Bye, Bye, Beautiful Baby Bumper

We noticed about a week ago that Katie developed a liking for the crib bumper.  In the middle of the night she would wiggle herself from the middle of the crib mattress to a particular corner of the crib where she would nestle herself, usually face first into the bumper.  On more than a few occasions Bryan or I have discovered her so firmly up against the bumper that we were concerned that she was going to smother herself.

I was hopeful for a few days that maybe we could stop her from migrating in the crib but there is really no negotiating with a determined baby.  Bryan and I  discussed what we could do about it and the only logical solution to the problem was to remove the bumper.

It absolutely pained me to remove the beautiful crib bumper that made the crib look like such a warm and inviting place.  I fell in love with this bumper seven years ago when I was pregnant with Ellie and I was so excited that I was getting to use it again for what I hoped would be another year or two.  Typically I only remove the crib bumper if the crib's occupant is trying to use it as a foothold to escape the crib. I have never had to remove it because someone found it to be an appealing place to snuggle up to face first until now.

I  took the bumper out of the crib a few days ago and I really don't care for the way it looks.  It no longer looks like a warm and inviting place to sleep, instead it looks cold and stark, like a cage for the baby.  I really wish she wasn't so determined to sleep with her face pressed into the bumper.  (Monday morning I found her with her face in the bumper and her finger shoved between the crib mattress and the side of the crib.  I still don't know how she managed that given how tightly our mattress fits in the crib.) For the sake of making the nursery look pretty I would love to put the bumper back in the crib, but I know having a pretty nursery is not worth taking the risk that I may wake up to my worst nightmare.