Driving Me Crazy

Hi there, I have two children and both of them when they were babies liked to sleep on their tummy. One of them would sleep on his side. I would prop a rolled up receiving blanket behind his back and place another one in front of him below his head and then put him on his side that worked well. However my youngest one wouldn't sleep unless he was on his tummy so that was the way that he and I got any sleep. You have to do what is right for you and the baby. The doctor's are simply there for guidance. Good Luck
Sue

Both of my dd would NOT sleep unless they were on their bellies ( one's 4yrs, the other 8 months), and when my youngest was in the NICU after she was born, the staff had her on her belly, but had a recieving blanket rolled up (whip style)underneath her. I would just carefully watch her durning the day to make sure she doesn't have any apnea episodes, and make sure that there's nothing soft by her face or within reach (those reflexes are suprisingly strong even that young!!). Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My son has been sleeping on his tummy since he was 6 weeks or so. I am really not worried about him sleeping on his tummy. At least when I was born in 1979 we all grew up sleeping on our tummies and where fine.....me personally in recent studies SIDS seems to be something that is genetic and I cannot worry myself to sleep each night.

Usually the advise pediatricians give is to allow them to sleep on their stomachs when they can roll over themselves. But, still continue to put them to sleep on thier backs though and if they roll over during the night it is ok. Tummy time is equally important as long as it is supervised.

The "back to sleep program" was inititated to cut down on the incidence of SIDS and it has by 80%! It is dangerous to put your baby to sleep on her stomach with no supervision until they can roll over and back themselves. Also, bumpers are not recommended for infants because some infants move around alot and they can get caught against them and suffocate as well.

A. Sroczynski, CPD
http://doulasofcentralnewjersey.com

I am a mom of a preemie and my little guy slept on his tummy in the hospital for his 2 1/2 month stay and the doctors and nurses told me that it would be totally safe to keep him on his belly when we got home. What I did was get the foam sleep positioner because with that they are not putting full pressure on their lungs. I hope this was helpful to you.

A little about me:
I'm a stay at home mother of 2 boys ages 9 year old and an 11 month old.

I'm pretty sure the number is "six months" when they're pretty much beyond the danger of SIDS from being on their back, so I wouldn't do it before then. Though they started that back to sleep thing years ago, STILL, 2/3 of babies who die from SIDS were on their stomach, which means people aren't getting the message! It is more comfy granted sleeping on the stomach, but it's just risky. MAKE SURE, though, that you get a made-for-baby memory foam pillow which attaches to a mat that goes under baby when he/she sleeps, cause if not baby's going to develop a wicked flat head! I have 5 kids, when I had my first 3 it was in the late 80's and my babies all slept on their tummies. When I had my fourth, Gina, in 2004, they said to have her sleep on her back... and by 3 months old I noticed she had a spot on the back of her head the size of a half dollar that was going flat... so I looked up online a nice solution to that and had her sleep on the memory foam so she wouldn't get all lopsided looking. So many babies end up wearing a darn helmet to reshape their head just because they slept on their backs all the time!!!

My son was the same way @ about that age. Actually when he was about 2 weeks that was the only way he slept, because he hated his back! But when I took him to daycare, at 6 weeks old, they trained him somehow to put him on his back! They had bobby's and they swaddled him and put him in there, so it was all snuggly! Try that! He no longer sleeps on his tummy, but I think the best time for them to sleep on their tummy is when they're able to pick up their head and move around so that if they need to spit up or can't breathe! But my son is 4 months old! OMG doesn't seem real!!

I am going to admit it out loud. my son slept on his tummy from about 4 weeks. He slept in the pack n play bassinet in the living room during the day and in a bassinet or in our bed during the night. I did extensive research and even talked to the doc about it. The reason that tummy sleeping is dangerous is because babies sleep too deeply and don't wake up during an apnea episode. They do say that as soon as your baby can roll over both ways, you can't really control how they sleep anymore. At the daycare they were not allowed to put him on his back so he slept in a baby seat of bouncy chair. To encourage back sleep you just keep putting your DD on her back and hope she sleeps. I hope this helps a little. GL

Once she can roll over she's fine to sleep on her tummy. However, I'd still start her on her back. When my son was little he liked to sleep on his tummy too. I would let him sleep on his tummy on the living room floor (on a blanket) while I was sitting next to him. These were usually little cat naps in the afternoon.

Just wanted to let everyone know that my pediatrician does not recommend letting our daughter sleep on her tummy until she is a year old. He also recommends we do not feed her cereal until she is 6 months old!! (She's 4 months now and still eats every 3 hours....we're buying cereal today....LOL) It all depends on your little one, whatever best for the baby, and you as a mom knows best what is best. If you don't want your daughter on her tummy then get bumpers..(my ped recommends NO BUMPERS but our day care requires them...go figure.) My daughter has been sleeping on her side since she was (and I swear to you, I'm not kidding) 6 days old! Like I said, you know what's best. And like someone else said..tummy time is equally important...as long as it's supervised. Just keep an eye on her.

none of my kids ever wanted to stay on their backs after they fell asleep lol as long as she's not overwrapped. she should be fine

Hi L... In my experience the pediatrician said that once my daughter was putting herself on to her Tummy to sleep than it was ok. She started sleeping like that around 9 months. I always put her down on her back but she eventually would roll onto her belly. They have the "back to sleep" b/c of it's help in decreasing the cases of SIDS. I would try to get her to sleep on her back even if it becomes a little difficult for a while. Then eventually she will just roll on her tummy on her own. Good Luck!

Hi L.!
Does the baby naturally roll over to her belly while sleeping? My first daughter always slept best on her belly as a tiny infant, but I only allowed it when she was napping adn I was up and about to watch over her. When my triplets were in the NICU, they actually put the babies on their bellies a few times a day for a nap. etc.... they said it was good for digestion. When I would put my babies down to sleep for the night, I put them in between the wedges/sleep positioner on their backs, of course. When they started rolling over naturally and I'd wake up to find them on their bellies, it was time to take out the positioners because obviously they were no longer serving the purpose. With rolling over naturally, I noticed they knew what to do with their heads... turn them to the side instead of lying face down. Maybe it all comes as a natual process.

If you are nervous about this, there is a baby monitor called the Angel Monitor that you can get that may give you piece of mind. It's kinda pricey ($100 for the unit -- they have it at Babies R Us), but it acts as a reg. monitor and is also a movement monitor... should no movement be sensed within 20 seconds (movement as slight as a breath), an alarm goes off to alert you. I used it for my babies... always gave me a piece of mind. Just a thought...