Baby limbs, bumpers, and cribs... oh my!

[Megan Turnidge]

Soooo.... question for you ladies. Today my DD got her leg stuck between her crib bars and had rolled over, twisting her leg. Poor thing! I could tell it hurt her. Then after her second nap she did it again! I know bumpers aren't safe b/c she could use them for leverage to jump out of the crib (yikes!). So, any advice?

ETA: She's 7 mos old.

[wvasweetness]

Poor little thing! How old is your DD?

DS is 13 months old and we still use his bumper for the VERY reason. I took it out one night, and he got stuck TWICE, so I immediately put it back in. He actually now uses is as a pillow b/c he always lays his head on it - LOL. When we put it back in, we moved the crib mattress all the way to the bottom.

[Shawna Clingerman]

we ended up moving my oldest out of his crib REALLY early (like 18 months?) because of this very thing - he would get stuck in the rails like everynight!!!

it was the best thing we could think to do, and then we put a gate at his door to his room, and he'd end up falling asleep on the floor every night LOL

[Megan Turnidge]

Originally Posted by wvasweetness

Poor little thing! How old is your DD?

DS is 13 months old and we still use his bumper for the VERY reason. I took it out one night, and he got stuck TWICE, so I immediately put it back in. He actually now uses is as a pillow b/c he always lays his head on it - LOL. When we put it back in, we moved the crib mattress all the way to the bottom.

She's 7 mos old. She already tries to climb up things... crazy girl! And her mattress is already all the way at the bottom for that very reason.

[Shawna Clingerman]

akk! yeah 7 months is WAY too young for a toddler bed LOL, climbing so soon too! lordy you are gonna have your hands full!

[Megan Turnidge]

Originally Posted by Shawna Clingerman

akk! yeah 7 months is WAY too young LOL, climbing so soon too! lordy you are gonna have your hands full!

HAHAHAH! Yeah, she started crawling at 5 mos.

[wvasweetness]

Holy moly! Is your bumper really tall? (Just trying to imagine - even if she did step on it, could she really get out??)

What if you try one of those thin mesh bumper pads - I think they are called "breathable" bumpers. If she stepped on that, it would smash down totally flat, but it would still keep her legs from going through.

Sounds like you've got an active one on your hands! I had an early crawler too. Now mine is passed trying to step on the bumper, and has now moved on to jumping in the crib and laughing hysterically every night, which =

[MelindaH]

I was going to say the mesh bumper too. I personally believe the bumper "threat" is more for when baby can't roll over. I'm guessing she can roll over if she can crawl? Maybe a bumper is safe now? Every bumper I've ever used squished way down if stepped on, so it provided minimal help with climbing out the side.

Good luck!

[Megan Turnidge]

Originally Posted by wvasweetness

Holy moly! Is your bumper really tall? (Just trying to imagine - even if she did step on it, could she really get out??)

What if you try one of those thin mesh bumper pads - I think they are called "breathable" bumpers. If she stepped on that, it would smash down totally flat, but it would still keep her legs from going through.

Sounds like you've got an active one on your hands! I had an early crawler too. Now mine is passed trying to step on the bumper, and has now moved on to jumping in the crib and laughing hysterically every night, which =

I've never even used a bumper before b/c 1) the SIDS warning about using them (and yes, I know she's past that danger now), and 2) I wasn't willing to spend a whole bunch of $$$ on some fancy schmancy bedding set when I couldn't really use the bumper or the blanket.... no use in spending $160 for only two usable pieces (sheet and ruffle), ya know?

And yes, she'd be able to use a bumper for leverage to get out. She is tall and as it is now, you can see the top of her head when she stands at the edge of her crib (my crib didn't seem shorter than any of the other ones at the store...I don't know). I will have to look into the breathable bumbers IF they collapse. That's the only way I'd use them is if I was 100% sure she couldn't use them to climb out.

[Leila]

I'd go with the mesh bumper too. My younger son's leg got stuck in between the crib slats to the point where I had to call 911 to get him out. (I know, it seems ridiculous to call for that, but his leg was turning purple and I simply could not get DH to answer his cell nor could I get anyone to answer the lobby phone at the church where DH was at the time.)

[tlcaudle]

For the safety of your child, I would get a bumper somewhere. Look and see if there are any second hand stores, or co-ops that sell used baby items, that way you won't be paying a bundle for a bumper that won't be used very long. I did not have to use one for my kid, but they do sell mesh canopies that can be attached to the top of the crip to prevent them from climbing out.

Hope that helps a little,

[laura mcgee]

we took out my son's bumper about a month ago, only because he kept pulling up on it and one of the straps was already about to come undone and then it did, so we just took it out, thankfully he hasn't gotten stuck, but he looses his binky down the slots now! 5am on the floor searching for a binky is not FUN! lol.
i have seen those mesh things to keep them in the crib, check those out!

[MelindaH]

Yeah, you might want something like this then:

[AddictedScrapper]

I have one of these for my youngest son, it's the mesh bumper and it's AWESOME! I highly recommend it. It collapses but also stops them from getting caught in the bars. I took it out when he turned one thinking that he was too old to get caught and the first night he got his leg caught so I popped it back in the crib and he has never got caught with it. I say get one, it's well worth the $$ for sure!

Originally Posted by MelindaH

Yeah, you might want something like this then:

[brooke22]

My mother had me and my 2 sisters in toddler beds at 8 months old because we started climbing early. So its always an option.

ETA: I have never seen those mesh bumpers before, they look awesome.

[Megan Turnidge]

I think I'll go pick up one of those mesh bumpers tomorrow! She just got her leg caught AGAIN about 15 mins. ago and cut her nap an hour short. I'm going to put her to bed in her Pack N Play tonight.

Thanks ladies!

[Sarah8914]

Oh fun for you!!!! yikes!!! I hope the mesh bumper works. We've never had that problem with our girls!

[mrs_jb]

I remember with my first, I took the bumpers out when he started moving around the crib, because of the SIDS risks and that very night he slammed his head into the side and got an arm and a leg stuck out through the rails. So I put them back on and just made sure that they were tied as tight as could be to the sides and that they were also tucked below the mattress.

What about doing the breathable bumpers on the outside of the crib? That way they would keep her limbs in, but she couldn't stand on them?

[Linz]

We used a breathable bumper for our son and yes, they will basically just collapse if they try to stand on them. They aren't very expensive either -- like $20-25?? So that's what I would recommend as well. Good luck!

[mummytothree]

I haven't read any of the responses yet buy I have mesh bumpers for all my kids!!

[pomi]

Since we don't have such bumpers here available, we're going pretty well with such a sleeping bag:



We have a winter and a summer one.

[Jennilyn]

I may be a bad mommy for doing this, but I used the bumpers for both my girls (although I didn't when they were tiny babies). Neither of my girls tried to climb out of their cribs. We just moved them into a big girl bed (not a toddler bed, a twin bed) when we felt it was the right time. I do remember once my oldest getting her foot stuck in between the rungs, right up to her thigh! Oh it was so hard to get it out and she was crying...