To Bumper or Not to Bumper?

I didn't have this problem with my babies (I think their legs were too chunky to get through very far), but I would try putting the bumpers in the crib. I did put the bumpers in the crib by the time they were this age because they were past the highest risk age for SIDS and they were pretty strong and mobile. I felt the bumpers would make the crib a little cozier - my oldest, especially, moved around a lot while sleeping. If you do put the bumpers in, just be prepared, she may still try to put her legs through since she's already doing it, but hopefully she will eventually stop, the obstacle might help distract her.

Hope it works!

Hi W.! I kept both kids in my room until they were 6 months old and then moved them to their rooms in their cribs WITH the bumpers. I figured since they could roll over easily that they would be safe. Both of them sleep on their stomachs too and my pediatrician said it was all fine as long as they have good head control and maneuverability . I don't think you have to worry. I would be more concerned with your daughter getting stuck and injured than suffocating with the bumper.

Hi W., i had the same problem with my first baby, but he was a little older. The bumperpads are actually more for small babies so when they start scooting they don;t hit their heards on the wooden bars. well 27 years ago thats what they were used for, so much has changed, my son got his leg stuck and i had the bumper pads in his crib, he to got a bruise about the knee cause he was stuck, I think he stuck his leg through then rolled over, i was scared cause I didn't know what way to turn his leg, and he was screamimg, which was scaring me more, so after that, i just took the crib down, and i put his crib mattress on the floor, arranged all of hi stuffed anim als around it and that's how he slept til he went to a twin bed. I don't know if that would work for your baby cause he is younger, I just know the bumperpads didn't keep my son from getting his legs stuck, his leg was on top of the bumperpad, and through the bars, if you do do what I did you will probably want to put up a guard gate at night, so he's not crawling around house while you are sleeping. Bumpers are not dangerous in my opinion I used them with all 3 babies, and they save them many times from bumping their heads on the bars, I didn't use the ones with the plastic over them, I used the cloth ones, and had no problems with them, so if you get lectures, just ignore them. Hope this helps. if you want to talk furthur my e-mail address is ____@____.com J.

W.,
The bumper dilemma is due to the increased incidence of SIDS due to a newborns inability to roll over or move their head from a position where suffocation could possibly occur. Your child should be moving quite a bit at 6.5 months - which you're noticing with her frequent entrapment with her legs. As a pediatric physical therapist I would definitely recommend utilizing a bumper at this time to protect her little legs from further bruising, etc. BTW - the incidence of SIDS greatly drops after 5 months.

W.,

I am a bumper mom too, but I finally had to take mine out. My son was using it to help him climb out! Anyhow... I just saw a solution in a catalog. www.onestepahead.com It is a Breathable Baby Safe Breathe Bumper. It allows air to circulate while keeping arms and legs in! Wow! I'm getting one for our next child.

A.

I am also a Bumper Mom! Both my kids had bumpers and my daughter who is almost one still has one in her crib. I took them out with my son and put them back in cause he would wake up with his legs stuck and or hitting his head etc... they did fine with the bumpers. Just tie them on tight and happy sleeping!

Good luck!

I am a bumber mom, I know all about the warnings, but I had three kids that HAD to have them for the same reason and you are thinking about putting them back. All three of my kids used the bumbers as soon as they get toss all over the place, this seemed to help with the arms/legs getting stuck, and also the bruises on the head from hitting that too. Again these same kids slept in their cribs until close to the age of 3 WITH bumpers, and all sleep very well in the big beds now. So good luck with whatever you decide to do and I dont want to hear all the lectures either :) But my kids are no longer at that age so it would be a little too late for me :) Be blessed always

Jenifer,

My Daughter is 18 months and she does this about 5 times a week. We have a $400 3 in 1 crib from sears and I even checked if there was a recall on it and there wasn't. My daughters problem was I was that she is so tiny and skinny her legs got stuck. My son used the same crib and never had any issues. He was much chunkier and didn't have that issue. It is very frightening when this happens and you can barely get the leg out. My daughter had both legs caught the other night and then her calf was wedged in another bar. I decided to set up a toddler bed for her that my son used instead. I'm tired of waking up 10 times a night to check on her to see if she's stuck. Personally I don't think the bumpers help at all. If your daughter is getting her leg caught at this age she's probably going to get it tangled in the bumper too. I wouldn't use one personally.

L.

W.,

I have been told many times over that once a child can roll twist and move about, they should be fine with a bumper, stuffed animal, blanket or what have you (not getting carried away of course), in the crib with them because if breathing became restricted they would be able to react and get out of the position. I myself was always a little leery of the situation so I kind of cheated…..

I went down to the fabric store and got some breathable fabric….I think it was a thin jersey type, and wrapped the sides of the crib with it! Heehee…..no joke! It wasn’t that bad looking because it was pink! I wrapped all four sides then my little angel had no chance of getting her legs or arms stuck in any of the slats. I put a few small staples in the wood to secure the fabric…and wall-la! Even if she was all scrunched up with her face in the corner, I could still feel her breathing and knew she was fine! It worked for me! Give it a shot! It also helped with climbing out of the crib eventually because she couldn’t get a foot hold! LOL!!

Well I hope my story got your creative juices flowing…..don’t worry everything will work out! :0)

Peace~Love~Light
V.