cot bumpers?

[veyso]

My DS is 18 weeks and, after several weeks of good sleep, has begun to wake several times in the night. Having read on here that this is quite common at around 4 months I have decided not to stress too much about it (ha ha) and hope it settles down again when he moves onto solids. But one thing I have noticed is that he now moves around the cot quite a bit at night (he is in a Grobag) and I wonder sometimes whether he bashes his arms against the side of the cot and this wakes him. I have a cot bumper but am not using it because I have read that they are not advised before 12 months. Does anyone have any thoughts on this or any tips for other methods to stop him bashing himself on cot sides?

I had exactly the same problem at 4.5 months! My DD would roll into the cot bars, get her arm or leg stuck (even with a grobag on) etc. It drove me mad I had to keep resettling her for this as well as feeding her at different times in the night.

I got these cot bumpers called AirWrap, they are like the breathable mesh you get on the side of a travel cot. I have been very pleased with them as DD often sleeps with her head close to the bars and if I had traditional cot bumpers I'd worry about overheating, breathing etc. They also collapse down when weight is put on them so the little tykes cannot use them to climb out of the cot! I got them on eBay.

DD is 7.5 months now and moves around the cot a lot in her sleep still and I feel the bumpers do prevent arms and legs getting stuck though she is more adept at getting herself into a comfy position.

Are they not advised before 12 months? I would have thought that by 12 months they would not be advised because once the baby can pull himself up on the sides of the cot, they could use the cot bumper as a step to climb out.

TBH I think I just let DS bash his arms and legs etc but he has never got stuck, if he had I think I would have thought about using a bumper. You can get mesh ones I think which are supposed to be safer for little babies.

thanks, will look into the breathable ones

Oh God, I have a bumper around my crib and my ds is only 9weeks. But otherwise he gets his legs and arms caught between the bars and cries.

Hi again Roslily, might be worth looking into a breathable one as there is a - admittedly very small - risk of suffocation if the LO gets his face stuck up against the bumper. I think the risk lessens as they get older and are more able to move about. Although I might be wrong, just vaguely remember reading it somewhere.

PS. Can you swaddle him? Or would he not like that?

bumpers are ok from birth until your lo is mobile as they could use them to try and get out - they should be well gone by the time your lo is 12 months (maybe you are thinking of duvets, quilts, pillows, etc as they are not recommended before 12 months). They have neither good or bad effects re SIDS according to the SIDS website.

It says this:

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.

I have been swaddling him, but he managed to get out of it and the blanket went over his head- scary. So now I use a sleeping bag.

Looks like I was wrong about the bumpers anyway, sorry about that. Sleep deprived brain full of mushy porridge ...

We were advised by HV not to use them! (after DH had already spent on two sets and needless to say he wasn't very happy!)I've ended up using them around base of play pen to try and minimise banging against sides!