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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

that putting clingfilm round a cot is the stupidest idea ever

101 replies

FarAwayisBetter · 28/02/2012 04:20

My DP has tightly wound clingfilm through the bars of DS (4 months) cot, to stop him sticking out his arms and legs and getting them stuck. He'd previously had a bed sheet doing the job but it kept slipping down.
DS sleeps in the same room with just me and now I daren't leave him to sleep in his cot unless I am actually in the room watching and listening to make sure he's ok. He sleeps with me as soon as I go to bed. I am up at 4am, as DS wriggles too much and I disturb him equally as much with my own movements.
I told DP I wasn't comfortable with the clingfilm and he answered how DS was also his child and he wouldn't have put it there if it wasn't safe. (He is very precious over DS so this argument has weight).

But ffs it is a really stupid idea isn't it? (I've heard of Air Wrap cot bumper things btw - tried to tell him about them, wouldn't listen).

OP posts:

happydotcom · 28/02/2012 20:03

I have an air wrap bumper thingy - excellent and SAFE!!!

CLingfilm???????????? wtf?????????????

maddening · 28/02/2012 21:02

we got the airwrap one - it is fab

Shoutymomma · 28/02/2012 21:32

OP: if you are remotely worried about your OH being dazzled by the sun whilst driving to work, can I recommend painting his windscreen with black gloss?

Floggingmolly · 28/02/2012 21:44

His argument does not carry any weight! Stupid is stupid, doesn't matter whether you actually mean any harm or not. I'd be more by his attitude than what he did, tbh.

ReshapeWhileDamp · 28/02/2012 22:14

OP, I'm not going to add to the deluge of shocked posters saying this is a bloody stupid idea, because you know it is , and thank god, you've done something about it. But I was wondering why your DH was so concerned about limbs coming through the cot bars in the first place? Is your baby doing that a lot and then waking themselves up because he's uncomfortable? Is that, in turn, disturbing your DH? I think a baby sleeping bag would really help. Have you also considered a bedside cot arrangement, so that if your baby is really disturbed, you can just reach out and reassure him? We made one by safely modifying an Ikea cot which cost about £35, so they don't have to cost £££s.

The sleep deprivation will end one day and you'll be able to function normally again. Don't be afraid to act on your instincts though - you knew this was a bonkers idea. You didn't need to ask us lot if it was or not. Go with your instincts.

PeppyNephrine · 28/02/2012 22:51

You're as bad as each other. He wraps the cot in clingfilm, you get up needlessly at 4 am and won't let the baby sleep in his cot without you watching him.
Seriously, you're both bonkers.

ChippingInNeedsCoffee · 28/02/2012 22:53

P would be sleeping in another house if he did something that fucking dangerous and spoke to me like that.

skybluepearl · 28/02/2012 22:59

would you let your son play with a plastic bag? No of course not - then why would you wrap cling film round his bed? You have to remove it now. It is not safe and could kill your son. Tell him you are happy to accept the whole cling film business if he rings a health visitor and can get her to agree that its safe - we all know she won't in a million years.

skybluepearl · 28/02/2012 23:00

glad you have removed- phew!

saladsandwich · 29/02/2012 01:14

is this OP real or what?

minimisschief · 29/02/2012 01:29

oh please it is hardly dangerous. your husband is stupid about the bars but your child will not suffocate because he has made a bumper out of clingfilm.

GrittersWifeAndProud · 29/02/2012 04:14

Er mini, yes, actually, the baby could suffocate. Why on earth do you think he won't? And yes, it is very dangerous.

MaMattoo · 29/02/2012 05:17

It matters not what he says about your baby being his too. The baby needs you to fight from their corner in all stupid situations, this IS one.
Don't ever let compromise to maintain peace override safety and well being of your child. Child comes first, if it means you argue all day and night about it - do be it.

Sorry if I sound rude, but cling film is dangerous. In more ways than one!

SaraBellumHertz · 29/02/2012 05:30

Good god I had imagined the OP's husband was uniquely stupid but apparently mini proves not!

RunnyGrobbles · 29/02/2012 07:01

Don't remember details, sorry, but have seen a documentary about a baby who broke his leg (arm?) mysteriously. The medical consensus was that the break was deliberate, and the fact that the parents had no idea how the limb got broken was seen as evidence that they were lying.

It took a looong struggle to get the baby back and involved filming the baby in bed to see the fact that it wiggled and jerked its limbs around much more than is normal.

Not sure if this is the same case that GrittersWife heard about, but the parents were accused of cruelty, not negligence, and the cot bars was not a pretext made up by SS, it was apparently the actual explanation whereas SS thought the parents injured the kid onpurpose.

Iggly · 29/02/2012 08:15

mini are you the OP's DP??

zebedeethezebra · 29/02/2012 13:48

Its a terrible idea, just get some cot bumpers if DP is that worried.

Proudnscary · 29/02/2012 13:52

SHE'S TAKEN THE CLINGFILM OFF PEOPLE!

TroublesomeEx · 29/02/2012 14:05

@ Proudnscary

Longdistance · 29/02/2012 14:13

2 OP, please go upstairs and rip it off now! It is so dangerous. If ur lo rips any of the cling film and pops it in his mouth, he'll suffocate :( Pls remove it asap x

Pseudo341 · 29/02/2012 14:23

Glad to hear you've taken the clingfilm off, defiitely a dangerous idea, a young baby can roll into something but not have enough control to roll away, face into clingfilm could be fatal.

think there's two possible definitions of a baby's limbs being stuck through the bars, stuck so that an adult can't rescue them is very unlikely, stuck so that the baby can't rescue itself is extremely likely, my DD used to get up to her thighs and not be able to get out and then scream the house down.

Cot bumpers are dangerous for three reasons, they reduce ventilation which can increase the risk of SIDS, they can suffocate the baby if it rolls into it and can't roll away again, and they can be used as a step by older babies to climb out of the cot.

I definitely recommend the air wrap, has none of the problems of cot bumpers but provides a nice barrier to stop limbs and dummy escaping, and also provides a bit of padding so that the baby doesn't bash itself quite so hard when it knock into the bars.

Don't beat yourself up too much over the cling film, nobody's entirely sane with a 4 month old in the house, as someone else said no harm done.

snowmummy · 29/02/2012 14:31

How stupid? Really?

GrittersWifeAndProud · 29/02/2012 16:48

Wow. The 2nd post after Prouds post saying that she has taken it off is telling her to take it off. I wish people would read at least some of the thread.

PooPooInMyToes · 29/02/2012 17:03

Lueji I remember as case being in the news where the parents eventually proved they hadn't hurt the baby.

iwanttogetoffnow · 29/02/2012 17:10

my twins always had arms/legs sticking out through the bars but as previously mentioned they are a specific distance apart so no damage done.
Rather hilarious actually. Got some great photos before ding limbs back into cot
Now they are in weird positions of somehow manage to fall over cot sides on big boy beds! Wonders will never cease.

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