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What are the SIDS experts saying these days about crib bumpers and quilts?

When our now 3-year old was born, the pediatrician told us to use a fitted sheet and sleep sack, period. No bumper, no blanket, no quilt.

Have the recommendations changed?

Hey MamaChilanga! In answer to your question -- nope.

Bedding such as this is beautiful, and pulls a room together, but you aren't supposed to use bumpers and quilts until the child is much older -- past 6 months at least. There seems to be only a little window when you can use the bumpers safely, before they become irrelevant. However, the quilts can be used much longer -- until they grow out of their bed (we used ours as a toddler bed until 3 1/2 ). However, these quilts strike me as more decorative than practical. We found our toddler duvet from Pottery Barn to be more useful than the quilt in our daughter's bedding set.

Really like the all-white set on the bottom though...

I never bothered getting any sort of special bedding for my son; just some bright gingham fitted sheets. For my daughter, I got a new set (quilt, bumper, etc.) on Ebay at over 50% off. I am glad that I got a very good deal on it, but in retrospect, I feel that it really wasn't necessary.

They don't seem to get into the whole matching crib bedding thing here in Europe, that I have seen... You see some in the stores (not nearly as nice as DWELL!), but I haven't seen very much of it, in either stores or people's homes...

The only place I've ever seen pictures of crib bedding matching current safety standards is the Ikea catalog. Manufacturers and retailers find the prospect of selling a whole set for $XXX to people who don't yet know better too tempting. I think it's appalling and I won't buy from any company that advertises that way.

We only bought fitted crib sheets, then several months later, when my son started waking himself up by rolling around and whacking his head on the edge of the crib, a plain white bumper.

Our ped said she had yet to see a child injured from wacking their head against the crib... ;-)

Our son used to lose his dummy (pacifier) through the side rails of the cot and call out several times a night for us to come and retrieve it. Very tiring so we used a bumper once he turned one, problem solved. The next baby is getting one of these Airwrap mesh bumpers http://airwrap.com.au/ if they form an attachment to a dummy - traps the dummy in the cot AND addresses the issue of baby being able to breathe.

Hi~ My baby spent three months in the hospital (he was pre term and had some problems) and in the hospital he had bumper and duvet. At home I use bumper, duvet, and a triangle prism designed to put the baby on his side and make him stay that way through his naps, and that very much does the trick against SIDS.

A U.S. hospital? I know you would never see that in SF, at least.

Speaking of SIDS (or cot death as it is called elsewhere), I followed the advice of Dr. Sprott, having been convinced by his theory and research on the matter.

http://www.pnc.com.au/~cafmr/sprott/

And this link:

http://www.cotlife2000.com/

Any ideas whether that Transportation set is being produced in a twin or full duvet, as well as a crib set? I love it!

An Italian Hospital.

The American Association of Pediatrics strongly warns against side sleeping, as figures clearly demonstrate that it has double the rate of SIDS that back sleeping does. (They also discourage the use of bumpers, duvets and blankets, which seem to be involved in SIDS).

There is no proof that using products to keep the baby in a side position while sleeping lowers the risk of SIDS; it has only been theorized that the reason the death rates are higher with side sleeping is due to the inherent instability of the position -- i.e., babies end up on their stomachs. Dr. Spott has demontrated that the reason that side-sleeping is more dangerous than back sleeping is that there is a higher concentration of neurotoxins at the lower level.

Just because European hospitals still use the side sleep position does not mean it is as safe as back sleeping; it just means that they are slower at changing accustomed practices. (we had to argue with my husband's wife, a retired nurse, about the same issue when she kept rolling our babies on their side to sleep).

What can I say?

reef - you're in luck. Transportation, Gio and Charlotte will all be available in twin and full bed sets as well as stroller blankets.

Thanks CMcB! I'll stop my lengthy search for modern kids bedding and wait the few months until the Transportation line comes out!

so what we've learned is that there is an incredibly small window where it's safe to use this entire set, and the set costs $350-390?! who spends that kind of money for something that is so short-lived? that's like dropping $350 on a dress that you can only wear once, and i don't personally know any parent (especially those still living in apartments) willing to waste that kind of money. i mean, they're cute but COME ON.

It's a fact that new parents buy all kinds of crazy stuff because they don't know any better and they think they should (thanks, JPMA! thanks, Dwell!). In that sense it's like weddings. What bugs me is that no one dies of SIDS because someone spent too much on wedding favors. But Consumer Reports can and does tell all sorts of tales of parents who bought and used a crib set from Day 1 because that's how retailers like to sell them, then had their baby suffocate under the bumper or the quilt. I saw a video interviewing some devastated parents who had that happen and it was awful, I couldn't finish watching it. Honestly, I don't know how people who advertise these sets live with themselves.