Amber Flynn is not new to being a mom. But her way of protecting her daughter while sleeping is nothing like what she used to sue for her now 4-year-old son.
"With my first child we had a bumper. I thought it was safer for them to have the bumper and then you hear this news and so obviously it's a concern because you think you're doing the best thing by keeping it in there but it's scary." Flynn said.
The American Academy of Pediatrics announced new guidelines this week reversing it's stance on crib bumpers. It says there's no evidence they protected against injury. but instead have been linked to nearly 30 deaths in the past 2 and a half decades.
Safe Kids Spartanburg Coordinator Penny Shaw says in some cases babies have been strangled by the bumper strings.
"But more often, they also can get their face embedded inside the bumper itself and not have the muscle strength in their neck to turn away from it", says Shaw.
The bumpers were originally created to stop babies from falling through the slats, but in the 1970s regulations mandated that the slats be no more than 2 and 3/8ths inches apart.
A lot may have changed since Amber had her first baby.
"You wonder in 4 years from now the things I'm doing now with her, what are they going to say."
But she says she makes a point of staying informed.
"I love them to pieces so whatever I can do to keep them safe and protect them, that's our job as parents."
Retailers sell crib bumpers in packages along with bedding. There's no indication whether they will take them off the market.
Safe Kids Spartanburg says babies should never sleep with anything in the crib including stuffed animals or blankets. Instead a sleep sack or swaddling is a safe option.
For information on how to get free safety training click here or call 864-454-1100.
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