Hello fellow mommies,
when do you think is an appropriate time to remove the bumper from the crib and when is an appropriate time for a baby to use a blanket at night? We have the heater up (pretty high) at night so my baby won't get cold and we have him in multiple layers of clothes but I wonder whether I should introduce a thin blanket for him.
Thanks!!
Thanks so much for such quick responses! Sorry, I failed to mention that our baby is 9 months old. He's pretty active and sits up often in his crib; he hasn't tried to step on the bumper to stand up. We have removed the bumper. I was also concerned that he'd be cold at night because his hands and face continue to be cold in the morning when he awakes. When he has a runny nose I become especially worried that he'd be cold at night. Thank you so much, everyone! Have a good weekend!
I was told to not use a bumper in the crib because a small baby could roll up against it and not be able to breath...same with stuffed animals, etc. Then once the baby gets older and is able to stand, the bumpers act as a booster enabling the child to climb up and fall out. I loved using a sleep sack instead of a blanket. Baby can't get tangled up within it, and the baby won't become uncovered. They're great!
How old and how mobile is your baby? Do you have a traditional bumper or a breathable one? Will it collapse if your baby tries to stand on it or will it give your baby a boost that might enable him/her to climb out of the crib? We still have the bumpers on my daughter's crib (she just turned 1 year). We use a breathable bumper on the inside which is super collapsible, so she can't use it to climb out even if she tried. I placed the breathable bumper so that the bottom is lower than the edge of her mattress, so that there was no hazard of her getting wedged between mattress and bumper when she was tiny. We never used the traditional bumper that came with her bedding set on the inside of her crib, just tied it onto the outside for decoration. I took them off about a month ago, but she was pushing her binkies out of the crib at night and it only took 2 days for me to get tired of crawling around her crib trying to find them in the morning. She likes to put her binkies in between the bumpers, so it makes them much easier to find and she likes her little "hiding places."
As for the blanket, that all depends again on how old your baby is and how mobile also. You don't want to OVER-dress your baby ever, especially at night, because overheating has been linked to SIDS, but I also understand not wanting the baby to be cold. From birth, I've always put my daughter in footed, long-sleeved sleepers-light weight ones for the AZ summer/warm weather, fleece ones for winter. We also used a Sleep-Sack from birth until about a month ago. They're wearable blankets without sleeves that come in lots of sizes and lightweight cotton, warm fleece or fuzzy velour. The Sleep-Sack kept her warm at night in the A/C and when the heater was keeping the house at 70. When it got really cold at night (cold for AZ), we did start putting a blanket on her in addition, mainly just to make me feel better. She was about 7-8 months old then and crawling/standing, so it wasn't a suffocation hazard.
I hope this helps! Good luck!
it shows ur from cali. and it is may so its pretty hot outside so i wouldnt use a heater at all. and u do need air circulating in the room i always have a box fan cus i love the noise myself but it helps them from a chance of having SIDS. and try not to bundle the baby too much and using a heater at the same time because you dont want to over heat ur baby. even if u do live somewhere cold and use a heater still use a fan but not pointed on them. but dont bundle so much. i used a heater and just a onesie because my baby would sweat even in that but i put a blanket ober him just under is under arms. and he was fine.
I love the sleep sacks and they come in different materials like fleece for winter and cotton for summer. Once my son was able to stand up we just put him in 2 PJ's in the winter - cotton on the bottom and fleece over that - but only because his room was very poorly insulated and drafty with 12' ceilings. Too warm of a room can cause SIDS - should be between 68 -70 degrees according to our pediatrician. We lived in the Bay Area too and I know that Alameda is foggy and cold at night quite a lot - but unless you're in an old house with leaky windows etc. you're probably over doing it right now. ;)
My hubby is from Africa so the " baby will freeze to death unless it's 80 degrees and he's in 12 layers of clothes" argument went on for years!
Our twins are 17 months and we live in central California where it gets cold at night. We don't have central heating and our daughter's room gets especially cold at night. In the winter we dress her in a onesie and a fleece pj. At 16 months we started to give her a crocheted baby blanket my aunt made her. Both our children love those. We have bumpers that squish down, so neither of our children can climb out, but they are only 25th percentile in height. I'm using a friends crib and her daughter who was off the charts in height crawled out before turning one. I didn't use blanket sleepers because my kids stood up and tripped on them, bumping their heads. They were swaddled for the first six or so months of life sleeping in the same cosleeper next to me. Time sure flies.
Being in child care as a profession, my answer has to be do not ever put a bumper in the crib. We aren't allowed to use them, according to state licensing, because the baby can move around and get its head caught under them.
As far as blankets are concerned, you also need to think about whether or not your baby is likely to get the blanket wound about in such a way as to cause choking or smothering. It's better to use clothing for warmth than to use a blanket. You may also need to evaluate to be sure you aren't trying to keep your baby too warm.
One of the things that has come out of the research on SIDS is that it is very important not to overdress babies. We often have the tendency to put layers of clothing on babies, when it would be uncomfortable to us to be dressed in so many layers. Babies sweat glands are not very developed and it is more difficult for them to regulate their internal temperature. The recommendation is not to have external blankets in the crib, but to dress the baby in the same amount of clothing that you would be comfortable in. Being overheated is one of the stressors that has been implicated in increasing the risk of SIDS.
Hello MK, I have 5 children and have raised foster children so with that bit of experiance I say that I have always had a blanket on our babies from day one. I know they kicked them off so kept them in blanket sleepers or pj's as well. Can't think of any reason that you were told not to do so.
Last I heard, bumpers were out. They are dangerous because if a small baby rolls over and get his face smushed into them, he can suffocate. Not sure how old your baby is but we've never used them for this reason. Check out sleep sacks instead of blankets--my two year old is still in one and will be until she transitions into big girl bed. You don't have to worry about baby coming uncovered or getting the blanket over his face. I just realized the added bonus that my daughter cannot climb out of the crib when she is wearing her sleep sack but she can if she is not wearing it! They sell them at Babies R Us, probably Target....just about everywhere these days.
Hi M,
Not sure how old your baby is, but be careful about too much heat and bundling up. There should be plenty of air circulation (use a fan) and the room should be on the cool side (in the 60s) at night. This will help prevent SIDS!
Also, ideally you should not use a bumper for the same reason - sometimes babies can smoosh their little faces against it or get their heads caught in the bumper and then can't breathe. That said, if you don't want to take it out right away, definitely take it out before your child can use it as a stepstool to get out of the crib.
Lastly - I recommend using a sleep sack instead of a blanket. They come in all sizes, from infant to toddler, and you can find them at Babies R us and online. The sleep sack zips up and doesn't fall off if your baby rolls around. I used one for my child and it worked great.
You should be able to put your child in regular jammies (long or short, depending on the season), then the sleep sack and be good to go. (They also make a fleece sleep sack for winter, but I found it's way too warm for Southern California winters.)
