Bumper to Bumper

Oh, what some people (babies) find comfortable! :)

I worked in kids' furnishings for several years, and when moms-to-be would ask me whether or not to use a bumper, my response was always, "Check with your pediatrician, but 'yes.'" At the time I was thinking about design because cribs can look so plain without a bumper. When I set out to put together E.V.'s nursery, it wasn't even a question of whether or not we'd use a bumper--it would add such color and style to the room! So we had one made, and I loved it. Then we actually had Emma Vance, and I started to feel nervous. What if she rolled over and suffocated? What was good design worth if it harmed our precious baby?

Then this happened in her pack 'n play...

...and I freaked out that it would happen in her crib with her real, non-breathable bumper. So when we moved and transitioned her to the crib, I left the bumper out. Shortly thereafter she started to roll and flop around while trying to fall asleep--and she'd get her chubby little legs STUCK in the spindles! Then, one time as I lunged to catch her head on its way to plunging into the side of the crib, I thought, "Okay, time to try the bumper again; it can't get any worse than a concussion!" 

So we put the bumper back in, and I've come to the conclusion that if she's able to roll into the bumper, than she can roll out of it. And this seems to be true. The part I didn't think about? That she'd actually enjoy snuggling up to it every once in a while. It never ceases to freak me out when I see if on the monitor, but, hey, "to each their own," right? At least I'm getting my money's worth out of it!