Hi. I'm David, and I'm a dad.

[Hawkeye-X]

I completely forgot that there is a parenting group for DU'ers here - so I just added to my favorites now to remind myself to check it out.

I have a bouncing 5 month old son, and he's the cutest thing ever (those who are on my Facebook knows!)

But.. I'm a bit concerned - maybe it's a normal thing, but when he's in his crib, he'll literally turn around by himself. More often than not, before I go to bed, I have to turn him around after discovering he's perfectly perpendicular to his original position on the crib. And frequently get stuck between the slats. Our doctors have repeatedly told us NO bumper pads. Any ideas what I can use to ensure his safety? We do know that he has just learned how to roll over and knows how to move a bit. Sort of a belly crawl, if you know what I mean?

Hawkeye-X

[elleng]

1. No bumper pads?

Reasons? Maybe they have an interest in another sort of protective device? Find out what it is! Slats too wide! Maybe they want you to buy a different crib? What gets stuck? Head? Hands? Legs?

HAVE FUN!!!

[MorningGlow]

2. You can have bumper pads

They just can't be the really fat ones.

We had thin bumper pads, and there really was no way the kid could suffocate with them--there wasn't anywhere near enough padding to bury his nose in them and he couldn't even get his face close enough anyway.

I probably shouldn't admit this, but in the interest of full disclosure, my son (now a healthy 5 1/2 YO) HATED his cosleeper and later his crib because the mattress was as hard as a rock--which, just like the "no bumper pads" rule, was to avoid suffocation. On top of that, we tried to follow the "no blankets" policy for the same reason, but the kid hated footie sleepers and so would wake up when he got cold in the middle of the night. Yeah, well, after incessant sleepless nights, we decided the kid could die from lack of sleep (and so could we) sooner than he'd die from suffocating himself, so by the time he was as old as your son, I made him a body pillow to sleep on. If pediatricians had seen that, they would have PLOTZED. But it helped the kid sleep because it was nice and soft (and he never buried his face in it--not even close--he always slept on his back).

And then he started teething, so it didn't matter anyway, and we were up all night with him again.

Seriously, although I'm not a doctor and don't even play one on TV, I believe we as a society are far too fixated on possible suffocation where it's really not that likely. IIRC, all these precautions were put in place largely because of the fear of SIDS, but lately the medical community is coming to the conclusion that SIDS has a biological, not environmental, cause. And I believe I read an article that stated that unless an infant's senses are dulled and their reaction times stunted because of some disability, s/he will not "allow" herself to smother--the baby will move its head away from anything that might hinder its ability to breathe (as a reflex). That's not to say we should go ahead and bury an infant in down blankets--common sense should be the rule here.

[semillama]

5. Same thing with my son

The pads for the co-sleeper and pack n play are really uncomfortable, so he ends up in bed with us (or my wife, if he's having one of his nights and I have to get up for work early). He's transferring over to the crib tonight, so we'll see how that goes!

[MrsMatt]

3. It's perfectly normal for kids to scootch themselves

all around the crib. Especially when they are going through a growth spurt (they do a LOT of stretching and are particularly restless during those times). My son (now 4) would end up all over the place - we just let him be, as it was a fruitless task to keep him in one spot.

As far as bumper pads, you can get mesh ones. Quick search on google will provide links to mesh or breathable bumper pads. We never needed them, because our crib slats are only about 1 inch apart (my father in law constructed it, and it's STURDY).

[Hawkeye-X]

4. Appreciate that insight.

Joey can handle himself well on his crib.

And yes, the slats are about 1 inch apart.

[tigereye]

6. I was gonna say, we had a bumper pad and there was never a problem -

the other thing is the whole sleep on the back, sleep on the side, sleep on the stomach thing - when my son was a baby I think we were always turning him on his side. And then they changed it to something else. It's just funny how the powers that be are always changing their minds, and generally ( not always of course) it doesn't really seem to make much difference...