Temporarily Bumper-less

Yesterday we took the bumper off Aiden's crib. Last night, Aiden got his leg wedged between the slats of the crib and started screaming bloody murder, signaling to us that all was not right. Travis ran in and quickly squared Aiden in the center of his crib. Then we spent the next hour alternating quick peeks into his room to make sure he was not in danger of losing a limb.

Our main reason behind removing the bumper is that several nights ago, when Travis and I were sleeping on an air mattress in Aiden's room (lots of family in town!) Travis heard him breathing very heavily, but it sounded muffled. When he went to look in his crib, he found Aiden wedged against the side with his face smashed against the bumper.

I have read a hundred times, between books and magazines, that once your baby can roll over, you must remove the bumper. Many groups recommend never using a bumper. But the bumper is so NICE. For one, it prevents limbs from getting wedged between the slats of the crib. Two, it prevents a pacifier from rolling right out of the crib and out of Aiden's reach. Three, I can remain in the room to put away toys and/or clothes after I've put Aiden down for a nap without distracting him from sleep.

I totally forgot, until last night, about something I had come across on a baby magazine while I was still pregnant. It seemed helpful enough, but I was unsure how much removing the bumper would actually affect us. Now that I know, I've decided to make the purchase.

Behold, the breathable bumper. We don't have it yet, but I'll be sure to give my review after it's been put to use. I'm hoping it will solve two out of the three problems of being bumper-less. The two most important!