Bumpers in the crib

[hannamarin]

Today, Layla got her leg stuck in the crib slats. I felt so bad for her. She was very upset. She is always flailing around with her arms and legs and often rolls to one side to be closer to the sleep sheep so this is not unexpected. I only put her in the sleep sack at night.
Can you introduce bumpers at 6 mths? My MIL already bought them, so no added expense. Just safety.

[minzy]

Once my daughter started getting stuck in the slats and until she could stand on them, I used breathable bumpers, which are mesh (and have holes in them). I got them at Babies'R'Us. SIDS scares the crap out of me so I would not have used regular bumpers.

[kelseybelsey]

My daughter did this three times around the six month stage. It worried me so I purchased the mesh breathable bumpers and she never had any other problems. I got them off Amazon.

[justjen]

We'll also be using the breathable bumpers

[Deleted]

Vivi does the same thing. She also flails around like crazy. I put the bumpers in last week. They are the regular kind. SIDS risk is much lower by this age, so I felt the benefit was worth it.

[Tea-rific]

We are planning to use breathable bumpers too.

[DarcyLongfellow]

DD did that maybe twice around that age, then never again. So you may be fine :-). It's a really small window of time where they are able to get stuck but not unstuck.

If I'd needed one, I would have bought the breathable bumper.

[housegeek]

So, SIDS is an unexplained phenomenon, what you are actually afraid of (and rightly so) is asphyxiation.
They make mesh bumpers, I'd use one of those if she was getting stuck.

[Deleted]

I waited until DS was 7+ mos old before I put in the regular crib bumpers. He was an expert roller at that point and the SIDS risk is lower. However, I only put them in since we were sleep training and he kept trying to bang his head against the rails when he refused to fall asleep. I took them out after two weeks since it was such a PITA to change the crib sheet He learned quickly not to get stuck at least.

[hannamarin]

May 14, 2012 20:52:44 GMT -5 housegeek said:

So, SIDS is an unexplained phenomenon, what you are actually afraid of (and rightly so) is asphyxiation.
stuck.

I thought SIDS may happen due to reduced air flow. Hence bumpers as a potential factor.
But I dont like the idea of more trouble changing the sheets.
For now, I have tucked her blanket on the one side where she tries to escape. Gasp! We use a blanket. Tucked in at the bottom and only up to her waist.

[bronxgirl]

We used regular bumpers from 2 months to 8 months. We used the kind that are not as pillowy as fasten at both the top and the bottom. She was fine.

[Deleted]

I think we put ours in at 6-7 months, when she was rolling all around.

[bunch]

We use breathable bumpers. They work well.

[housegeek]

May 14, 2012 21:11:24 GMT -5 @hannamarin said:

May 14, 2012 20:52:44 GMT -5 housegeek said:

So, SIDS is an unexplained phenomenon, what you are actually afraid of (and rightly so) is asphyxiation.
stuck.

I thought SIDS may happen due to reduced air flow. Hence bumpers as a potential factor.
But I dont like the idea of more trouble changing the sheets.
For now, I have tucked her blanket on the one side where she tries to escape. Gasp! We use a blanket. Tucked in at the bottom and only up to her waist.

They don't know what causes SIDS. But reduced airflow could cause CO2 poisoning or asphyxiation as a COD, not SIDS.

[RoryGilmore]

For DS, we had bumpers and used them until we realized what a PITA they were. For DD, she was a squirmer and mover from day 1 and I was afraid she would get her head wedged into the bumper and she often got a limb stuck. We used breathable bumpers for her. The nice thing is, they are so thin they don't get in the way when you change the sheets.

[drloretta]

I used breathable ones when that happened. Bonus: they can't climb up on them out of the crib. Worked like a charm.

That leg in the slat thing totally freaked me out.

[Deleted]

May 14, 2012 20:59:10 GMT -5 @choco said:

I waited until DS was 7+ mos old before I put in the regular crib bumpers. He was an expert roller at that point and the SIDS risk is lower. However, I only put them in since we were sleep training and he kept trying to bang his head against the rails when he refused to fall asleep. I took them out after two weeks since it was such a PITA to change the crib sheet He learned quickly not to get stuck at least.

the Ultimate Crib Sheet!! best invention ever.

[ilikedonuts]

We use breathable bumpers. DD rolls all over her crib.

[karinothing]

The AAP also recommends AGAINST breathable bumpers, just FYI.

Anyway, DS wears a sleep sack so his feet do not get stuck in slats. He has banged his head before (when he first started to roll) but he has seemed to figure out how not to do that (or no longer cares if he bumps his head). They really do learn how to not do it, babies are a lot smarter than we give them credit for.

[Jem]

We had breathable bumpers after a similar experience, but honestly he just started to stick his legs out the slats OVER the bumpers. DS flops all over the crib at night, so eventually he just had to learn how to get his legs back in - and he did.

[whereintheworld]

We do no bumpers at all as babies, then at 7mo use the padded kind.

[karinothing]

May 15, 2012 7:10:18 GMT -5 @cookiemonster03 said:

I'm not really clear why the AAP is now also against breathable bumpers.

We have the girls in sleep sacks, but they've gotten arms and even a sleep sacked leg through the slats, so we put the mesh ones on. So far so good.

I am pretty sure it is because there has been no testing done to see if they are actually breathable and they still consider them a aphysixation risk. They say that the risk of injury from the crib slats is less than the risk associated with bumpers of all kinds.

[partiallysunny]

May 14, 2012 20:50:08 GMT -5 DarcyLongfellow said:

DD did that maybe twice around that age, then never again. So you may be fine :-). It's a really small window of time where they are able to get stuck but not unstuck.

If I'd needed one, I would have bought the breathable bumper.

This.

[lishie]

I used the cute bumpers until my kids could roll, then I switched to the breatheable bumpers. I think they did their job.

[DorkFish]

Another vote for breathable bumpers. We've used them since the beginning.

BONUS: They keep puppies from sticking their noses through the slats

[egishere]

I had to put breathable bumper on my sons crib because he could destroy the other bumpers-like get his head and limbs wedged in between the bumper and slats. My triplets are all wiggle worms so they sleep better with the bumpers on. I'm not as concerned about SIDS now that they are 7 months old.

[jenny1223]

We have the breathable bumper also and I love it. DS moves around a lot in his crib and often ends up with his face against the bumper.

[Deleted]

Ds used the breathable bumpers ONCE, before he pulled them off and wrapped himself up like a mummy. Thank God this was during a nap, & I was watching the monitor. Now he just sleeps in th pnp. So much easier.