Crib

After reading your article ("Maryland task force recommends banning crib bumpers," May 20) on Maryland possibly banning the crib bumpers, I definitely find myself on the side of banning them. Granted, I'm only a teenage babysitter, and I won't have the responsibility of a child for many, many years, but I had never even thought that there were "dangers of bruising" or any other type of reason to install the bumpers in the first place. I agree with the members of the task force that say babies can't exert the force to hit their head on a side of the crib hard enough to bruise.

Of all the deaths that occur among infants, those caused by so-called crib bumpers — the padded, often brightly colored cushions that line the inside of babies' cribs — may be the easiest to prevent. Crib bumpers serve no real purpose other than the cosmetic, while in some case they can cause serious harm, even death. That's why Maryland health secretary Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein was right to accept an expert panel's recommendation on Tuesday to ban their sale in Maryland. Studies have shown that the pads, which are often marketed as a safety feature, have a negligible effect on reducing injuries caused by infants hitting their heads against the hard surfaces of their crib.

An autopsy was set for today to determine the cause of death of a West Baltimore baby found dead yesterday in her crib.A city homicide detective said Grace Raney, 2 1/2 months, of the 600 block of Baker St., was pronounced dead shortly after 5 p.m. by the crew of a Fire Department ambulance after her mother, Tammy Wallace, called to report her child was unconscious and cold.Western District police also responded to the call and began an investigation.Police said the baby had been dead for two to three hours.

Maryland health officials proposed Tuesday a ban on the sale of crib bumpers, which have been linked to the asphyxiation of at least two dozen infants across the country — a move that would make it the first state to prohibit the bumpers. The pads have little safety benefit and pose a small, but potentially deadly risk, according to members of a state task force formed this year to advise state health officials. "Crib bumpers are not part of the safe sleep ABCs — babies should sleep alone, on their backs in a crib," Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, secretary of the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said at a news conference announcing the proposal.

Children's furniture chain Crib n' Cradle held deposits from 758 people when it shut down last month, a merchandise liquidator said yesterday, far more than the 150-plus estimate that was reported earlier.Crib n' Cradle, based in Severna Park, agreed to turn over its assets to creditors after it became unable to pay bills. Liquidator Steven Haas, hired by the creditors to sort through Crib n' Cradle's books and goods, said yesterday that deposits for undelivered goods add up to more than $100,000.

Q.Earlier this year, my daughter and her husband installed bunk beds in their 2-year-old son's room in preparation for the birth of their second child. They gave Jake a couple of months to make the change to a "grown-up" bed and allowed another month to put his dismantled crib out of sight before the baby arrived and the crib was set up in her room.However, Jake refused to give up his crib. As the birth date approached, his parents sought the advice of their pediatrician on how best to persuade him to make the change.

Commenter Kelly asked for tips on transitioning a 20-month-old toddler from the crib to a "big-kid" bed. Kim West, a Severna Park social worker who specializes in helping families get children to sleep, has a simple answer: Don't do it yet. She says many parents make the mistake of trying to get a child into a big bed too early, perhaps to free up the crib for a new sibling. "I worry a lot about a 20-month-old roaming around in his room at night, pulling out drawers, unplugging lamps, exercising all that wonderful but potentially hazardous curiosity," she wrote in a recent newsletter from her practice.

CHICAGO -- Federal regulators recalled about 1 million cribs yesterday because the drop rail on some of the nation's best-selling models can detach from the crib's frame, creating a dangerous gap that has led to the deaths of at least three children. After inquiries from the Chicago Tribune for an investigation of Simplicity cribs, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall of cribs sold under both the Simplicity and Graco names. Covering all cribs made by Simplicity between 1998 and May 2007, it is the largest recall of full-size cribs since the safety commission was created in the 1970s.

When a friend's 17-month-old son got his neck stuck in the collapsing side rails of a portable crib and choked to death, E. Marla Felcher was stunned. Then she got angry. She had assumed it was a freak day care accident, but that wasn't entirely true. The toddler's crib had been recalled five years earlier -- but neither the government nor its manufacturer had done much to inform buyers. Worse, she soon discovered that untested and unsafe products were hardly uncommon in the infant products industry, and that the government's primary watchdog, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, can do little about it. "The problem is that there's no way for a parent to know whether the next thing they buy will perform just like that crib," says Felcher, 44, a former Gillette executive and college professor who grew up in Pikesville and now lives in Cambridge, Mass.

The adventure called family life presents many challenges -- not the least of which is making room for baby when space is tight. Baltimore architect Patrick Sutton of Kaplan Sutton & Associates and his wife, graphic designer Lark Psleegor, parents to Cooper, live in a 12-foot-wide city rowhouse with a single bedroom on the second floor. How could they hope to carve a niche for Cooper?But Mr. Sutton was only momentarily stumped. A corner of the bedroom that had been lined with bookcases was sacrificed to a nobler cause.

After reading your article ("Maryland task force recommends banning crib bumpers," May 20) on Maryland possibly banning the crib bumpers, I definitely find myself on the side of banning them. Granted, I'm only a teenage babysitter, and I won't have the responsibility of a child for many, many years, but I had never even thought that there were "dangers of bruising" or any other type of reason to install the bumpers in the first place. I agree with the members of the task force that say babies can't exert the force to hit their head on a side of the crib hard enough to bruise.

Maryland could become the first state in the nation to ban the sale of bumper pads that line the inside of cribs after a state panel recommended Friday that health officials declare them a hazard because they can suffocate or strangle babies. The recommendations made by the four-member task force of mostly pediatricians will now go to Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, secretary of the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, who will decide whether to write them into regulation. The recommendations would not prevent parents from using the crib bumpers — which have been attributed to at least two dozen infant deaths nationwide — or buying them in other states.

I think we should throw baby showers for the grandmothers. I am sure you can guess what inspired this conclusion. My 3-month-old grandson, Michael, was due for a visit, and this grandmother didn't have any place to put him. No crib. No little bouncy chair. No swing. No car seat. No stroller. No little bathtub. There is nothing grandmothers like better, of course, than a little grandchild shopping. But when I realized that Michael and I would be soloing during this visit, I was reduced to panic buying.

"Cribs," an MTV program that provides a peek inside celebrity homes, came to Locust Point not long ago so Mario could lead them through a fancy Silo Point condo. The one-named R&B singer showed off a sweeping (if industrial) waterfront view. A closet full of Italian jackets. A sleek kitchen stocked with, you guessed it, frozen dinners and ice cream. "Gotta have the Edy's," he said. Mario even gave a tour of the bathroom, pointing out how the mirror has a television built right inside.

Commenter Kelly asked for tips on transitioning a 20-month-old toddler from the crib to a "big-kid" bed. Kim West, a Severna Park social worker who specializes in helping families get children to sleep, has a simple answer: Don't do it yet. She says many parents make the mistake of trying to get a child into a big bed too early, perhaps to free up the crib for a new sibling. "I worry a lot about a 20-month-old roaming around in his room at night, pulling out drawers, unplugging lamps, exercising all that wonderful but potentially hazardous curiosity," she wrote in a recent newsletter from her practice.

CHICAGO -- Pointing to "an inexcusable time lag," Illinois Sen. Richard J. Durbin, a Democrat, has asked the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission to explain why the agency took more than two years and the deaths of three infants before it recalled 1 million cribs for design and hardware flaws. In the wake of reports in the Chicago Tribune that the agency failed to fully investigate the death of a 9-month-old boy in California in 2005, Durbin sent a letter on Tuesday to Nancy Nord, acting head of the agency, demanding a detailed timeline of events going back to 2003 when the commission received the first complaint about a drop rail problem in a crib manufactured by Simplicity Inc. Last Friday, Simplicity and the CPSC announced the recall of 12 models of cribs sold by the company under its name as well as the Graco brand name from 1998 until May 2007.

Dozens of area families expecting babies can't get the cribs and changing tables they've paid for because a local retailer has shut down.Crib n' Cradle closed its two remaining stores 11 days ago after defaulting on a loan and agreeing to turn over its merchandise and other assets to a lender, said lawyers involved in the case.At least 150 people had paid in full or placed cash deposits for furniture and other large items that they didn't receive, said Dennis C. Weisberg, an attorney representing Crib n' Cradle, known legally as Baby Shop Inc.Customers may yet get their furniture.

Two city firefighters today raced into a burning South Baltimore rowhouse and rescued a 5-month-old baby. Four other occupants of the dwelling were hospitalized as a result of the fire.The infant was taken to the pediatric unit at University of MarylandMedical Center where its condition was unknown.The other victims were taken to the Francis Scott Key Medical Center Burn Center.Battalion Chief Joseph Dillon said the fire in the 200 block of S. Payson St. was started sometime after 8 a.m. by a child playing with a cigarette lighter.

CHICAGO -- Photographs taken of Liam Johns' crib by the Sacramento County Coroner's Office clearly show where it came apart. The drop rail had detached from its plastic track, creating a gap through which the 9-month-old boy slipped feet-first. Instead of falling to the floor, Liam got his head stuck between the rail and the mattress. Trapped in a hanging position, the boy asphyxiated. Liam's death in April 2005 in a Simplicity crib prompted an investigation by a federal consumer watchdog agency and a family lawsuit against the manufacturer.

CHICAGO -- Federal regulators recalled about 1 million cribs yesterday because the drop rail on some of the nation's best-selling models can detach from the crib's frame, creating a dangerous gap that has led to the deaths of at least three children. After inquiries from the Chicago Tribune for an investigation of Simplicity cribs, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall of cribs sold under both the Simplicity and Graco names. Covering all cribs made by Simplicity between 1998 and May 2007, it is the largest recall of full-size cribs since the safety commission was created in the 1970s.