Saturday, June 27, 2009

Baby GAP

I need the wisdom of all moms out there. I'm having continuing crib issues, and need some advice/opinions. This will be the end of the crib saga. I've had enough.

So after a month, we got all the necessary parts. We got it put together, bought a mattress, and immediately found a problem. The crib doesn't hold a mattress properly. Its not that the mattress doesn't fit. Its the crib.

See, here is the bottom/base of the crib. It holds the mattress. The mattress fits perfectly into the base.

But the sides of the base are made out of really thick wood. Exactly an inch thick, actually, I measured.

This means that when you put it all together, that inch-thick wood creates a GAP between the mattress and the bars of the crib. A gap that is over an inch thick. A gap that scares me. A gap that I see little baby legs slipping down (the gap is still easy to access even with a bumper on).
All of the online literature says a crib mattress should fit perfectly snug against all sides of a crib. It won't really be an issue until she can crawl around, and especially when she can stand up. So, you moms out there, would you get a new crib? Am I being paranoid, or is the "baby gap" a dangerous risk after a few months? When your baby stood up in his/her crib, would such a gap have caused a problem? Chris and I both agree that her safety is, of course, most important. Even if it means buying a new crib. This crib can actually turn into a toddler bed, so theoretically we could keep it and use it for that purpose and have the new crib be passed down to baby #2.

Enlighten me.

4 comments:

The Butcher Family said...

Need a new crib! And just FYI the American Academy of Pediatrics does NOT recommend using a bumper. It can pose as a suffocation/strangulation risk. Nothing should be in a crib except the baby. (sorry for my ranting-the NICU nurse is coming out in me.)

Kristin Hanson said...

Well, I have the cheaper white IKEA crib (it's $100) and the mattress fits snugly up against the bars. And I love ours.

I used bumper pads when E began crawling, since she'd scoot up and bang her head on the rails. But before then, she slept in a cradle my dad made for her.

I'm also a big supporter of mommy's intuition, so go with your gut instincts. If the crib scares you, trash it. I would also reccommend getting a book called Baby Bargains. It saved my sanity when it came making big decisions like buying a crib.

Oh yes, and stay away from the cribs at Babies R Us. They've had MASSIVE recalls during the last year.

Jessica said...

I would do what you feel best with. Jack, even though he is super active never had a problem in his crib but every child is different. It's always best to be safe than sorry.
Just make sure that it's your decision and not someone elses. You will know best.

Laura and family said...

I use bumpers with Gabe because 1) he's a restless sleeper and 2) he is NUTS when he wakes up. His head would probably be cracked open if we didn't have those!