, or are put to bed with an incredible amount of pillows and blankets and stuffed animals, or are co-sleeping with adults who are under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Those who don’t have those extenuating circumstances seem to have a brain issue where the brain will send a spurt of adrenaline to help the body move when oxygen in depleted. Just because a baby’s nose gets covered by a crib bumper doesn’t mean he’ll absolutely suffocate. The healthy brain alerts the body to move when one can’t breathe.
Anyway, in my opinion, a healthy baby in a bed with just a bumper is going to be okay, especially a strong and active 10-month old like Henry who easily moves himself around. I’d keep your bumpers and wouldn’t sweat it. He’ll be fine.
That should say a “brain issue where the brain doesn’t send a spurt of adrenaline…”
I didn’t get any for my child. She rarely got stuck in the sides. And never woke us up over it. Her problem is that she sleeps with her face pressed against the bars and wakes up with a marks on her face.
I have a five-month-old who is moving into his first crib this week. Before he was born, I researched this extensively and found the Nurture Imagination Airflow Bumper. http://www.rightstart.com/nurture-generations-airflow-bumper-wings.html It sounds safe, great, and it’s beautiful. Now that I’m actually tying it on the crib, I’m concerned that maybe it’s too long? I have the ribbons tied as tightly as possible And I just can’t get the darn thing to lay flush against the rails. It gaps between ties. Does this make it hazardous? I can see my son eventually weging himself between the bumper and the crib slats, but maybe this happens with all non-mesh bumpers and the “airflow” qualities keep it safer than traditional bumpers? I’d love to know what you think!
I will buying the mesh padded bumper. It’s breathable and padded, it seemed like the best option for my little one.