Crib Bumper

Hi K.
Absolutely us a crib bumper. They make them so that they tie to tth crib so that the baby cannot get it loose. I didn't use it with my daughter in the beginning, and in the middle of the night, I woke up to screaming, crying, I can't even describe the sound. I got up and she had ran her chubby little leg up the bars and got it stuck. I was terrified because I could not get it loose, I had to lubricate it to get it to slide down. She had a huge bruise, not good. I would go with the bumper, my son absolutely has one now.
C.

I highly reccomend a breathable bumper. It is lighweight breathable mesh with minimal padding. If the child does roll into it they can still breathe. I use one for my 8 month old and I love it. He has rolled into it a few times. I put my own face up against it and I could barely tell anything was there. I found mine at USA Baby out in Brookfield, for 20$, really reasonable. They are standard white in the middle with a small colored edging- you choose the color. Once they get bigger you can get the fancy pads that match the bedding. I actually like how plain it is anyway. -good luck

All the experts advise not to use bumpers. Use the mesh bumpers. They work fine. And a stuck limb or a little bump is not so bad compared to a dead baby. Like pp said, it is not just a suffocation risk. It is also less air circulation, which appears to be related to higher incidents of SIDS!

Hi- I don't think people agree on this issue. In all my classes I took before having my baby (August) they told us NOT to use them, not to use anything soft in the crib. We haven't and even though her feet and arms sometimes get stuck, she hasn't been hurt yet. She's a mover so I worry much more about suffocation than a possibly hurt arm. They created crib bumpers because old cribs used to have slats where babies could get their heads stuck. New cribs do not have a wide enough space, therefore bumpers should no longer be needed.

Hi K.,
We had gotten the whole nursery set with my first son, including the bumper, and a friend of mine (who is a nurse) said to absolutely not use the bumper. She said the risk of suffocation is too great. On the other hand, I'm sure our mothers used them and we all turned out fine, so who really knows! :)

C.

I use to work in a daycare and in the classes they tell you not to use bumper pads. I don't use bumper pads and my soon to be 8 mo old is just fine with out it and no they don't get hurt with out them.

You should never, EVER use crib bumpers, unless they are the mesh kind, and then they should be woven between the spokes of the crib. The way I look at it, would you rather deal with legs or arms sticking out or risk suffocation of your little one? Everything I have ever read, every class I've ever taken says not to use them. The American Academy of Pediatrics says you should not use them.

Like others suggested, I would buy some sleep sacks.....they work well at keeping your baby warm and they are super easy.

M.

I just asked a similar question a few weeks ago. My son was getting his legs and arms caught between the crib bars but I was concerned about the suffocation aspect of a regular bumper. The advice I got (10 total responses) was not to use a regular bumper. Instead, we purchased a "breathable" mesh one from Babies R Us. It's about $30. The risk of suffocation is not there like a regular bumper and we're not running into the problem of various limbs being suck outside of the crib. It's been great!

I'm not sure what you've been told but from experience I can tell you that a bumper may not keep your son's feet in the crib. My daughter still always had her feet hanging out the side. She never ended up with broken bones but she did still have many bruises on her legs. I hope this helps!

We use a breathable mesh bumper from Babies R Us. It was a small price to pay to know he'd be okay.

Just watch out because my son still went through a period of time with the mesh bumper where he still managed to get his legs out (but thta's further down the road).

Good luck in your decision.

I didn't use them for my son. I used a sleep sack which he really likes instead.

my oppinion is I would use bumper pads for one time I didn't have them on and my son's leg got stuck in between the bars and i had to try to pull the bars apart to get his leg unstuck.

I worry about bumpers as well. I prefer using them because of the arms or legs getting caught but it is fluffy and I feel they could die. It's your call. There is another alternative which is safe and offers you the barrier to prevent limbs hanging out. A mesh bumper at Babies R Us
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=252973...

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=226684...

Babies R US sells a mesh bumper that allows for air flow but eliminates the chances of getting with from limbs getting through the slats.

Hi K.,

I used a crib bumper from the time by daughter started using her crib (around 3 months). I did not want her arms or legs to get caught in the crib slats. She never had a problem getting stuck up against the bumper and not breathing. I would recommend making sure that the ties on the bumper are tied very tight and make sure the bumper doesn't hang loosly andwhere. Otherwise, I would recommend using one until they can stand up in the crib, then they just get squished down and aren't really useful anymore.

M.

I had the same problem with both my boys. I used a bumper on the older one and with the younger one I purchased the mesh bumper from "One Step Ahead". It works great!

I used a crib bumper for each of my kids to provide padding between them and the crib rails. I too was worried about suffocation so I tucked the bottom of it tightly between the mattress and the rails so it didn't move around and couldn't be easily lifted. Hope this helps!

S.

K., absolutely USE one. They tie to the sides of the crib and are not unsafe. The baby cannot suffocate if you keep the straps tied tight, so the bumper doesn't come loose. Injury risk is greater not having one. Good luck. M.

They actually make a "breathable bumper" that should keep him safe and not be a suffocation hazard. Check it out: http://www.onestepahead.com/product/86201/352762/117.html

I know you've received about a million responses to your request, but I thought I'd give my two cents anyway...you may have already heard this, but Babies-r-Us sells these mesh bumpers, they are perfect to keep our babies' little limbs inside of the crib without the risk of suffocation or re-breathing. I know there are a lot of conflicting opinions about whether regular bumpers are safe, but don't risk it- no matter what anyone says. It is just not worth it.

Good luck! R.

Ok, it's been a while since my kids used a crib, but I remember that I used bumber pads for both my children. You want to make sure that they are tied well on the top and bottom. I think they are ok to use, when babies start moving around but don't have that much control yet, they can wack there head pretty hard on the crib bars or boards. You can probably tuck the bumbers in on the sides so they can't pull them out.

The only time we used crib bumpers was till we got breathable mesh instead a probably just for a pretty picture. Our Daycare Provider turned us onto Sleep Sacks the best thing we EVER did for our now 7 year old girl! They are even prototyping baby mattresses twhat circulate air in the Mattress with a fan to reduce this shocking baby worry.

I think experts say "no bumpers". I think it is a personal choice. I used bumpers to keep my babies more comfortable. Sometimes they would wiggle their way over and have their heads against the bars. I think some babies smoosh their little faces against things and may obstruct their breathing. I wouldn't use them if they did that.

You can always use those sleep sacks, which are like a blanket-sleeper, then you don't have to worry about their legs getting tangled in the crib bars. But I say go without bumpers. You never know when they will learn to roll over one way, and can't roll back. Also, it is better for ventilation without the bumper pads.

They have a new bumper pad now that I just bought for my daughter - it is a "breathable" one so there is no risk of suffocation. I was having the same problems with her feet sticking out, etc. It works pretty well, and you can find it at BabiesRUs for about $20-25.

I believe you should do what you think works best for your son. We had a bumper in my daughter's crib and listened to everyone say that you can't have it in there due to the suffocation potental. But once they are able to move around that much and roll over that suffocation factor goes down. We ended up putting the bumper back in her crib because of the very same problem. She would wake up screaming because her little legs would get caught in the crib bars. We also found it helped with the noise while she slept. So if you feel it would help him, keep it in.