Hi, My almost 7 month old is very active in her crib. She rolls over and moves around quite a bit during the night. Generally she does not, or cannot, roll back over onto her back so she often ends up sleeping on her side or stomach which has not posed a problem. If it wakes her up, I just roll her back but often she sleeps through quite comfortably.
My question, however, is what to do about the crib bumpers. I had read that they should be removed when a baby becomes mobile in her crib, so I removed them even though they had not posed any problem to date. However, the other night, she woke up crying and startled because she had gotten her leg stuck in between the slats of the crib and couldn't disentangle herself (yes, it is a modern, regulation crib with safe slats). I worry now that she may end up hurting herself by getting arms and legs caught between the slats and / or bumping her head on the crib sides.
Any advice on how to handle? Keep the bumpers off or put them back on? Thanks!
I had the exact same problem with both my kids. I'd take the bumpers at the suggested time, but they both got stuck. One time I had to go get some butter and slather her up to get her out. Neither were climbers, so I didn't have to worry about them using the bumpers to elevate them and make it easier to escape, so I kept the bumpers in until we moved them to their big girl beds. We never had a problem with having the bumpers in and never again had any stuck limbs.
The rule we were told was nothing in the crib (no bumpers, no blankets, no loveys) with baby until baby was 12 months old. Prior to that age the risk of baby suffocating is too great. Also, our pediatrician told us that our daughter could not cause herself serious harm by bumping her head on the crib and that getting a limb stuck in the crib would elicit screams from our daughter, but that suffocating babies don't/can't cry for help. For us the risks posed by the bumpers far outweighed the benefits and we never used them.
Talk to most mothers, and they will also tell you that their babies/toddlers got their arms and legs stuck between the slats after removing the bumpers, my daughter included. "Regulation" cribs with regulation slats are meant to be too small for a child to get their heads/necks trapped or stuck, but not meant to keep arms and legs stuck (as it is not considered life threatening to get a chubby little limb stuck for a few minutes). In fact, crib slats are required to have a certain amount of "give" so that an adult can easily spread the slats with their hands to get a little leg or arm out once its stuck. My little one got her arm stuck once, her leg stuck once - and those two learning experiences were all it took for her to "get it" and not do it again.
It is imperative for you to remove the bumpers now - in fact, you should have removed them long ago as soon as either one of the babies even started to attempt to roll over. It doesn't sound like they are standing yet, but you better be sure they would be using those crib bumpers as little step stools if they were (thats why I had to remove my daughters bumpers a second time - she was using them as a boost to climb out of the crib)! Upon removal of the bumpers, she WILL get stuck a few times as she is just naturally exploring a change in her normal bed set up - don't worry, she CANNOT seriously injure anything, so don't keep yourself up at night worrying about it. If she gets stuck, she will let you know with her cries. Give it a few weeks and she'll get the idea, and stop getting herself stuck between the slats.
My son is 7 months today and I still have the bumpers up. I also use his comforter and he has a couple of stuffed animals that he won't sleep without. He's happy and healthy and all over that dang crib. I don't worry at all about him suffocating. He is approaching the crawling stage and can easily push himself up. The only time I would worry for your daughters is if you choose to vaccinate... the drugs set them back because it attacks the undeveloped myelin sheaths in the brain and basically causes short circuits. Hence the "regression" that some parents see.
Hi Leslie,
My daughter is 3 yrs old, still in her crib WITH bumpers. She isn't a climber so our pediatrician said to leave her in her crib for now. She is also an active sleeper and I worried about her hitting her head on the crib without the bumpers but removed them for one night at about 7 months. That night she got her leg SO stuck between the slats of her brand new crib that we almost had to cut her crib apart! It took me an hour to calm her down and she had a big bruise on her leg. If all you are worried about is that she will get her leg or arm stuck, there is a breathable bumper in the One Step Ahead catalog (also online) that is mesh. I was never worried about Paige suffocating because of the bumper, she is a light sleeper and I have a video monitor.
Sincerely,
Love
My daughter has gotten her legs "stuck" a couple times, but I just take them out and move her to the center of the crib, it never woke her up. I took them out when she was about 3 months old, but I was losing sleep from getting up and checking on my daughter every couple hours because I was afraid of SIDS or suffocation.
Dear Leslie,
I think that you need to make sleeping in the crib a good experience for the babies. Personally, I kept the bumpers in for all three of my children, now grown. My daughter and I, both have the bumpers in for our 7mo baby girl. I have been in the nursery and watched her standing at the back side of the crib and then sit down quickly and hard then fall back and bump her head on the opposite side of the crib. She is a very active baby, and I am very thankful for the bumpers. I do not plan on taking them out anytime soon. Our little baby is all over the crib, when she is not ready to nap. I also can not recall any of my children getting stuck between the rails, and I credit that to leaving the bumpers in.
P S. I don't know if you have ever looked up SIDS on the computer, but it will tell you that babies can die of SIDS from anything including non breast feed babies to not giving them a pacifier. Remember any study can give you any results that the people doing the study want them to have.
To answer your question, when our little girl was still in a crib we never used bumper pads. We opted for a mesh crib tent (never needed to zip it) and it worked perfectly to keep her arms/legs safely inside while allowing free air flow. Also, the bumper pads tend to become "steps" for climbing from what I hear. :) Our daughter liked the crib tent (the arching canopy overhead), and we definitely preferred it for safety since it went all the way up the sides and didn't allow for climbing or poking out, but if you don't think you'd want to go the tent route, there are mesh bumpers too.
So far you have gotten some mixed answers. My twin daughters are now 27 months old, and each still have the bumper in their cribs. Fortunately, neither girl is a climber so I plan to keep them in their cribs until about 3 years old. I was told by our pediatrician and specialists that once the girls were lifting their heads and rolling over onto their stomachs, the chance of SIDS decreases. You can drive yourself crazy trying to keep them on their backs once they start rolling. Still, make sure the mattress is firm and no blankets or stuffed animals until about 1 year old. I use the bumper on three sides of the crib so that the front of the crib is left open. Occasionally, an arm or leg gets caught, but if they got it in the space, you can help them get it out.
I left the bumpers on the entire time my kids were in their cribs with no problem always thinking how much I would not like putting my head or legs against something hard and somertimes cold.
Dear Leslie,
I never heard about removing bumper pads when the baby becomes mobile. It always seemed to me that's when they were the most necessary. You want to make sure they are securely fastened....
Once my kids started rolling around, they used every single square inch of their crib in their sleep. In fact, I got a couple extra sets of bumper pads in case one was in the wash etc, after some head bonking incidents.
I would say to put the bumper pads back in. The more active your baby gets, the more likely she will get an arm or leg through the slats while she's scooching around in her sleep. Or konk her head.
I had babies ages ago....back when they were first discussing bumper pads and their possible connection to SIDS/suffocation deaths. All 4 of my babies slept in cribs with bumpers (even a bassinette with bumpers). One of my babies was even prone to sleep apnea and the bumpers stayed.
Have you ever found her face wedged up against the bumpers? If not.... I know younger moms who have had children break limbs from getting stuck between "regulation" slats.
It is ultimately your call. Generations of babies lived quite nicely in cribs with bumper pads.
First of all, the bumpers are ok to use. I've used it on all of my 4 kids and they are to help prevent head bumps or arm/leg caught in the crib slats. That is what it is made for to protect their heads and keep their arms/legs out of the crib slats. The only time is when not to use it if the baby is not mobile enough to figure out how to move their head the other way like if the head get caught in the bumper. They do not recommend to use unless the baby is much older and more mobile and able to move head around. Hope this info is helpful.
This wesite should take you to "One Step Ahead" and show you a crib tent. It's so awesome. The tent lines the whole inside and keeps arms and legs inside. I absolutely loved mine. If it's too unsightly, then perchase a pretty canopy tent to hang over it. It's worth every penny. By the way, you can still put the bumpers in the crib in between the tent and crib.
I definitely would not go back to using the bumpers. They are more for you than for her (decor) and pose a serious SIDS risk. They are actually banned in Canada for this reason. She will not bump her head that hard. Better she end up with a bruise than suffocate! My son also got his legs stuck in the slats too. I recommend a sleep sack (Halo Sleep Sack). They sell them at Babies R Us in both cotton and fleece. They act as a wearable blanket and as an added plus - the feet cannot slip through those regulated slats!
Hi Leslie
I really debated whether to get a bumper or not....but ended up getting one when my son was 7 months old (he's almost 10 months old now). I am glad I did. It prevents his legs from getting stuck (though he's active and sometimes still gets them in between above the bumper), but mainly because when he is sitting up in bed and now standing up, then falls back, it gives him a little break to his fall. When I am washing it, he has had the tendency of hitting his head against the sides. The other nice thing is it keeps the paci in the crib, when the bumper is not there i can't tell you how often he throws it out the sides! Just my experience with the bumper, hopefully you find the best solution for you and your baby!
I am a mother of twin girls born December 07, so we're right in the same boat! I did not use bumpers with these girls at all, though for my other 3 I did. Mine too get arms & legs stuck & whoop & holler, but they've never gotten hurt beyond being really mad. I decided not to bother with bumper pads at all this time.
E-mail me directly if you ever need to talk about twin life, it is different, isn't it?
I too had a very active crib baby, but I left the bumpers in until he started climbing around. There were a couple of times when I saw my son roll face first into the bumper, before he learned how to flip himself back over, and he would immediately just turn his head the other way, even if he was sleeping. I only eventually took the bumper out of his crib because I saw him trying to stand on it in order to climb out! Creative little beans, aren't they?
I put the bumpers back on when my son banged his head in his sleep. It sounds like your baby is a gymnastic sleeper too.
Take them off when she starts learning to climb out - or not - we left them on 'cuz my son would try to stand on the bumper to climb and it would squish down and he would get scared and give up - never climbed out! Whew!!! they are calle bumper pads for a reason. Just avoid too many stuffed animals or blankets - they can be very dangerous - and be sure the bumper is tied down securely and stretched as tight as you can.