My 5 month old baby won't sleep on her back anymore. She rolls onto her tummy while she is asleep. There have been a couple of times where I have seen her face down on the video monitor and I have gone in to flip her over to her back. A few minutes later she is back on her tummy. I don't know what to do because basically we are in a tug of war all night to keep her on her back. I am terrified of sids and I haven't slept in a week since she started this. I am basically sleeping with one eye on the video monitor watching to make sure her head is either to the side if she is on her tummy or she is still on her back. I don't know what to do to ease my mind about this. Any advice?
We used a sleep positioner for both... It raises their head slightly and has a wedge on each side...
Both my girls were rolling over at 3 months and sleeping on their tummy. The doctor said if they could roll all the way over, I didn't need to flip them - just to always start them on their backs. Good luck!
I don't know if the docs are still saying the same thing but when my kids were infants (10 & 5)the doc said to put them on their back but when they started to roll over on their own and they rolled to their tummy, it was ok to leave them like that to sleep. Just start them out on their back. You might put in a call to your doc to see what the nurse says.
Our son does the same thing. We decided to let him sleep on his stomach, since he likes it so much better. To give ourselves peace of mind, however, we got a SIDS monitor (a sensor pad underneath the mattress that registers if the baby stops breathing). We have had a couple of false alarms from when he rolled too far from the sensor pad, but we are glad to have it. There's one at Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/B%C3%A9b%C3%A9Sounds-Angelcare-Move.... You can also usually find them used on ebay quite a bit cheaper.
My son is six months and Im going through the same anxiety as you. Countless times I go peep in at him and hes on his tummy. But The risk of SIDS dramaticaly drops when your child reaches the age of rolling over. The chances of a five month old getting SIDS is very very small, although they are technically at risk till one year old. If your baby is going to be a tummy sleeper there is really nothing you can do about it, but just keep in mind that she is old enough to roll onto her back if she gets uncomfortable. I know it still makes you worry but just take a deep breath. Keep her crib safe like the other ladies said and Im sure she will be just fine.
Both my boys were tummy sleepers from day one, wedge or not. I just said a prayer and went to sleep.
I agree with what Deana wrote. Everything that I have read says what she wrote, but if you would feel better, call your doctor. I know how you feel!
My daughter is now 16 months but from the day we brought her home she cried endlessly until we finally figured out she had to sleep on her tummy. A week after bringing her home we purchased the Angelcare SIDS monitor from Babies-R-Us and slept with peace of mind. The monitor has a sensor pad that you place underneath the mattress. If she doesn't take a breath after 20 seconds the alarm sounds to wake parents to check on your baby. This monitor, additionally, maintains a temperature reading of her room and is a sound monitor. The features are adjustable as your baby grows. Now that my baby is 16 months, we use the monitor for temperature readings in her room and sound since we're past the SIDS cautionary period. We paid about $225 for our Angelcare monitor.
Is she too big to use the wedge? We have one in our crib and my son can roll from his back to his side, but can't make it all the way to his tummy. Something to consider.
I would have to say that if she's able to roll over she should be fine. If it really bugs you, you might could swaddle her. (?)
C.
My son started doing the same thing around 5 1/2 months as well and I was the same way as you. Call your doctor to confirm, but mine told me that as long as he can roll over, he's fine. Like someone else said, my doctor also said to start him on his back every night.
When they start doing this there is nothing you can do but keep their crib safe. Don't use bumper pads. No stuffed animals in her crib. No big fluffy blankets. You can run a fan in her room(not directly on her)to circulate the air. If you are concerned about her getting her leg or arm caught in the rails of the crib you can use a crib shield. There are shields that only come half way up the crib rails but this is better. If this link does not work do a search on crib shield at wal-mart
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8154...
