If you look at any store selling nursery furniture, you will see cot bumpers; a piece of padded fabric tied to the side of the cot.
I feel like a right killjoy writing this and I’m sure many people will disagree with my thoughts, because after all if the shops are selling them then they must be safe. The biggest missconception being that they help prevent injury (babies arms and legs getting stuck in between the bars) as well as making a beautiful addition to any classic nursery.
I hate to break it to you but bumpers in a cot are anything but safe. In fact, they are the exact opposite.
There’s one big reason that makes cot bumpers one of the most dangerous items in your babies crib:
They can be deadly, your baby can get caught in the fabric and suffocate.
Personally, I ditched the bumper from Max’s bedding and with the youngest Kai, we opted for sleeping bags from the beginning.
As first-time parents, choosing cute bedding to go in Max’s nursery seemed so important.
Looking back I think the whole bundles are quite dangerous.
We chose a cute Winnie the Poo set. This included both the bumper and the blanket. The bumper was flimsy and I didn’t feel confident having it in the crib and the blanket was quite large and not one I would use for a baby in the cot.
Babies have a tendency to cover their faces and a blanket that isn’t cellular is always a bad idea. I soon ditched the blanket in favour of a sleeping bag.
The NHS advises that a baby should stay in a Moses basket with the parents until they are 6 months. Max and Kai went into their own rooms and the cot at around 12 weeks. We found they both slept better in the cot as we were interrupting each other and slept much better in separate rooms.
We decided early on that the safest way for the boys to sleep was in a sleeping bag. We reviewed a great all season sleeping bag earlier on in the year, it’s one I highly recommend (Antipodes Merino Sleeping Bag)
The Lullaby Trust recommend that a safe cot is an empty one, with just a fitted sheet on the mattress. This means no added extras like bumpers or teddies.
Many people say that the bumpers protect their little ones from injuring themselves on the cot bars and once upon a time that might have been true. Manufacturers now make crib bars narrower so there is no need to be concerned about little arms or legs getting stuck.
I asked myself a question when I chose not to put a bumper in my babies cot; what’s worse, a bumped head or suffocation?
I think we all know the answer to that one!
I’m not writing this to tell people what they should or shouldn’t do,you’re the parent you’ll make the decisions for your child (and rightly so)
What do you think about bumpers and did you include them in your child’s bedding?
