Crib Crap

As much as I hate being awakened in the night by miniature people who want things like sippy cup refills, help ridding their closets of monsters or evil witches, or assistance wiping their little tushies, I thank my lucky stars that my family is almost out of the crib stage. Having one child still in a baby bed can really be a pain, especially when it comes to travel. As if airline tickets and baggage fees aren't enough to make my head spin, we still have the added burden of trying to figure out sleeping arrangements, crib rental, etc.

Part of me dreads the initial, "wow, I can get up in the night and walk into mommy and daddy's room" thing that will inevitably occur. My daughter is still notorious for her 2 a.m. visits to let me know that she's done sleeping and is ready to start the day. But still, anything is better than the small fortune I've spend hunting down safe, reliable cribs in various hotels, condos or even relatives homes over the past five years.

Oddly enough, safety has become such a hot button issue when it comes to cribs. You'd think you could take for granted that something as ubiquitous as a bed in a baby's nursery is nothing to worry about. Remember when your biggest concern was whether or not the paint on your kid's crib was safe in case they decided to teethe on the bars in the night? Did you ever measure the distance between the bars with a soda can to make sure they weren't far enough apart for an errant limb to get caught in? Or, were you the type of parent who didn't really care that much about those things but spent hours online trying to find the perfect bedding ensemble, complete with matching drapes, hamper and diaper basket.

Either way,  if you still have a child in a crib, you might be interested to note that as of today, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted to ban the U.S. sale, manufacturing or resale of cribs with drop-down sides. Yes, that would likely include the crib you own and the ones all your friends and family own too. No doubt you've read the recent stories of children that were caught between the mattresses and the sides of these cribs, either due to faulty construction or a manufacturing defect.

So far, this is just a vote and no actual action has taken place. Even if the vote becomes reality, it likely won't become law for another year. Regardless, many crib manufacturers and stores have begun phasing out these controversial beds, 9 million of which have been recalled in the past few years, including today's recall by Pottery Barn Kids of ALL of their drop-side cribs.

So, what does this mean for those of us who have drop-side cribs? Do we pitch them and run out to get the latest and greatest in baby bedding? I may be paranoid, but I'm not stupid. So, while I will not be ditching my son's current baby bed, I will re-double my efforts to make sure we put it together safely and check it more often to make sure that all the nuts, bolts and screws are secure and properly installed. You can often purchase hardware that will render your drop-side crib immobile by preventing the sides from moving. We have less than a year left in this bed and it's served both my kids well. I have enough to worry about keeping my kids safe when they are awake, I really hate to worry about them while they are asleep. Perhaps it's naive, but after nearly six years of problem-free use, I do feel relatively good about our crib's record. And I know that kids are far more likely to encounter serious risks in other everyday areas of life like driving dangers, sun exposure and various environmental hazards lurking just around the corner.

However, if I had a hand-me-down crib that had seen better days, I think I'd consider investing in something I knew was a better bet. After all, I don't skimp on their food, sunscreen, car seats, or anything else that is going to effect their overall well-being and health, why should a bed be any different?