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Sleep

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Original poster

Rotating baby - will a cot bumper help?

28 replies

Anglepoise · 12/03/2009 13:08

Three nights in a row now, DD has rotated herself as close to 90 degrees as she can get in her cot, then banged her head on the bars and woken herself up

I'm wondering if a cot bumper will help, or at least give her a softer landing, but think I've heard that they're not really advised.

Any advice? DD is nearly 24 weeks if that makes a difference.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

IwishIwasmoreorganised · 12/03/2009 13:10

I wouldn't. Babies can get caught underneath them which I think is why they're not advised.

Marthasmama · 12/03/2009 13:12

Have you tried a Grobag. They can't wiggle about as much.

Original poster

Anglepoise · 12/03/2009 13:13

She's in a grobag now - she's just a midnight wriggler!

OP posts:

Marthasmama · 12/03/2009 13:17

Wow, that must be some determined wiggling. You're probably not going to stop her then. A cot bumper would be dangerous now, especially as dd will soon be pulling herself up on the sides of the cot.

pigleychez · 12/03/2009 14:29

My DD is 7mths old. Shes in a growbag too but in no way does that stop her wriggling. She would turn a whole 180 during the night! Since learning to roll over shes been a nightmare and gets herself onto her front and wedged across the cot! I have gone in on numerous nights to her screaming as shes laying on her side across the cot with both legs (in the growbag) sticking out between the bars!

I too agree with about the cot bumper not being safe now shes moving around.

Marthasmama · 12/03/2009 14:34

Maybe it's a girl thing then. Maybe DS was just too lazy to wiggle in his! We'll soon see, dd is 22 weeks today!

saltcod · 12/03/2009 15:36

have you tried a sleep positioner?

cuppachar · 12/03/2009 15:37

DD was exactly the same (used to rotate 90 or even 180 degrees every single night!) and I bought a cot bumper which really helped. I think you're not advised to use them once the baby can sit unaided, but I found by that point (around 7 months) DD was a bit more mobile anyway so could easily move away from the cot rails on her own is she was uncomfortable. The cot bumper I bought was from Mothercare and only tied on at the top, not at the bottom, so seemed pretty safe.

Original poster

Anglepoise · 12/03/2009 20:15

Thanks for the replies - my mum arrived and I had to go out.

She can kind of sit unaided now, just not for very long. Have to admit that the bumpers do scare me slightly.

saltcod that positioner looks great, except I think DH will laugh at/leave me if I get one as I already have several devices for holding her in varying positions while she sleeps (just none to hold her in one place!). I might give it another couple of nights and see if she learns that head + cot side = ouch ... and if not will probably crack and get a positioner!

OP posts:

geordieminx · 12/03/2009 20:18

I've tried cot bumpers, towels rolled up, growbags, pillows, quilts and various other devices, and still at nearly 2 ds still ends up upside down/back to front/diagnol in his cot. Nothing works, if you have a wriggler then thats just the way it is!

Original poster

Anglepoise · 12/03/2009 21:17

Thanks geordieminx - in that case I may just revert to my default parenting position of going with the flow (and getting up every night to move her round again) ... at least she might be burning off some of her rolls of fat in the night!

OP posts:

geordieminx · 12/03/2009 21:25

cot gymnastics

kateecass · 13/03/2009 10:27

My DD up to this too. Thought she might be doing it when she wakes up crying before we get to her, but put her in the travel cot next to our bed last night, instead of in her cot in own room, and she turned 180 in her sleep and without us even noticing.

I put 2 rolled up towels down either side of cot under the sheet last night. Seemed to work while she was in her own room.

DS never did this (actually he did it once and I phoned DH to say I thought we had a ghost LOL). Maybe it is girls!

AvonBarksdale · 13/03/2009 16:09

I bought dd (now 12 months) a bumper when she was 8 months old as she kept wriggling around in her cot and bumping her head and waking herself up. It has worked brilliantly: she gets herself into the strangest positions during the night but is always snuggled up against the bumper so her head is nice and cushioned. It has never ever posed and danger to her and in fact she now chews on it to get to sleep at night! If you think it would help then at least try it for a couple of nights - there are so many things we are told are too "dangerous" nowadays, I understand there are risks but you are clearly intelligent enough to weigh them up and make your conclusions!

pollywollywoowah · 14/03/2009 09:31

Agree with AvonBarksdale. Cot bumpers were a nightime lifesaver when DS was this age.

ChocOrange05 · 15/03/2009 20:18

My DS wriggles too and I was worried about rolled up towels next to him so I put small rolled up blankets underneat the mattress on the sides to make the mattress slightly curved so if he does wriggle its just down the cot and not sideways (I also put his head near the top of the cot, as he's only in a grobag there is no danger of him wriggling under the covers). Its working so far. Good luck!

stripeysock · 16/03/2009 21:56

my dd does this in a grobag too. i put her at the bottom of the cot - toe to toe and tuck her in with a light blanket. it has worked for us for the last fortnight.

toomanytoys · 18/03/2009 11:47

DD (11 months) does this too. A cot bumper means she doesn't wake up when she does crash into the bars, and doesn't seem dangerous imo. (we have actually "weaved" the bumper through the bars, to make it a tighter fit. So there are still some bars she could bash, but reduces the chance by half!)

What reduces the wriggling a lot is elevating the top end of the cot a bit. We did this when she had a cold before christmas, and I didn't really notice that she'd stopped rotating so much. Took the books (cheapskate!!) from under her cot legs once the cold had gone and that night, she was twisted round 90 degrees! Elevated the cot again, and although she does still do it sometimes, it's definitely not every night like it used to be, and she never wakes up because of it hth

Original poster

Anglepoise · 21/03/2009 17:36

Sorry, hadn't seen I had more replies!

She seems to have stopped rotating, so will stop worrying about it for now (she has also stopped sleeping in her cot but is in our bed instead, so worrying about that instead! )

OP posts:

Sheeta · 21/03/2009 17:40

agree with stripey sock - tuck the bottom of the grobag under the mattres and tuck a rolled up blanket to hold it in place (pinned so it can't unravel)

It's not just girls btw, DS was a right wiggler! He seems to have got used to banging his head now ;)

Never would have got a cot bumper as he's always been a climber (from as early as he could manage it) and would have got stuck behind it or something.

SomeMightSay · 21/03/2009 17:55

I thought the reason cot bumpers weren't advised was because if the baby can and does move there is a chance that she'd rest her head against it stopping any heat escaping from here resulting in over-heating which is a SIDS risk and the reason they weren't advised once a child could sit was because they may use it as a tool to climb out of the cot.
I did buy a bumper but for the above reasons, have never used it.

mimamma · 07/05/2010 09:10

Hi guys,
my 20 week old baby girl rotates as well in her cot and she is always waking up when she gets to 90 degrees "stuck" as she is quite tall I think.. I put towels to protect her but they dont seem to work so I am thinking of buying the bumper. I dont think it will b dangerous as we dont turn on the heating at night and she is well covered with the grobag and small cardigan over the pjs.
MY CONCERN IS: my baby only rotates to her right side, never to the left, is that normal? do your babies rotate also only to one side?
thank you for your help

mistressploppy · 07/05/2010 09:43

My 6.5mo ds rotates 90 and sometimes 180 degrees most nights, sometimes for naps too! And almost always to the left!

He doesn't seem to care at all, doesn't wake himself up (yet )

Cadders1 · 07/05/2010 19:16

Hi my DS does this and we have cot bumper. I read this from The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) and then chose to use a cot bumper:

Bumpers: In the past, there were concerns that bumpers might make babies too hot, increasing the risk of cot death. However, research has shown that they have neither good nor bad effects. Take it out when your baby can get up on her hands and knees so she can?t climb out. Make sure there are no trailing strings or ties.

Moomo · 11/05/2010 17:52

My DS does this too and I bought an airwrap cot bumper (sorry don' know how o do links bu you can google it) which is safe as it's totally breathable and won't make them overheat and it's designed so that they can't use it to climb out with either (it collapses if they try). Think it was about £25.

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