Crib Safety

As an expectant mother, I have been overwhelmed with all the baby stuff I need to buy.  My grandmother keeps reminding me that the only thing I "need" is a car seat or else they won't let me take the baby home from the hospital.  However, I feel like I need the cutest little baby giraffe themed room ever and lots of PINK! (I'm still crossing my fingers that it is a girl.)  Luckily, my husband agrees with my grandmother and has given me a budget *sigh*  Anyways, the biggest thing that I try to keep in mind when buying anything is SAFETY!  Plus, what kind of a Help Me Grow employee would I be if I bought a re-called crib?  I think my boss might have to fire me on the spot.

Risks
An unsafe sleep environment can lead to death.  Babies have suffered from "entrapment, suffocation and strangulation."   Other babies die from Sudden Infant death Syndrome (SIDS).  However, there are ways to keep your baby safe!

Four Basic Steps to Crib Safety

1. Picking a Crib
     Drop down side cribs no longer meet safety standards.  Cribs need to be solid.  You wouldn't want the side to accidentally snap down.  

CPSC has announced 11 recalls involving more than 7 million drop-side cribs due to suffocation and strangulation hazards created by the drop side. --U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSD)

CDSD crib testing.

2. Picking a Mattress
     Mattresses should be firm and fit snug against the side of the crib.  

Make sure there's only a slight indent--or none at all--when you press on it gently. You also don't want more than tow fingers'width between the edge of the mattress and the side of the crib. --American Baby


3. The Extras: Bumpers, Stuffed Animals & Blankets
    Skip them! Bare is best!  Plus, bumpers don't allow your baby to look around and explore her new world.

There is no evidence that bumper pads prevent injuries, and there is a potential risk of suffocation, strangulation or entrapment. --American Academy of Pediatrics


4. Placing the Baby in the Crib
    Babies should always be placed on their back in a room about 68° F dressed in one more layer than you would wear to bed.  Do not offer a blanket, but do offer a pacifier to reduce the risk of SIDS.

One factor that seems to have reduced the number of SIDS deaths is placing babies on their backs to sleep. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that healthy newborns be placed on their backs to sleep. When this practice began in the United States in the mid ‘90’s, SIDS was reduced about 30%.  --Welcome Baby, Utah County Health Department, 2004

In conclusion, I did spend a little more money on a safe crib rather than just buying a cheap one off KSL.  I made my husband feel the mattress THREE times and assure me that it was firm enough.  I decided NOT to use the super cute extra pink bumper I have and just use the pink sheets and even a pink bed skirt that will fit on the crib while it is raised up high.  I knew I would feel terrible if something happened to my baby and I could have prevented it.