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Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler.

Sleep

When is it ok to use a cot bumper?

14 replies

Gangle · 21/09/2008 20:13

DS's cot is pretty sparse and empty - just a sheet on the bottom as he's in his grobag and one or two cuddly toys (are these ok?) Wanted to make it a bit cosier for him - are cot bumpers ok now? I had read before that there was a risk of smothering and so not to use them. He is 6 months next week.

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pudding25 · 21/09/2008 21:53

Cuddly toys should be fine. I imagine that you should make sure there are no ribbons/things he can pull off and swallow. Not sure about the bumpers - I had heard the same risk. How about a mobile if you want to brighten things up a bit?

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Seona1973 · 21/09/2008 22:28

cot bumpers are from birth until your lo is mobile as they may use them to try to escape. I wouldnt put one on at 6 months.

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funnypeculiar · 21/09/2008 22:31

I wouldn't bother with bumpers - iirc, the danger is of increasing temperature around the head for younger babies (higher temperatures associated with SIDS), & tangling self in ribbons with older babies

I'd stick with a few cuddlies & a mobile.

If you want to be clever, tie a non-breakable mirror to the cot - every baby in the world loves smiling at his/her self

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Pinkyminkee · 21/09/2008 22:32

Personally I would keep his cot sparse. Sounds mean, but it's for sleeping in, really. I used to put toys on it during the day but take them off for naps and bedtime. I leave the music box from the mobile on the side of the cot, they really like that when the discover they can turn it on themselves.
Never really understood the point of bumpers.

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themildmannneredjanitor · 21/09/2008 22:33

i always used bumpers.

if they are in a feet to foot position then it can't increase the heat round their heads and they were so flimsy that they just scrunched up if they tried to stand on them.

they look pretty and do make the cot seem cosier!

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Gangle · 21/09/2008 22:49

thanks all. He did have a Tiny love mobile (which never rotated properly but couldn't be bothered to send back!) but I took it down as it says until 5 months. Can anyone recommend a mobile for 6 months+? He has a soft books with mirrors attached to the side of his cot which he loves! Also, he is getting more and more mobile and I keep finding him on his front (much to my horror!) Is there anything you can do, other than turning them back? Presumably now he's 6 months the risk of SIDS is reduced but I still worry.

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themildmannneredjanitor · 21/09/2008 22:55

i would put the mobile back up!!!

they only say 5 moths because they might be able to sit themselves up and grab it.

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weebump · 21/09/2008 22:58

We use bumpers, and my lo is 9 months old and pretty mobile. They're quite short, so don't offer any leverage for climbing but do soften the blows when she falls down from standing (hence the name, I suppose!) They also keep things like teddy and soother inside, unless she chucks them out of course. The musical projector thingy that she loves had to go when she managed to take it off the rail and I caught her staring down into the light. Yikes! So if your mobile says remove at 5/6 months, REMOVE it. Hang it from the wall out of reach from the cot if you still want her to see it, or just put it away.

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Pinkyminkee · 22/09/2008 00:49

tiny love mobiles- those are the ones!
You take the mobile bit off and put the music box inside the cot.
DD plays hers to herself in the morning (she's nearly 2!) DS- if he woke in the night he'd put his music on and sttle himself back to sleep.
It's just the dangly mobile bit that's a potential hazerd- not the music box.

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Pinkyminkee · 22/09/2008 00:53

To be clear, the music box is attached to the side of the cot,of course, so they can't get them off.
DS was 3 when he went into a bed, and he had dismantled part of the cot but never got the music box off!

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macaco · 22/09/2008 17:46

I have cot bumpers on but at feet level as he kept sticking his legs out thru the bars and then squealing when they got stuck.

He also sleeps on his front, has done for a while but I don't turn him as it would wake him and he can get onto his side anyway so it's not a SIDS issue. He's only really been sleeping front down since he's been able to roll that way and back anyway.

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Gangle · 22/09/2008 21:21

Mmm, very tempted to get a bumper. Woke up countless time last night to find DS with his arms or legs wedged in the bars of the cot! Surely they should be a certain width or narrowness apart so this doesn't happen?

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Pinkyminkee · 23/09/2008 00:20

Does he sleep in a grobag/sleeping bag? That might help contain his lags, at least!