For a post about not using bumpers, there sure are a lot of bumpers in those pictures!

That is one cute baby!!!!

Have to agree with @EMPEM. I don't get how the "manufacturers are taking note."

Oh, okay I get it. Nevermind. :)

Even though this is a nice list of sheets sold separately, wouldn't it be nice if this post didn't show bumpers? I guess even though "manufacturers are taking note", they still don't care enough to photograph and display their 'newfound' safety insights.

I like how the fitted sheet in the skip hop set is made to give the look o a bumper without actually being a bumper. Like a "faux" bumper. Very cute!!!

It used to be that it was near impossible to find crib bedding offered separately. If you needed a crib skirt, you had to buy the whole set. What these manufacturers are doing is enabling people to choose what and when they buy for their crib.

Thanks for your comments regarding the images. I've replaced some to more accurately illustrate the point of the post. Look how cute those cribs look without bumpers!

I am SO glad bummers are being phased out. My aunt worked for SIDS of IL for several years after her 4 month old baby died. She and others in the industry have been working tirelessly to get manufacturers to at LEAST sell them separately from the rest of the bedding sets. Thank you AT for showing that cribs can still be beautiful without bumpers (excluding #7)!

AT has an important role to play in this -- many parents in the past have designed their nurseries around the bedding, with the bumpers being the key design element. AT can show parents how else to approache the design of a baby's room so that it is safe as well.

My newborn mostly had leaky diapers on the sheets (and a snotty, runny nose, spit up and one particularly bad weekend, vomit and diarrhea).

I went with plain white from Ikea. Lots of them. And I changed the sheets at least every other day (and layered them with waterproof pads so in the middle of the night, I just had to strip off a layer - there were a couple of nights those first few months when multiple layers came off in a single evening).

If there was one thing I would NOT design an infant's room around, it would be bedding.

I love this heart pillow....wonder where it is from?

You're not even supposed to use blankets either.

Just have sheets on the mattress and a sleep sack or swaddle blanket for your baby. No blankets or pillows or other loose bedding for the baby to suffocate in. The crib ends up looking plain.

I'm trying out these zip crib sheets, so I can just change the top for the situations that Siobhan mentioned.

Zip crib sheet: http://www.amazon.com/QuickZip-Crib-Sheet-Set-Blue/dp/B002HGOYG6/ref=pd_sbs_ba_2

I'm loving the sleeper/outfit on the baby! Can anyone ID it for me?

Those pillows are a no-no, too.

I can only see one bumper? Plus all but one of these photos are staged, so of course there'd be blankets, pillows etc. Are you sure Ruby is in a cot in that picture.... doesn't look like it. The post seems to reference the photo as "throwing a bunch of blankets and pillows on the floor and just hanging out while she plays, practices tummy time, or while we sing songs to her".

Also, @lunchboxlari a simple click to the post lists the make of the sleeper - http://www.egg-baby.com/

Huh. I live in Australia, and I don't think I've ever seen a cot *with* a bumper in it. I don't think they were ever much of a 'thing* here to start with, and our babies don't get around covered in bruises.

Honestly, they don't look great to me anyway - just overly fussy and pointless.

@charlie26 - From Aus too, work as a nanny and none of my families (20+ babies) have ever used bumpers. Some used those Air-Wrap things... not sure what the go is on them though? In fact, I don't recall ever seeing bumpers for sale in places like Target etc

I don't think they are a big thing here, and as far as I'm aware cot bedding has always been sold separately. And they are UGLY!!!

Thank you, Lolax and Kellyk. As barren as it may seem, a baby needs to sleep on a well-fitting mattress WITHOUT pillows and blankets. If you're afraid your baby is cold, dress him or her warmly. Babies don't experience coziness the way older children and adults do. They do not have the strenth to push away impediments that are interfering with their breathing. Pillows and blankets are a suffocation risk. Check the American Pediatric Association's recommendations.

If bumpers are dangerous, then why are they still manufactured and on sale? And what about Moses baskets, which are all padded (at least they were when my kids were babies, about 20 years ago)?

Just 3 years ago when I was buying crib bedding, I couldn't find any options I liked that didn't come as a set. I ended up giving the (removable) bumper padding to a friend who sews a lot so she could use it as stuffing or padding in something.

@Pearmelon: Bans on crib bumpers are starting to appear (i.e., in the City of Chicago). Legislation is slow to catch up with the research on things like this, and besides, being sold in stores doesn't mean something's safe, unfortunately. Obviously, the vast majority of babies who had bumpers in their cribs, such as myself, turned out just fine. But the research has begun to show that a small number of babies don't have the ability to awaken when their oxygen is cut off (and of course, they also lack the neck strength to do anything about it). Since you never know which baby is going to have a problem, better to protect them all.

@pearmelon That's a ridiculous argument. Lots of products are sold that have the potential to harm. Why are plastic bags so readily available, when they can be such a choking hazard? Why are bikes sold, but you aren't forced to buy a helmet too, or wear one (at least on your own property)?

I doubt your babies were in Moses baskets when they started rolling over in their sleep. A moses basket doesn't pose much of a risk to a newborn, given that they are pretty stationary sleepers.

@Amberm is right, legislation is almost always slow to catch up to research findings.

Amen, MSCHATELAINE. I think it would be great if the websites setting the style trends were also setting the safety trends. People look to these sites as how-to's for nursery set-up. I wish that they would stop featuring unsafe nurseries, staged or not. AT has a great opportunity to set this president by bumping the bumpers off this site.

@Hinmelb: I was asking why a product that has been deemed unsafe is still targeted at new parents, and Amberm kindly and knowledgeably answered my question. I am sure most parents would be appalled that unsafe nursery equipment is still promoted by manufacturers and parenting sites such as this one. I am not making an argument for bumpers on the basis that they must be safe because they are for sale, so your ridiculous analogy with plastic bags is not helpful.

You would be surprised by how many parents still refuse to believe that bumpers and other things (blankets, pillows, & stuffed animals) in the crib will be harmful to their child. So many times I hear the phrase "well I had it in my crib and I turned out okay." Like @amberm said, it may only affect a small percentage of children, but why would you even risk it?

It's hard to find a set without bumpers. Skiphop and Mayasri.com are nice. All you really need is a crib sheet anyway.