Crib

Crib bumpers are the last thing the Maxwells worried about in taking care of their infant son. In fact, they bought the crib bumpers to prevent Preston from getting hurt. This Chicago Tribune story recounts the day the Maxwells found their infant son, not breathing, in his crib -- his face between the mattress and the bumper pad. FOR THE RECORD: Crib safety: An earlier version of this post gave an incorrect name for the school that did a 2007 study on the safety of crib bumpers.

It feels like the end times are coming to little Brewster, R.I., one of those anonymous towns that used to have an economic purpose - fishing, quarry mining, farming, textiles - but now pretty much just holds beds for commuters who work in other places. First, a newborn baby disappears from its crib in the local hospital, replaced by a large yellow snake. Then a stranger in town is stabbed and scalped in his car out by the Great Swamp, the site of historical atrocities during the Colonial era and local legends ever since.

Detectives in Florida are reopening the investigation into a toddler's death that helped spark one of the largest crib recalls in U.S. history. Serenity Bergey was found dead Sept. 19, 2007, her head caught between a drop railing and the mattress of her broken crib. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office ruled the 2-year-old girl's death an accidental asphyxiation. But detectives never considered it just an accident. In light of new information, they are pursuing criminal charges against the mother.

The JourneyBee Travel Crib changes from a nearly flat 32-inch-diameter half-disc into a 60-inch-long by 41-inch-wide by 24-inch-tall lightweight crib/playpen with the release of a strap. (Clear the immediate area of kids before you unleash this thing.) A built-in nylon framework pops up and out. Lay in the included 1-inch-thick mattress and fleece sheet, both of which fasten to the crib bottom with via Velcro tabs, then plunk the little one in. Mesh side panels let you see what junior is up to. (An inch-thick mattress isn't much cushioning, but do not substitute your own, because this could be a safety hazard.)

A pregnant woman saved her 18-month-old son by grabbing him from his burning crib Wednesday morning, firefighters said. Rita McCarty, 33, awoke to the smoke alarm at 10 a.m. and found her son's room on fire, Orange County Fire Capt. Dan Young said. An extension cord under the crib had short-circuited, Young said. The boy, Tony, was not seriously injured, nor were other family members in the house on Via Portola. But five exotic birds died in the blaze, Young said.

A pet Burmese python measuring more than 8 feet long broke out of a terrarium and strangled a 2-year-old girl in her bedroom Wednesday, authorities said. Shaiunna Hare was dead when paramedics arrived about 10 a.m., Lt. Bobby Caruthers of the Sumter County Sheriff's Office said.

I'M CERTAIN that a decorated nursery or dedicated nursery room serving another function pending future children can be a painful reminder of struggles couples face [“Nursery, Now or Never?” July 10]. They may consider a different kind of transitional room. Most cribs today are "forever" beds in that they transition from a crib to a toddler bed to a full-size bed. Why not design the extra future kids room in the reverse: Buy the crib, set it up as a full bed in a guest room.

It feels like the end times are coming to little Brewster, R.I., one of those anonymous towns that used to have an economic purpose - fishing, quarry mining, farming, textiles - but now pretty much just holds beds for commuters who work in other places. First, a newborn baby disappears from its crib in the local hospital, replaced by a large yellow snake. Then a stranger in town is stabbed and scalped in his car out by the Great Swamp, the site of historical atrocities during the Colonial era and local legends ever since.

A 15-month-old boy died Thursday after falling out of a crib in his Thousand Oaks home, the Ventura County Sheriff's Department said. Jasper Guthals fell to the floor in the 400 block of Larch Crest Court about 2:20 p.m., Detective Tim Lorenzen said. The boy was rushed by ambulance to Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, where he was pronounced dead. Lorenzen said deputies interviewed two adult baby sitters who had put the child in the crib for a nap.

I am really disgusted with the "Tales From the Crypt" reruns on Fox. What happened to the blood, guts and horror? It doesn't have the same effect that it did on HBO. Maybe Fox should change the title to "Tales From the Crib." Denny Patel, Eagle Rock

As parents are urged to trash their old cribs to make way for a new generation of safer, sturdier cribs, they may naturally be wondering just what was so wrong with the old ones. The Consumer Product Safety Commission explains by outlining what the new rules are supposed to do; they’re now in effect for any crib sold, or even donated, in the U.S.: "These mandatory standards will: 1) stop the manufacture and sale of dangerous, traditional drop-side cribs; 2) make mattress supports stronger; 3)

Rescue workers combing through flattened neighborhoods in tornado-stricken Birmingham, Ala., are finding miracles amid the devastation. Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper told PBS' "NewsHour" on Thursday that officers are searching wrecked homes by hand, pulling people out of the rubble. "We even rescued two babies, one that was trapped in a crib when the house fell down on top," he said. The twister's caprice carried the power to astonish. "We're seeing five houses destroyed, but there is one that was right in the center that is still standing," Roper said.

Nearly 2 million Summer Infant video baby monitors were recalled Friday after being linked to the strangulation deaths of two infants. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the electrical cords on the monitors can be dangerous for babies if placed too close to their cribs. According to the commission, a 10-month-old girl from Washington, D.C., died in March when she strangled on the cord of a Summer Infant monitor camera that had been placed on the top of the crib rail.

Crib bumpers are the last thing the Maxwells worried about in taking care of their infant son. In fact, they bought the crib bumpers to prevent Preston from getting hurt. This Chicago Tribune story recounts the day the Maxwells found their infant son, not breathing, in his crib -- his face between the mattress and the bumper pad. FOR THE RECORD: Crib safety: An earlier version of this post gave an incorrect name for the school that did a 2007 study on the safety of crib bumpers.

After 153 infant deaths in the last four years, the Consumer Product Safety Commission moved Wednesday to ban drop-side cribs, jumpstarting the agency's biggest overhaul of baby bed regulations in almost three decades. "There have been improvements in voluntary standards over the years," commission spokesman Scott Wolfson said. "But this will be mandatory federal law." The commissioners voted 5 to 0 for stricter safety standards for mattress supports and a ban on drop-side cribs.

Detectives in Florida are reopening the investigation into a toddler's death that helped spark one of the largest crib recalls in U.S. history. Serenity Bergey was found dead Sept. 19, 2007, her head caught between a drop railing and the mattress of her broken crib. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office ruled the 2-year-old girl's death an accidental asphyxiation. But detectives never considered it just an accident. In light of new information, they are pursuing criminal charges against the mother.

Nearly 2 million Summer Infant video baby monitors were recalled Friday after being linked to the strangulation deaths of two infants. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the electrical cords on the monitors can be dangerous for babies if placed too close to their cribs. According to the commission, a 10-month-old girl from Washington, D.C., died in March when she strangled on the cord of a Summer Infant monitor camera that had been placed on the top of the crib rail.

A sheriff's deputy, summoned when a man and woman were unable to revive their unconscious baby, applied cardiopulmonary resuscitation and revived the infant. Eugenia Sorinano, 17, and Patrick Sorinano, 23, of Lakewood were unable to revive their 6-week-old son, Jonathon, after he fell out of his crib Friday morning, said Deputy Bill Wehner.

The chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a stern warning Wednesday of a crackdown on defective baby cribs, promising new federal safety standards this year. "Now is the time to create a state-of-the-art crib standard and not let special interests hijack the process," said Inez Tenenbaum at the annual meeting of the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization in Washington. "I say no more to the tired tactic of blaming parents in the press when CPSC announces a recall that involves a death," she said.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission on Tuesday announced the recall of about 635,000 cribs after the death of a 6-month-old child and dozens of reports of safety problems. The cribs, distributed by Barbados-based Dorel Asia, feature hardware that can fail, causing the drop-side to detach from the crib. When the drop-side detaches, it creates a space in which an infant or toddler can become trapped and suffocate or strangle, the agency said. In addition, the cribs can pose an entrapment and strangulation hazard when a slat is damaged.