My almost 9 month old is hitting his head on the side of the cot multiple times a night which wakes him and causes him to cry.. Is there an alternative to bumpers that may lesson the impact? I’ve seen vertical bumpers but wasn’t sure if these were safe or not. Thank you!

Red Nose recommends not use bumpers due to the risk of baby rolling against bumpers, covering face.
However, the risk of Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (includes SIDS) at 9mths of age is very small – 90% deaths occur before 6 months of age.

There is very little evidence about the effectiveness of reducing injury with any type of bumper. Whether that is the same for vertical bumpers is unclear.
There are no safety standards from Product Safety Australia for these products.

There is also no evidence to suggest baby will cause any serious injury by accidentally bumping their head on cot sides.
‘Parents are concerned about the potential for injury from the infant bumping up against the cot or getting an extremity wedged between the slats.
They should be reassured by the Consumer Product Safety Commission(CPSC) data that clearly show that infants suffer essentially no long term injuries from contact with the cot slats, making cot pads unnecessary for infant safety.’(Moon 2007)