Bumper Pad

I don't think they're really recommended at any age anymore. They are a suffocation risk and also a risk for older kids who may be climbing and get tangled in them. I have never used them for my kids but I would definitely take them out at this point if you still have them in.

Rachel,

I left my bumper pad on for as long as they were in the crib. Typically they were at least 2 before getting out of the crib.

My son still uses his (17 mo) ... his crib is on an open wall (so he's only got wall on one side 3 sides of the crib are open)... I did one time forget it with the laundry in the dryer, tried him without it,... he got a bad nights sleep. and woke up about 10 times (though didn't need us to get back to sleep). I think it feels far too open,... might even keep them a bit warmer and make the mattress surface less draft prone. If it doesn't bother your baby to have it in... leave it. If you feel uncomfortable leaving it, remove it. :)

Each child is different. If they don't both your son and they don't both you just leave them there. Extra protection is a good thing.

S.

My son is now 2 1/2 and we took his bumpers out about 2 months ago. I never had a reason to. He didn't try to climb out.
I got sick of moving them every time I changed his sheets.

If your son starts to use them for a ladder then I would take them out.
If it's no big deal I would leave them in.

Good Luck!

I removed the bumper for both of my kids when they were able to stand up in their crib. I didn't want either of them to be able to use it to try to climb out (especially my daughter, as she is climber). My son would occasionally get his arms or legs stuck and would OFTEN wake up and cry until someone would find his pacifier after removing the bumper, so that is when we started using the mesh crib "liner" for him. I believe we got ours from the One Step Ahead catalog. It worked great, but he did take a night or two to get used to it. We have not needed the mesh so far with my daughter, who is not quite as attached to her pacifier and has not had issues with getting her arms and legs stuck between the slats.

I never used any bumper with my 14 month old son. Take it out any time.

Hi,

I tried removing my daughter's bumper at about 12 months, but it didn't work out because she would bang her hand or head against the wood and wake up. I also worried that her leg would go through the slats AND her pacifier kept falling out of the crib. So I kept it in until she learned how to stand on it to try to make an escape (closer to age 2?) But now for my new baby, I took the old bumper out and bought one of the new "breathable mesh" bumpers. It makes me feel safer about SIDS, but it still protects her arms, legs, and head from the slats. Also, when they get bigger, they cannot stand on the mesh to climb out. I bought it at babiesrus for about $20. I've been happy with it, and wish they had made them for my first daughter.

I gave away the bumper pads when my twins were about 14 months. Someone told me that they can help the kids climb out of their cribs(they can anyway when they are ready).After that they would lose their pacifiers in the middle of the night and cry for us to come and pick it up off the floor.So, I would definitely keep the bumper pad.Good luck !