This week Powergirl and I made a difficult decision regarding L’s crib: We finally decided to put the bumpers on.

On paper, opting for these cute little cushions (they have storks on them) doesn’t seem like a tough choice; most of the books tell you to consider it any time after the baby is big enough to lay on her stomach with her head turned. Still, after reading all of this scary literature about SIDS, the two of us were spooked about opting for bumpers too soon.

We resolved to try it out of necessity. During our vacation in Hawaii, the baby consistently woke herself up at night from tossing and turning her way into the side railings of her travel crib. When we got home, she did more of the same—sometimes, five or six times a night.

Determined to get her to change her habits, we put the bumpers on this past Monday. Since then, the kid has been sleeping like Rip Van Winkle, an average of 9 consecutive hours nightly.

Part of me is still spazzing wildly about this development. I usually go to bed four hours after my wife, and have taken to checking on the baby at least three times during that stretch. I always think the worst: What if she’s smushed into the bumper and not breathing? What if she’s rolled into it at an angle that has broken her arm?

Amazingly—miraculously, really—she’s always perfectly fine; even if her body is jammed up against the bumper, her head is always turned away, usually facing in to the center of the crib as she sleeps.

These little buggers certainly are adaptable. What I’m learning (albeit slowly) is that we parents are the ones who need a little coddling from time to time.