We just moved our 12 month old from a mini crib into a regular size one. In the mini we still had the bumper on because she would drop her pappy out the slats and get her legs stuck but the biggest issue was that she slept with her head pressed up against the side. Ever since she was born she has tried to bury her head into anything she could while sleeping (which was extremely bothersome for a paranoid mama but I am over it now and figure there is not much I can do about it!). Well of course we are having the same issue in the big crib, but since she is older now I know I am not supposed to use a bumper. I heard her banging her head on the sides all night last night and every time I went in there she had her head smashed into the bars, so much so that there were bar marks on the top of her forehead this morning. I know the mesh ones would be good for keeping feet in etc and is more breathable but it still won't cushion her at all. So, not sure what to do... did anyone leave their bumper on this long??
Robyn,
We left our bumper on until our son was 2 as well. If I had to do it again, I would probably use the mesh bumpers. I didn't know about them until we had already taken ours off. Hope I was helpful!
Good luck!
~A.
well technically you aren't EVER supposed to have a bumper. I swear my baby almost died the first night I put her in the crib with a bumper because of the way she got herself pushed into it (and too young to figure out how/be able to undo it). Just thank my lucky stars I woke up suddenly and just had to check on her.... anyways I think you should just get the mesh ones for that stuck leg problem. Pressing your head against the bars won't actually hurt and I'm sure she'd move if it did. Don't you get impressions of things on your skin that don't hurt?
I think mesh bumpers would be more comfortable than just bars. I also like it to keep the pacifier in.
Actually, the bumpers are less dangerous for older babies b/c they can roll away if they get their face in it (whereas a 2-6 mo old wouldn't know what to do if s/he got stuck on the side).
I used regular bumper for my first-born until I discovered the mesh when she was about 14 mos (she is now 23mos). Now I have her with the mesh bumper on 3 sides and I leave the front side just bars. On my baby's crib, since she was born (she is now 7mos) I put the regular bumper just on the two sides that are against the wall so the pacifier won't get lost behind the crib (and it looks cute that way :-)
We left the bumper on until my son was 2ish...same problem.
