To remove or not to remove?!!

[SparklyTinselTits]

So my 6mo DD has never been a great sleeper, but we seem to finally be making some progress with a solid nap routine, and much better nights.
My problem lies, with a cot bumper. (And before I get the "bumpers aren't safe" lecture, my bumper was a present from abroad - it is like a deep dish shaped thing that fits in the cot, and then the mattress fits inside the "dish". The bumper-esqe sides screw into the cot sides so there is no way my DD can become trapped.)
DD is a very active baby. She rolls around her cot like a wild thing. I have tried removing the bumper, but she ended up with bruises on her head and face from smacking the sides when she rolls. But if I leave it on, she uses it as a chew/suck toy and keeps herself awake!
Would you remove it, or leave it on?!

She gets actual bruises?

Bashing and banging into cot sides once baby is rolling is normal, all my children have done. They dont have the spacial awareness when asleep to stop rolling into cot sides.

My baby really whacks into the cot side (in particular the cot head, at top) with very loud bangs when she's sleeping.

No actual bruises though. Are you sure it's not just you not being used to the massive bangs you hear when babies bang into the cot sides? They are actually very robust without using bumpers, it sounds much worse than it actually is.

I would perhaps see a doctor if she is bruising this readily, to check for any medical reasons. Or if she's doing actual head-banging on purpose, deliberately hurting herself, which might need a psychologist.

I didn't answer your actual question. There is no reason to need cot bumpers at all, regardless of their safety. So I would remove them.

She's had bruises a couple of times, more common are red marks that disappear quickly, and bumps on her forehead that go down after a few hours - I hope you're right that it sounds worse than it is! It sounds like she's really smashing into the end! She is crawling now, so gets up on her knees and pushes herself towards the top end and then bangs her head!
I'll try taking it away again and see how it goes. She tends to get up onto her hand and knees and press her face to it and sucks, so that needs to stop. I think I'm just paranoid about he little head still being so fragile like a newborns, even though it's not! I think I've got a bit of PFB syndrome

Yeah, red marks are quite usual. Especially so if you have an active baby (like mine have all been). As long as the red mark goes down it really is nothing to worry about.

It's no more than if you fall asleep on your own arm and get a red mark on your face from the seem on your top, for example (I get those crease-type red marks all the time when I fall asleep on the sofa!)

My DD (now 13 months) likes to sleep across-ways (not lengthways) with her face in the corner between the mattress and top of her cot. So any movement results in her banging into the top-side of the cot. and any leg/arm stretching results in her banging into one of the cot sides.

You just get used to it, as does baby. If there are actual bruises often though, then I would worry. But there really shouldn't be and so bumpers are not needed.

I too think you might have a teeny bit of PFB syndrome.