Bumpers: Do benefits outweigh risk?

    Decorating your newborn's nursery can be one of the most exciting things when welcoming a new little one into your life. Mommies like to "nest" and get ready for their little one. The nursery happens to be one of the first things mommies usually start doing, at least in their head.

    I loved decorating my son's bedroom. I remember looking for hours and hours at different sites and bedding and trying to decide what to use. It was a bit overwhelming. After I finally decided on the bedding, style, patterns, etc., I asked my husband the all famous question, "Should we get a bumper?" Of course he said, "I don't know. If you want to, then get it." Ha! It was not a matter of money, design, or style, it was a matter of whether or not it would be safe for my baby.

This was the bedding I decided on. Contemporary yet not to "babyish". 19 months later, I still love it!

     I knew the general consensus was that bumpers were not safe. I decided to research a little and see what was out there. I usually go to the American Academy of Pediatrics website. It is a very trusted and used website by doctors. They recommend that infants do not sleep with a bumper.

   I then decided to ask my pediatrician. He said absolutely not to have any type of bumper in our bed. We had already bought the mesh type of bumper because I thought that surely that would be okay. It was breathable unlike other bumpers made to be like "pillows". I mean breathable is good right? Wrong! They can still cause the same effects as pillow type bumpers.

This is the mesh bumper that we got and put in Brody's bed before visiting our pediatrician.

This is our first house with Brody's crib and mesh bumper. This was before we decided to take it out.

This is our house now with Brody's crib and no bumper at all. Not a huge difference in the look.

     So after talking to our pediatrician and the recommendation from AAP, we decided to not do a bumper. According to both, the benefits outweigh the risk. Here is why:

• A baby will not likely be able to hit the rails hard enough to hurt.
• The first few months of life they will be swaddled anyway and won't be able to roll around.
• It is much better for a baby to have a small bruise if they do bump themselves rather than die from suffocation.
• The worst that can happen without a bumper is a bump or bruise and possibly getting a leg or arm in between rails (which can be pulled out easily).
• The worst that can happen with a bumper is death.

     This was a no brainer for us. We did not want to risk Brody getting stuck in the bumper and not being able to breath. It helped me rest easier knowing that was not a possibility. His leg has gotten stuck 1 time in the rails in the entire 19 months that he has been using his crib. It doesn't happen to often. It didn't even leave a bruise. Don't get me wrong, I think cribs with bumpers are much cuter than those without, but we didn't want to risk it.

     I do know people who do use bumpers and have with every child. Their children are happy and healthy and the bumpers did not harm them.  I also know of people who use a bumper while their baby is still being swaddled. Once their baby can move more freely on their own while they sleep, they then remove the bumper. I am not saying that your baby WILL die if you use a bumper. Many don't. But many also have. It was not worth the risk to us. That is a decision you will have to make for you and your baby. Does the benefit outweigh the risk?

Until next time,