Crib Bumper Pads

kd&cd · April 2014

I'm wondering if crib bumper pads are really necessary or if they are for decoration. I ask for a few reasons 1. They are crazy expensive, 2. I can't find a plain one anywhere (in brown or pink). I am also wondering if anyone knows what the difference between the thick pad ones and the mesh ones really is (other than the obvious!). TIA

elsa1688 · April 2014

Everything I have read says not to use them because they increase the risk of SIDS. So I am opting to not use them at all.

Laurelyn2012 · April 2014

I'm not bothering with them. I think they are primarily for decorative purposes now a days.

LindsayDesigner · April 2014

We aren't using any because it's a possible hazard.

kd&cd · April 2014

Thanks ladies! I agree with the hazard thing completely!

irenewslee · April 2014

I won't buy them for at least the first 6 months. The baby won't be turning anyway so I don't see the point of it. Once she is 6 months old, maybe I will reassess if she is doing too much crazy karate in her sleep. If not, then I probably won't bother.

steprozz · April 2014

bumpers are a suffocation hazard and really shouldn't be used. having said that, when DS was about 6-7 months old he would get his foot stuck in the slats of the crib and one night he turned over and twisted it so much I thought he broke his ankle it was so purple so put the mesh bumpers on and it helped a lot. but he was old enough to roll and turn his head and all that good stuff so I wasn't as worried at that point of the suffocation hazard.

coffee89 · April 2014

I'm skipping them, I don't see any point in them. If baby has an issue as he gets older (like @stephross88 did) then we will look into a mesh one.

allrightmeow · April 2014

@stephross88 How freakin scary that must have been for you! Poor little guy glad he was ok. Im going to go with the mesh one.

MrsCase1 · April 2014

They pose a suffocation risk because young babies who don't have the ability to move their heads can get their faces stuck in them and suffocate. That is different than a SIDS risk aside from it being one more "warm thing" in the bed to raise baby's temperature (over-dressing also contributes to SIDS, or so they think, since really it largely remains a mystery. Basically they know what to do to statistically lower your chance, but not the actual cause.) The mesh bumpers are for use with older babies who can freely roll and move their heads, to prevent limbs from getting stuck in the slats of the crib. Totally depends on what type of kid you get. Lincoln benefited from the mesh bumpers around 9 months and now at 2.5 sleeps right up against them like an additional pillow. Prior to nine months his crib remained empty.

TheMrs820 · April 2014

I agree with PP. We won't use any until he is older & then only if he has a problem we will do the mesh ones.

ElTrain5 · April 2014

We'll be using a mesh one, but I will probably wait until he is old enough to roll over to the slats and cause any issues to install it (by which time he should be past the suffication risk stage).

flerlgirl · April 2014

stephross88 said:

bumpers are a suffocation hazard and really shouldn't be used. having said that, when DS was about 6-7 months old he would get his foot stuck in the slats of the crib and one night he turned over and twisted it so much I thought he broke his ankle it was so purple so put the mesh bumpers on and it helped a lot. but he was old enough to roll and turn his head and all that good stuff so I wasn't as worried at that point of the suffocation hazard.

This. We are getting some for DS now because he keeps getting stuck. But he just started rolling and we waited until he was able to do that well before we decided on the bumpers. @stephross, that sounds terrible

I'm glad the bumpers helped.

gmc222 · April 2014

We had one for DD and only used it for decoration until she started using the crib at 2 months, and we are not getting one for DS. We never had an issue with DD getting limbs stuck in her crib!

cinnamonsmiles · April 2014

not planning on using them either, but I'm curious - my MIL is making our crib set, and she is including bumper pads. I considered telling her they were a suffocation risk, but she made the last set for my SIL a year ago and would have a meltdown if she thought she had put any of the kids in additional danger (she's just that kind of person).

if anyone has them/will be getting them, do they have other uses?
like can you put them somewhere else? or would you recommend just using them when they come visit?

cinnamonsmiles · April 2014

@mrsdbc thankfully just once, probably for about a week in Sept.
the only issue is that would be about the time he'll be able to turn his head and could possibly get stuck...at least I'm pretty sure that's around that age (2 months).

katekat8721 · April 2014

No bumpers here unless there's a problem later. Then we'd use the mesh ones because it's hot as hell in CA.

MrsCase1 · April 2014

I feel I should clarify: we used the mesh when he was younger and when he was old enough to have a pillow in his crib we put the original soft ones in and he uses them like a pillow now. Pedi was fine with it so long as he was pillow-ready. So, if you have some, don't throw them out just wait a year or so.

ElTrain5 · April 2014

@cinnamonsmiles‌ sometimes people use them for window valences or crib railing wraps to prevent chewing.

cinnamonsmiles · April 2014

ElTrain5 said:

@cinnamonsmiles‌ sometimes people use them for window valences or crib railing wraps to prevent chewing.

I was actually wondering if I could use them as railing wraps...that would be awesome as they look beautiful and I'd want to use them for SOMETHING at least

flerlgirl · April 2014

cinnamonsmiles said:

ElTrain5 said:

@cinnamonsmiles‌ sometimes people use them for window valences or crib railing wraps to prevent chewing.

I was actually wondering if I could use them as railing wraps...that would be awesome as they look beautiful and I'd want to use them for SOMETHING at least

Someone made some really nice ones for a friend of mine who has a daughter. My friend uses them to pad the brick around her fireplace so LO won't hurt herself when she pulls up/falls over/does whatever else babies do near fireplaces.

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