Adventures in Parenting: The Bumper Controversy

When you first learn you're pregnant, you read all the books, attend all the classes, search the internet & read the websites, and take in any and all information about anything related to babies and parenting that you can get your hands on (or at least that's what I did when I found out we were pregnant!). One topic that draws a lot of varying opinions is baby bumpers for the crib.

When we were planning the nursery I thought, "of course we'll have bumpers on the crib! They are so cute and I want only the cutest things for my baby!" Then in a baby class the pediatrician mentioned not using bumpers ... then I read an article about them in a magazine ... then I looked it up on the internet and found LOTS of controversy over the bumpers. After researching the subject thoroughly, we decided that we would use the bumpers until the kid got big enough to roll around and possibly risk getting caught up in them.

Knowing this was our plan, I was disappointed the other day to find her eating the bumper! I didnt think we would have to take them off so soon! She had pulled down one side and was chewing on it - much like she eats her clothes lately! So, I consulted Daddy and we agreed that it was time to take the bumpers off the crib. Cute is only cute until the kid suffocates herself while eating the bedding! So we took off the bumpers, left her in her crib for 5 minutes while mommy made something in the kitchen and daddy was shaving in the bathroom and this is what we came back to when we checked on her ...





So the bumpers are back on, but just tied down REALLY tight. We also removed them from the back of the crib where she would pull them and eat them. Let's see how this works out!