To bumper or not to bumper....

DavidandMaddie · February 2015

For starters found out we are having a girl, both the husband and I are excited. We didn't care what gender but to know makes things more fun. Now we are trying to finish prepping the room now that we know!!

So... I can't find any bedding sets I like so my mom and I were going to sew our own. Figured I would buy crib sheets and make a cute bumper and quilt. I loke how they make the bed look. But now I am nervous because this stuff I am seeing about bumpers. What are your plans for the crib (fitted sheet only, bumper, mobile, etc)AND what are your thoughts on bumpers?

effthisnoise · February 2015

No bumpers until the baby is old enough to start getting limbs stuck in the slats and the risk for SIDS has passed. I think that's after six months. Bumpers are unnecessary until then and can be dangerous. There's nothing really dangerous about your baby's arm getting stuck--she'll just cry until you fix it for her.

We'll just used a fitted sheet and have a mobile, but that's it.

leenziepops · February 2015

Completely agree with PP. Bumpers and extra bedding is a no no.

ChrisLipstick · February 2015

Agreed. You can get a bumper and cute blanket, but wait to use them until LO is six months old or as advised by your pediatrician.

karaelaine1991 · February 2015

Agree with PP - no bumpers for my little girl! They're pretty, but not worth the risk to her health.

karaelaine1991 · February 2015

Oh, I am getting a mobile for sure though! The visual motion tracking that they help babies develop is one of the first steps in developing literacy skills

Mama-Bear · February 2015

It's a personal decision but over the past few years more people are either steering clear or getting breathable. We had bumpers for all of ours, but honestly they slept with us more than in their cribs.

jbatch · February 2015

With my daughter I used bumpers pretty much from the beginning. I will do the same this time.

ElRuby · February 2015

Bumpers are really a waste of money.... Dangerous when they are infants and when they are older some babies use them to assist in climbing out of crib.... Definitely not purchasing one for my second child!

WifeDeAngel · February 2015

No bumpers ever. When DD got old enough to thrash around and put limbs through the crib, we used breathable bumpers for a few months.

MamaBish · February 2015

No bumpers for us. If I find when baby gets a little older and is getting stuck in between the rails, we will get those breathable mesh bumpers. I see no reason to get the thick padded ones other than the fact that they look cute. Not worth the risk.

KonaCoffeeBean · February 2015

Mama-Bear said:

It's a personal decision but over the past few years more people are either steering clear or getting breathable. We had bumpers for all of ours, but honestly they slept with us more than in their cribs.

A baby's name or whether or not to circumcise is what I would call a personal decision. But something like crib bumpers... sure it's not illegal, but I think it's a little flippant to refer to something that could endanger your child's life a "personal decision."

OP, if for any reason you really feel like you need a bumper, I believe that you can buy breathable mesh ones that don't pose the same safety risks that cloth ones do.

Katerina&Baby · February 2015

No bumper - other than the health risk, it seems like you have to lift the crib mattress out of the crib to change the fitted sheet - when I'm doing that in the middle of the night due to wet diaper accidents or blowouts, I'm not going to want to have to untie each little bumper ribbon to take the bumper off in order to allow me to take out the mattress and then spend time putting it back on (I'd rather spend the extra 15 minutes sleeping). My nursery is going to have enough special decor items that I really don't care about skipping the bumper.

sharice111 · February 2015

Pediatricians are recommending no bumpers. Babies can scoot to the edge of the bed and then since they can't roll over can suffocate. It has happened enough times that they now "recommend" no bumpers. It scared my husband enough learning this in school we threw ours away for a previous child.

CateOfChicago · February 2015

As others said, the rec is no bumpers. You will find plenty of people who used them with no issue just like you will find plenty of smokers who didn't get lung cancer. The sids risk is still there and not worth it to me. I have a coworker who lost a baby to sids so it's a deft no for me. With that said, I also love the look. I have the prettiest overpriced rh baby bumper that went on the crib only when people were over. Dd never slept with it on. I planned to use it when dd was older but then you have the risk of them using it to stand on and climb out. So it was never used except for show. As dumb as that is, I don't regret it.

amabarne · February 2015

I agree with PP. It was way too much of a pain to change sheets with a bumper! Although I haven't decided if we will use one or not. I like the idea of waiting until 6 months or per the pediatrician's go ahead.

taboullio84 · February 2015

They are really cute, but not worth it. IMHO . safety issues are all over with these things.

BabyList · February 2015

I don't plan to use one. I did use a breathable bumper with my dd, but she only slept in her crib a handful of times.

nicolec3 · February 2015

We are only doing a fitted sheet and mobile. Not willing to risk it.

cheriep3 · February 2015

We found a bumper at Target that we registered for. It's mesh so it's breathable but it still protects his little arms and legs from getting caught. I haven't check with my doctor yet but I'm thinking this is kind of the best of both worlds!

Here's the link!
https://www.target.com/p/breathable-mesh-crib-liner-by-breathablebaby-white/-/A-10953561#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=bumper

Trampslikeus · February 2015

I can't find the study I read (saw it before I was pregnant), but since the recommendations have come out to NOT use bumpers and blankets until 6 months - a year, SIDS/suffocation cases have dropped a statistically significant amount. Thats all most of us should need to see to realize its not worth it to make the crib look cute. This one is not a "personal decision", its taking an unnecessary risk for a cosmetic reason. Newborns can sleep in sleep sacks or swaddlers, preventing ANY chance of arms and legs coming out between slats, but again, thats not deadly - suffocating is.

lilitaliangirl · February 2015

KonaCoffeeBean said:

Mama-Bear said:

It's a personal decision but over the past few years more people are either steering clear or getting breathable. We had bumpers for all of ours, but honestly they slept with us more than in their cribs.

A baby's name or whether or not to circumcise is what I would call a personal decision. But something like crib bumpers... sure it's not illegal, but I think it's a little flippant to refer to something that could endanger your child's life a "personal decision."

OP, if for any reason you really feel like you need a bumper, I believe that you can buy breathable mesh ones that don't pose the same safety risks that cloth ones do.

Actually, this IS a personal decision. I used bumpers with my first and will use bumpers with this one as well. This does not make me a bad or reckless mother, nor does it mean I love my child any less.

But, OP, if you are on the fence, this is an option, as well.

lilitaliangirl · February 2015

Sorry, I can never get pictures to attach. Let's try again. .

walshbunnie · February 2015

If you have a set with bumpers you can use the bumper as a crib skirt instead. Check Pinterest for some visuals.

That being said I would never use them inside the crib. SIDS risk is too great and as the baby grows they can climb on top of the bumper.

erbear84 · February 2015

You absolutely are being reckless putting bumpers in the crib.

tahitiandreamin · February 2015

No bumpers or blankets for DD when she was in her crib and this baby will be the same. Sleep sacks and a good swaddle were all that was ever needed. DD didn't use blankets for sleeping until she was in her big girl bed, which was after she was 2 and even then for the first few weeks she was in a sleep sack until she got used to her bed. While it might be a "personal decision", why take the risk when doctors are telling you not to use bumpers. I've heard that even the "breathable" bumpers are not recommended.

Trampslikeus · February 2015

https://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(07)00363-0/fulltext

Oh, and they are actually ILLEGAL in Chicago and Maryland, with legislation pending in several other states:
https://www.parenting.com/blogs/show-and-tell/kate-parentingcom/chicago-bans-sale-crib-bumpers

thelittlestbee · February 2015

I would never put my baby at risk of SIDS just for a pretty piece of bedding. Nope. No way. Not a chance in hell!

Unknown · February 2015

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lilitaliangirl · February 2015

Trampslikeus said:

https://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(07)00363-0/fulltext

Oh, and they are actually ILLEGAL in Chicago and Maryland, with legislation pending in several other states:
https://www.parenting.com/blogs/show-and-tell/kate-parentingcom/chicago-bans-sale-crib-bumpers

I honestly am not intending to be in an argument with anyone and really do respect everyone's opinion and decision. I don't expect everyone or anyone to the same thing as me, as I will do things different from others too. But, they are not illegal to use, they are just not sold in these states. Which, honestly, seems silly to me considering all the online purchases people make.

nicolec3 · February 2015

It's not worth the risk

Trampslikeus · February 2015

lilitaliangirl said:

Trampslikeus said:

https://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(07)00363-0/fulltext

Oh, and they are actually ILLEGAL in Chicago and Maryland, with legislation pending in several other states:
https://www.parenting.com/blogs/show-and-tell/kate-parentingcom/chicago-bans-sale-crib-bumpers

I honestly am not intending to be in an argument with anyone and really do respect everyone's opinion and decision. I don't expect everyone or anyone to the same thing as me, as I will do things different from others too. But, they are not illegal to use, they are just not sold in these states. Which, honestly, seems silly to me considering all the online purchases people make.

Right. They are ILLEGAL to sell in those places, with more to come. Why is that silly? They can't stop people from buying them, but they can do their best to get the message out there and keep businesses within their jurisdiction from marketing them in stores to people who don't realize how purposeless and dangerous they can be. This is exactly how car seat legislation began. And they estimate that has saved hundreds of thousands of lives at this point.

staciecoffey · February 2015

I put one if the mesh bumpers on our registry only to placate my husband. I have no intentions of using until 6+ months or so. I may even wait longer to avoid any health risks.

FloGirl82 · February 2015

scoffey0615 said:

I put one if the mesh bumpers on our registry only to placate my husband. I have no intentions of using until 6+ months or so. I may even wait longer to avoid any health risks.

Same here! Why risk even a chance of SIDS for something that might help increase the aesthetic value of a piece of baby furniture?? (Although the mesh ones we've registered for aren't really that great looking.

)

staciecoffey · February 2015

@FloGirl82‌, they're ugly as sin!

FloGirl82 · February 2015

I know. I didn't even entertain the idea of purchasing the padded bumpers, but DH was all worried about the baby getting her arms stuck in the slats, so we threw some of the mesh ones on the registry just to shut him up.

ajgerber · February 2015

We had bumpers with our first (stupid FTM who bought a bedding set that they came with). We put them on, took pictures of the cute crib and then took them off until past the SIDS risk. After that, we put them only to take them off because they were a huge pain.

Will not even buy them this time around (not buying a bedding set). I don't see the purpose of the mesh ones either. We never had issues with limbs in the slats until past 12 months or so.

HomeLiveLove · February 2015

Not worth the risk to me! No bumpers in this house

KonaCoffeeBean · February 2015

lilitaliangirl said:

Actually, this IS a personal decision. I used bumpers with my first and will use bumpers with this one as well. This does not make me a bad or reckless mother, nor does it mean I love my child any less.
But, OP, if you are on the fence, this is an option, as well.

I don't think this makes you a bad mother, and I certainly wouldn't make any judgement as to how much you love your children. But really, it IS reckless. You are knowingly putting your child at risk. I can't imagine why.

ksimo6 · February 2015

We used the mesh ones with DD from about 6mo - 1year. Just until she got old enough to figure out to get her foot unstuck herself. Both DH and I wrapped them around our faces to test the breathing... totally NOT SCIENTIFIC, I know... but they seemed to allow for breathing without any issue. That said, do what you and your SO feel is best. It's your baby!

kej0004 · February 2015

ksimo6 said:

We used the mesh ones with DD from about 6mo - 1year. Just until she got old enough to figure out to get her foot unstuck herself. Both DH and I wrapped them around our faces to test the breathing... totally NOT SCIENTIFIC, I know... but they seemed to allow for breathing without any issue. That said, do what you and your SO feel is best. It's your baby!

SIDS obviously isn't perfectly understood, but one of the prevailing theories is that it's caused from rebreathing CO2. So even if you can technically breathe through it, it could still be limiting new air to the respiratory system. It's not like suffocating with a pillow or something, it could even just be from proximity of the nose/mouth to a barrier without touching.

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