I used crib bumper pads once my first baby was about 6 months and could roll/squirm around in the crib - as a result of all the moving around she'd ditch her pacifiers over the side of the crib, between the bars. I honestly used the bumpers more to keep her pacifiers in the crib so she could find them (and I wouldn't have to help her in the middle of the night), but she also did get her arms/legs stuck a few times which was sad. But no, for the first 6 months I didn't use anything. So first time around I was exactly thinking the same thing it's way to risky but as my baby grew he would get his legs stuck and I mean really stuck to the point I was worried he was going to break his ankle or legs so I went and bought some bumpers. When he started to roll he would bang his head super hard on the sides so for multiple reasons I will be using crib bumper pads with the next baby. It's all a personal choice they do have all different kinds like light weight breathable effect so you just have to make your own decision on this one Mama. We used crib bumper pads for our first when he was really moving around well. Likely around 6 months but I can't remember exactly. With our second I chose not to get the pads but got mesh ones. He slept with his head pressed against the crib bars until we moved him to his big boy bed a couple weeks ago. He didn't have any marks on his head. Do we need crib bumper pads? No, we don't need them. However, they are handy from my experience. We didn't put our little one into the crib until after 6 m. His crib was always adjacent to my side of the bed so I constantly checked on him. Once he started rolling around and getting stuck, I used the bumpers and never had a problem. I made sure they were secured properly, not loose, and not bulky in any areas. These are eight people's opinions, do you use crib bumper pads?