I know everywhere you read it's a huge no no to put bumpers in cots, but when my baby is born it will be still quite cold and I was wondering, did anyone use bumpers when the baby was newborn and not capable of rolling into them or becoming entangled in them?

I know the SID's experts say do not put head warmers (hats) on babies when they sleep, and I don't want her head to be cold, so surely a bumper would be fine in the very beginning to keep the cold breezes from flowing into the cot?

My SIL who is a paediatric nurse gave me the bumpers and she used them so (?) what did everyone else do?

I'd never heard they were dangerous unless they weren't secured tightly. Maybe this is new info. I had matching bumpers in all my nurseries. Had to have em to complete the look. :wink: It does seem that the crib would be drafty without them. ???


Joy [welcomewave]

Yep, we used bumpers too. We just made sure they were tied nice and tight.

I also used them w/both ds's. I think you will be ok if they are secured tight.

Count my vote as a yes, too. All four of the kids, until about six mos, when they start moving around. And I am the biggest SIDS freak anywhere, I am sure! It's more about overheating the baby, which is so difficulot to determine. They say, dress baby the way you would dress + one laayer. So if it's cold enough to wear a sweater, put baby in a blanket sleeper, and add a blanket. If baby seems too warm (sweating), then remove the extra layer. I had little caps on my guys as newborns in the colder mos. unless it caused sweating.
Now they make these things to replace blankets, that almost look like sleepers, but it goes over the PJ's. Now, that is a good idea!

We used a bumper pad too. Most of them have ties in several places on each side to tie onto the crib.

Also, for the hats, they put hats on the babies at the hospital here. They are made by volunteer little old ladies who crochet them. They send it home with you and the baby when you leave the hospital. If you go the the nursery at the hospital all the babies have hats on.

I always used them with my child and all the DC babies...it was against regulations in the DC's so I would surround them with rolled up blankets...the parents were ever so thankful that their babes didn't have bumps all over their little heads........Angela used bumpers until she figured out how to peak her head out from underneath...around 6mo

My ped said bumpers are ok till 3mos, but we kept ours in till dd started pulling on them. I got nervous and took them out. That was at about, hmmm, 9mos? I hear her sometimes bump her head at night, but it doesn't seem to phase her. I don't see anything wrong with hats, either. They barely move as newborns and they do have hats on at the hospital.

Well you know why the other reason I would like to use bumpers when they are OLDER too is because my twins were continually getting arms and legs jammed in the sides of the cot/crib. I have a perfectly safe modern cot/crib that is safety approved yet it was a continual problem which left me with a screaming upset baby too many times too often.

SO I guess if I do what everyone else did and tied them really securely (I assumed the issue here was about them becoming untied and suffocating bub???)

I generally used a growsuit and a sleeper (sleeping bag with sleeves) on my bubs and it worked like a dream since it eliminated them crying if the blankets happened to come off plus SIDS society recommends the sleepers.

I had to stop using them cuz dd was starting to crawl on them and I was afraid she'd try to use them as a step and "climb" over the top. I don't mean to sound bad, but you're right about the suffocating. Even when they're secure, I could see a baby sticking their head in the corner of their crib to be close to something?

wooo tracy, never thought of the baby using the bumpers as a step - thanks for the tip.

Ditto: I used them until my babies started "messing with them" pulling on them etc., then out they came-

I've had bumbers both times and haven't had any problems. As long as you make sure they are securely tightened then it should be perfectly safe. :wink:

I used bumpers on Abbys cot. Never had a problem.
When they are newborns they don't roll or move in bed anyway so they don't get to the sides of the cot...
Once they start rolling they are able to move their head from side to side so I don't see how it's really an issue. :? I used to put the occasional soft toy in a corner of Abbys cot too. She even started using a pillow at 1 year.

Well you know why the other reason I would like to use bumpers when they are OLDER too is because my twins were continually getting arms and legs jammed in the sides of the cot/crib. I have a perfectly safe modern cot/crib that is safety approved yet it was a continual problem which left me with a screaming upset baby too many times too often.

SO I guess if I do what everyone else did and tied them really securely (I assumed the issue here was about them becoming untied and suffocating bub???)

I generally used a growsuit and a sleeper (sleeping bag with sleeves) on my bubs and it worked like a dream since it eliminated them crying if the blankets happened to come off plus SIDS society recommends the sleepers.

I had that problem too with her legs getting stuck in the bars. That's why I put bumpers in.
I took them out when she was crawling. She didn't start crawling until 9 months. They were always secured tightly and I don't see how she could have got her head stuck or anything...
I don't think they'd even be making them anymore if they were really that bad. KWIM
Like baby walkers... they do not recommend them anymore but they are still making them.

Yeah we had a walker which the twins shared but the thing broke!! So I am going to try and hunt another one down. They are like anything - completely fine if there is an adult watching the baby while in it.

I know the bumpers are made so baby wont get hurt or stick between the bars of the crib like Renee mentioned. However, sometimes it's recommended to take them off as your baby is old enough to loosen them. Like 9 months or older.

Yeah we had a walker which the twins shared but the thing broke!! So I am going to try and hunt another one down. They are like anything - completely fine if there is an adult watching the baby while in it.

Exactly!

And we did take the bumpers out of Abbys cot when she was 9 months old... it was probably actually earlier... I can't remember. But we took them out once she could roll to the sides of the cot.

We used bumpers for our crib when DD was a newborn...though we really co-slept til she was about two and half months or so. But, she has had them on her crib since day one. Acutally just tonight I removed them. She is at that age where she plays with the bumper and trys to stand on it. So I just removed it to be safe. As for keeping warm we just bought DD some sleepers with footies or those little night gowns that even cover her feet(They kind of had elastic at the bottom) and had mits for her hands(so she wouldn't scratch herself). They always seemed to work just fine and we kept the temp reasonable. But, just remember a baby being too warm can also lead to sids.

We didn't use bumpers at all...we didn't have the $$ for them and we couldn't see buying them and onlying be able to use them while the infant was immobile! We did let ds wear a hat though...it was snug and didn't come off. Totally agree with being worried about kids stepping on the bumper to climb out...I've heard lots of stories like that one!

We had bumpers in Bri's crib until he was about six months old. if we didn't he would roll and get his arm or leg caught between the bars.

We just tucked them between the bars and the mattress so that he couldn't "mosey" under them.