I read someone else's post saying that they were told not to use the crib bumper pad. Does the bumper pad cause a saftey risk for the baby? We put a bumper pad on the crib this morning, but the baby has not slept in it yet. Should I take it off?
I don't think I used my actual bumper until my son was past 10 months. Until then, I used a mesh "breathable bumper" (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=226684... keeps them from getting arms/legs caught in between slats, but allows them to still breathe if they roll up against it. Will be buying one more for use with my twins due in August.
Hi Marla,
Take it off and buy a breathable bumper pad. I know they are at Babies-r-us and probably widely available. Bumper pads can increase the chance of SIDS due to re-breathing and suffocation. I'm sure people will tell you that they are ok or the risks are small, but it isn't worth any risk, I'd get rid of it.
We did not use a bumper pad at all for my son due to the suffocation risk..however, at about 13 months of age, he continually was getting his limbs jammed/stuck between the crib slats and he couldn't get himself out...I was always paranoid about him braking a leg (my husband did that when he was little baby) so I looked into the breathable bumper pads. We ordered one from "One Step Ahead" catalog (you can order online)..and ever since he has no more episodes of getting stuck. I highly recommend the breathable ones if you are going to get one. Hope this helps.
My son is almost 8 months old and we have not used the bumper pad for quite sometime because I have heard that when babies start pulling themselves up they can stand on the top of the bumpers and have fallen out of the crib. I am not willing to take that risk and he does just fine without them. If it worries you, just remove them.
I am against bumper pads because of SIDS. I used the mesh crib shields and absolutely love them! I can see my little ones when they sleep and it makes it so they can still breathe if they roll into it.
We have used one, but I don't put it on there exactly as you might picture it. I actually push it down so that it surrounds/frames the mattress itself, and only 2 inches or so sticks up above the mattress (so her pacifier doesn't fall on the floor, and it provides a little bit of cushion if she bumps her head against the side). The mesh ones sound like a good idea, though.
You can buy a mesh bumper pad at Babies R Us for about $25. It's not as cute as some others, but it prevents baby from reaching out between the slats of the crib and he also cannot suffocate. The SIDS foundation says you should not use a bumper pad and daycares can't either.
Hi Marla! I am a SAHM who also does in-home childcare. I would strongly recommend not using the bumper pad. I am taking classes about infants/children and we recently talked about SIDS, and this is one big no no to using bumper pads. I know they look cute and all, but safety is a bigger issue here. If it were me, I wouldn't leave it on.
The risk would be suffocation. The baby could roll into the pad. We had a friend that had a baby die at 2mo of age from SIDS (not due to the bumper pads)while I was pregnant so we took every precaution that they tell you NOT to do. You can't be in the baby's room 24-7 to keep an eye on him/her so it's better to be safe. At least that's how we felt.
I've always used one. When my babies were new (when the risk is greatest), they stayed put in the middle of the crib. When they were old enough to roll, they would bash their heads on the crib spindles and wake themselves up, so I put the bumper pad back on. I recently took the pad out of my 15-month-old's crib because he learned how to take it off and I didn't want to have to worry about him getting tangled up it. It's the first time I worried about the bumper pad suffocating him.
Supposedly the bumper pad causes a threat to a suffocating baby. Baby's scoot and roll unintentionally and if they roll into it with their face on it, they could suffocate.
We never used it, which was a bummer cause they're sooo cute. I've been told that it's safe to use when the baby can hold their own head up and can roll over on their own. This is so that if they were in a life threatining position of suffocation, their natural instinct would be to intentionally roll over or move their head out of harm.
