Do You Use a Bumper?
I have been going back and forth about getting a bumper for Ace’s crib. I have a friend who works for a child’s advocacy group and she is very anti-bumper. In my child birth class and they said not to use one, because of SIDs and suffocation. I also don’t have one, because I am cheap frugal.
I find Ace with her arms and legs sticking out of her crib or her head right up against the rails. I think she is just about past the SIDs stage and she can control her head now. So I am thinking about getting one. Ultimately, I think either way is probably okay.
This question got me wondering about other parents. Do you or did you use a bumper?
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Hi Amanda,
As you know I am a mother of four and with all my children I used bumper pads. My soon to be 14 month old still uses his because he sleeps crazy and is always hitting his head on the side of the crib. Although the bumper pad is good protection for Elijah’s head he still manages to have his legs or arms sticking out between the bars. With my 1 month old we have the bumper pad in the crib but one side does not have it so we can see him at night. Personally I like bumper pads and I have never had any problems with them. Hope this helps,
Amy De Leon
I don’t use one. Partially because the bumper makes it harder to change sheets on my son’s crib, but that’s a small reason. I did use one with my daughter, but since then I’ve learned about the bumper and the SIDS/suffocation risk scares me out of using it with my son. Even though kids are not at as high of a risk for SIDS after 6 months old, they still are at risk until they’re a year old. Since I’ve personally hit some crazy odds in the kids’ health department, I am really able to recognize that bad things can happen to ANYBODY!!
Oh, and according to http://health.yahoo.com/topic/children/baby/article/healthwise/hw266674, most SIDS deaths occur in the winter, so I vote to wait.
Graham is in our bed right now so I don’t have one hooked up but I do have the breathable bumper ready to go when we move him to the bed. It is a mesh pad and the cool thing about it is that it goes all the way up the bed from below the mattress.
Before I got this I had a regular bumper pad with the other two boys they both got some appendage caught in the bed and woke up screaming their heads off.
Here is a weblink to it.
http://www.amazon.com/Tru-Flate-BreathableBaby-CribShield-System/dp/B0000E6ZC6/
I have always had a bumper on Brielle’s crib and it has worked to our favor. She is a crazy sleeper like her daddy and if we did not have on she would be bruised from head to toe. So I love them.
I used a bumper with both of my children. I will probably buy the mesh/breathable bumper pad next time around for safety reasons. I also read that the mesh one is great because it prevents the binky’s from falling on the floor.
I used one with Jackson and then took it off because of what you just wrote about. I ended up putting it back on though because he would always wake up with his arm stuck for some reason. Also, he uses a binky and for some reason he never lost it with the bumper on there. Either way, it’s up to you. It has worked out pretty good for us though!!
I was too scared to use a bumper with my twins because of the number of children who suffocated from them, but I have a lot of friends who have used them.
Thanks for all your insight! Annabelle seems to be doing better about not waking up with appendages hanging out. The breathable bumper thing looks cool. It seems about the same price as a regular bumper.
Patty , I am glad I am not the only one who was scared to use one. Sometimes I feel silly for being scared to use one in the beginning.