More Questions About Bumpers...

I believe the concern with bumpers is SIDS. Probably not too much a concern with a 14 mo. old, though.

I.

I used a bumber for my son and did like you said tucked it in so he wouldn't get stuck. I heard that they could get stuck between them and the crib so i just made sure the ties were tight and checked them regularly. i never did hear of it being used a leverage to get out. I think they just get to the age where they will try to get out and it won't matter if they have a bumper in there or not. ( i agree not much leverage provided when it goes flat). My son sill sleeps in the curled up possition in the corner of the bed but he is old enough for small pillow now and that keeps his poor head from getting roughed up. I think that you should just use discresion if you think it is better to have it so she doesn't hurt her head then i would say ok, just make sure that it stayes tucked in and when she starts to learn how to take it off then it should go. Hope this helps

HI J.,
we've never used a bumper for our son(he's 18 months now) and he rolls all around his crib at night. I'll check on him sometimes when he's sleeping and often he's right up against the bars, it doesn't seem to bother him.

I think the biggest thing with bumpers is that they can be dangerous for infants and could be a suffocation hazzard. I have 2 small children and used bumbers for both (still am with my 7 month old). When my oldest (3) was still in a crib, I put him to nap at a friend's house who didn't have a bumber in the crib (for the safety issue). I heard him screaming and when I checked on him, his poor chucky leg was stuck in the slats. For me, I would keep it. And yes, it is normal for babies and small toddlers to move around a lot in their sleep. This will probably change when Alyssa's around 2 and moves to her big-girl bed.
Hope this helped.

Hi J., I just got done reading your request. My personal advice is to take the bumper out of the crib. She will be ok. Yes, the concern of her bumping her head on the bar's will happen, but it is like you and I when we sleep in our bed and roll over towards the edge some how we know that the edge is there so we go the other way. With Alyssa she will bump her head a couple times, but she will finally realize that the bumper is not there anymore and so she will bump her head on the bars if she isn't careful, and will realize this during the day as well when she is playing in or by her crib. I had the same worries when I took my son's away, he kept getting rolled up in some how so I had no choice but to take it out. I hope that I was some sort of help. ~Bye~ K.

Hi J.,

I have two kids, and have not used bumpers for either of them. My four year old son would migrate around his crib when he was in one, and my 10 1/2 month old daughter does the same. At night when I check on her she can have her head smushed against the rails, or her butt. It's different every night. I was always afraid of using bumpers because of the child getting stuck, like your worry, but I was always more afraid of my babies suffocating themselves when they rolled around their crib. So I don't use them. Yes, my children (even now) migrate around their beds, but I'm not too worried about not having a bumper. If it gets too uncomfortable, they will change their sleeping position to a more comfortable one, or cry for Mommy/Daddy to help them. :)

My son is 17 months old and we have used a bumper since birth. I took it off about 12 months, for a little bit, but he too like your daughter is a restless sleeper he is always got his head up against the railes. He has never had a problem with it, and he has never used it to climb out. I think it's fine to have on there.

I used bumpers with my oldest without any problems. I would have used them with my 2yr old had we not co-slept. I feel some of these ideas are pretty extreme (as with anything), I just go with what feels right for us.
Maybe the "no bumpers" refers more to the immobile infant?

I did read recently that toddlers can use the bumper to assist them in climbing out of the crib. It is also a concern that children sleeping to close to the bumper are rebreathing their breath and that because if this SIDS rates are higher in infants that have bumpers in their crib. You are supposed to remove the bumper once your child starts moving(I can't figure out why you need one before that) to lessen the risk of suffocation and SIDS. We didn't use one at all with my daughter who has now graduated to toddler bed. I would hear her occasionally roll into the rails of her crib, but it never woke her up, so I guess it wasn't hard enough to hurt!

I agree, the biggest concern is suffocation as your baby snuggles up against the bumper. The AAP has recommended no bumpers. We did not use a bumper with our now almost-3 year old son, and he was always fine, even if his head was resting against the crib rail. Infants do not have enough strength to hit themselves hard enough against a rail to be hurt. They also learn that it's uncomfortable to rest against the rail. Yes, his leg was caught once or twice, but that was it. I think you have to ask yourself if you're willing to take the risk. However, at 14 months, your daughter is old enough to roll over and move positions on her own, so I understand the risk is not as great.

Hi! It's so hard these days to know what to do or what not to do with our kids and safety. I jused bumpers for both my kids. My son is now 3 and I have a 1 year old daughter who is still sleeping in the crib with bumpers. I never had any problem. One thing I've heard is older babies using the crib bumper as leverage to get out of the crib. So far my kids haven't tried to do that. I transferred my older kid to a big bed when he was two so he wouldn't be tempted to jump out of the crib. Hope this helps!

Hi J.,

I don't know much about the bumpers, but I will say most of them today, including the ones we have squish down easily when my 11-month-old steps on them so I wouldn't worry about using them for leverage to climb. They won't go far with those. My daughter is also a very "active" sleeper. She sleeps through the night but is very loud, usually cries out once or twice in her sleep. Never for more than a couple minutes and she is all over the crib. Especially on really restless nights. She would also have her head jammed up against the bars and would probably then wake herself all the way up by being uncomfortable. I don't know how she is comfortable sometimes in those sleeping positions with the bumpers. So in my opinion just leave them in place. I don't think they will be too much help climbing and I am sure they are much more comfortable for her.
Hope this helped.

Yes, some kids figure out how to use the bumper to their advantage and get out of the crib. Sometimes, kids start playing with the ties or bumper and get it out and get tangled in it... smaller babies may end up sleeping against it and not breathe well. My daughter moves around all night and usually sleeps against the rails, it doesn't bother her. We do have small, safe stuffed animals in the crib (only about 3). If you have a webcam, you could always watch during nap time to see what she is doing.

The real concern with bumpers is for infants who dont know enough or are unable to turn their head in order to get air and breathe...like a less than 4 month old. Past this stage SIDS is not as much of a concern. Kids WILL find a way out of their crib eventually with or without a bumper which is when many parents get the signal it is time to move on to a toddler bed. This happened with my husband and sister's kids...they all climbed out and then their parents moved on to the toddler bed stage.
:) good luck!