All right, ladies - tell me your thoughts on crib bumpers. They really freak me out (DH had a baby sister that died of SIDS), but I'm not sure what else to do.
Eli is learning to crawl and loves to practice in his crib when he should be sleeping. I'll put him down for a nap or for nighttime and hear a *thunk* followed by crying because he's hit his head on the rails. Do you think he's old enough to be past the risk that bumpers pose?
My only other thought is to make him sleep in the pack n' play full time.
Thoughts? Suggestions?
Re: Bumpers
We just put in regular bumpers for this exact reason. She was repeatedly banging her head, especially in the morning because she would rock back and forth really hard on all 4s and get really excited when we came in. Every morning she would have a new bruise on her head. I'm definitely nervous but it seems better than her hurting her head (it's not like she only bumps it every once in a while). She is not trying to stand yet so for now I think we're Ok with that, when she does however we will revisit it and probably take them out.
ETA: We did have the breathable bumpers but they did absolutely nothing for her hitting her head since they are not cushiony at all.
This. We have a boy too, so we got the sports themed one. It matches the Target (Tiddlywinks) sports themed crib sheet we have too.
DS was having the exact same problem so I bought the breathable bumper and hated it. I had it installed nice and tight and as soon as I put him in there he started grabbing and pulling at it, and just like that it was all loose and out of place! It went right back to the store.
I went against what everyone says to do and put in the regular bumpers but I figured out a trick that makes me feel much better about them. I tuck them down really far imbetween the slates of the crib and the matress so only about 1 inch of the bumper is around the matress to cushion him. It's just enough to stop him from banging his head but there is so little of it there that if the time comes he tries to to stand on it, it completely colapses. (I did a little test run and picked him up and positioned his feet so he could stand on it and it doesn't lift him up at all) It's been the best trick ever for us and as soon as he stopped bumping his head we ALL got much more sleep.
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Thanks for starting this! We have never used bumpers for the same reason, but now that LO is getting her arms and legs stuck between the rails, I'm considering putting them in. If/when I do, I will push them down between the crib and mattress so it only sticks out an inch or two.
I don't get this either??