When should I put in or take out the crib bumper? I have a 7 week old who is moving from the basinet into her crib. I've heard different thoughts about bumpers and am not sure when to have one in. Any advice would be great. Thanks!
Thanks for all the advice. I exchanged the bumper for a breathable one, it is so much safer!
We used the breathable bumper - kept things from falling out or limbs from getting stuck but wasn't the SIDS issue like a regular bumper. My kids were both squirmy sleepers. It is recommended not to use a padded bumper at all due to the SIDS risk.
You'll get lots of different responses but I'll let you know what I did. I put the crib bumper in the crib when I moved my daughter (around 12 weeks old) from our room to her own. I kept it in until around 16 months when she started to step on it to try and get out of the crib. She was in a toddler bed around 20 months old. With my son, he was in our room (cosleeping pack n play) until he was 6 months old so he did not have a bumper pad until then. I removed it from his crib around 14 months - mainly because it needed to be cleaned and I didn't want to put it back on. With our bed (and attached changing table) they never laid quite right anyways.
I know many people swear by the breathable pads, and I like the ideas, however, both my kids loved to snuggle against the bumper pads and they kept the binkys in the crib much better than without!
So far we have always had one in my son's crib (he's 10.5 months old now). When we first moved him to the crib from the bassinet, I paid attention during naps to make sure that he wasn't a roller so he wouldn't get stuck. Once he started rolling we paid even more attention but found that he could push himself away from it. Now he likes to snuggle with his back against it. Like the previous poster, I'll probably take it out when he starts to use it for a step (right now he just stands behind it but hasn't tried to step on it and we have the crib at the lowest level).
Try a mesh/breathable bumper.
We did not use a bumper (safety reasons) then dd started getting her arm or leg caught between the rails. A few times her arm/leg was cool to the touch. At that point I got a mesh bumper.
My daughter never had one. There are risks with them, and they are not really necessary at all. They are a decorative item mostly. The slight risk that your child may cry once from getting her foot caught in the crib is much easier to deal with than the risk that your child might suffocate in a bumper. Also, you're supposed to get rid of them when they start pulling up anyway, so if you still can, take it back for store credit!
Of course, many people will tell you that all of their kids had them with no problem, but there is a reason why parents are being advised against them!
My son loves the bumper. He is 2.5 and is still using it.
I cant imagine the crib without it. I would be nervous his leg or arm would go thru the bars.
Just get a thin one. This is my favorite. By Carousel designs
http://www.happyhealthymom.com/life-changers_list.php
I took my daughter's crib bumper out when she was about 9 or 10 months old. It scared me to death one day when I went into her room and saw that she had managed to get her head up underneath the bumper. Her head was actually between the bumper and the side of her crib.
We never used a crib bumper, and the world did not end!
Our daughter got her leg stuck in the crib slats twice, but we opted for the occasional incident (she yelled, we got her out) rather than suffocating. She would also wedge her head up against the crib slats (I think mimicking the womb/pressure) and would have a line on her head when she woke up, but that went away.
They do make netted crib bumpers which help with the limbs getting stuck, but we never ended up ordering it since it only happened twice (she figured out on her own not to do it again).
good luck!
Updated
We never used a crib bumper, and the world did not end!
Our daughter got her leg stuck in the crib slats twice, but we opted for the occasional incident (she yelled, we got her out) rather than suffocating. She would also wedge her head up against the crib slats (I think mimicking the womb/pressure) and would have a line on her head when she woke up, but that went away.
They do make netted crib bumpers which help with the limbs getting stuck, but we never ended up ordering it since it only happened twice (she figured out on her own not to do it again).
good luck!
Breathable Bumpers from BabiesRUs! Awesome. Keeps the little arms and legs from getting stuck and allows air to pass thru/baby to breathe if they get up close to them unlike traditional bumpers that are a safety risk.
I took ours out.
My kids are squirmers, and once they started to move around, I didn't want to take any chances. It's not unusual for my DD (now 7mos) to wake up with her arm stuck through the slats or wedged in a corner. She can get herself out now, but when younger, I had to help.
They make a thing called Breathable Bumpers (Babies R Us), that are mesh and strap around the inside of the crip. It prevents them from getting stuck, but if they get their faces up against the sides, they can still breathe. I used these with my son and they worked well.
Try a breathable bumper.
I would say go for the breathable bumpers if you are going to buy new ones... I got the quilted kind for free from a friend... money was too tight and at first I didn't use any because I was worried about the suffocation issue... But after she started moving around and got her leg stuck 3 times in a row one night, I gave in and put it in. I did pull the mattress out, and buried the bumper so that only 1/2 was visible, only enough to keep her limbs from going through the slats. I took it out when she started stepping on it.
I never used crib bumbers because I belive they restrict air flow which is a SIDS issue. I know that common advice for people who use them is to remove them when the baby is getting ready to pull up because they can use them to climb resulting in falls.
