Baby bangs head on cot

[Julybabe]

My 9 month old baby keeps banging her head on the cot's spindles. It wakes her up and she screams and cries. I know that health visitors are against cot bumpers but I think my baby needs some padding around the cot because she hurts her head and wakes herself daily. It can't be good for her little skull. Any suggestions? Any advice? Thank you.

Cot bumpers can cause suffocation, so I really wouldn’t use them.

You can get airwrap breathable cot bumpers but they’re not very padded - more for stopping them getting their legs and arms stuck. They’re great though and perfectly safe.

Presuming she has no bumps or bruises from it I wouldn’t worry about injury - she’s probably crying more from the surprise. My 2YO sometimes sits up and then drops back down and full on whacks her head on the bars, she’s never had a mark or actual injury (doesn’t even wake up usually) but it makes a loud bang through the monitor! Definitely sounds worse than it is.

Echoing piglet81 - the suffocation risk of the padded bumpers is absolutely not worth it just to save a bit of a bump.

Yes I found the mesh ones as I googled safer cot bumpers. I wouldn't be as worried if she only occasionally bumped her head but she bumps her head several times a day/night and she rocks a lot in her sleep. I'm really worried about the damage to her head 😞

Honestly her head will be fine yes it's a bit of a shock for hurt but it's not actually hurting her.

In a few weeks she will most likely not be headbutting the cot sides so honestly I'd just ride it out.

Unless she is literally standing up and deliberately headbanging against the cot, she will be absolutely fine. A lot of babies of that age do it it’s quite normal and they’re not all brain damaged - honestly, I get that it’s frustrating that she wakes herself up and you’d like to mitigate that but please don’t worry that she’s injured.

It sounds like you’re quite anxious - Have you ever seen signs of injury when she’s done it? To actually damage her head there’d definitely be some evidence on her face or skull. If there isn’t, she’s grand.

It sounds more like she is waking and thrashing around so then hitting her head. It is less likely that she is consistently hitting her head so hard in her sleep that it is waking her up. I doubt bumpers would make a difference, even if they were safe. Just treat it as a phase and wait for the next one.

Even mesh bumpers can be unsafe. If not tight enough, they pose a strangulation risk. They can also be used as a leg up for climbing. Falling out of the cot is more likely to cause injury than rolling in it.

Put her in a travel cot then. Bumpers are a death trap, even the mesh ones risk strangulation.

Agree with this, it's hard but try to ride it out

This.

Wouldn't even contemplate risking it for me. Not even for a head bang that ended in injury.

She won't be injuring herself. Either let her be or get a travel cot.