Hi moms. My son is 7 months (almost 8 months) old. He's been a pretty good sleeper from the beginning. Right now, he sleeps from approx 8pm-7am and wakes up 1x per night - nurses and goes back to sleep (usually). He's been rolling over for a few months now, but recently has started rolling over onto his tummy while he is asleep. As we all know, babies are supposed to sleep on their backs to lessen the risk of SIDS. If I wake up and see that he's rolled onto his tummy I will flip him back over (which I hate doing, because it usually wakes him up)...but he'll just roll right back over onto his belly again. Whats more, he jams his face into his crib mattress and it's a wonder how he can breathe.
I know there's not a lot you can do about this situation - but just wondering how many other moms have babies who refuse to stay on their backs at night. Does it worry you? Is there anything you've done that has helped your baby stay on their back?
My son now 8 1/2 mons old has been sleeping on his belly for months. I never flip him because he too would wake up. Your son should be old enough to lift his head & if he rolls onto his belly he can roll back. We (as babies) we're put to bed on our bellys & we are ok. I think were every his is comfortable he will sleep best. Good Luck!!
Don't worry about it. At 7 months he can definitely lift his head, right??? Then the chances of SIDS is pretty much gone. My son slept on his belly since 6 weeks old... he's now almost 20 months old!
Leave him be or you will set him up to start waking up at that time too.
oh sids isnt your worry now :). leave him on his tummy. i never layed my daughter on her back to sleep untill she was older (i was worried about her getting a flat head lol). hes putting himself there because its comfy. my daughter had been rolling to her tummy to sleep since 2-3 months. it wasnt untill she was like your sons age that i started to put her in bed on her back.
Since you are up worrying - just watch him. I bet he turns his face so he can breathe better. Sounds like he is able to turn both ways now. But watch and see for your own peace of mind.
:0)
Hi Jen it's okay that your son turns over on his stomach. As a parent from the 80's when all baby's slept on their tummy's I never put much stock that it causes sids, I bet if you ask your mother,she will probably tell you that you slept on your tummy. I am a mother of 3 grown children, who all slept on their tummy's I come from a family of 5 children who all slept on their tummy's, personally i think it's better on their tummy's for many reasons. My girlfriends baby fell asleep while she was holding her and she died, they call it sids. I would not worry to much about that, and if he couldn .'breath, he would move head his head. Julie L.
I wouldn't worry all three of my boys slept on their tummy's from day one and are fine.
Both of my kiddos did this too as soon as they could roll over. In fact, to this day, they both still sleep on their tummies. (They are now 4 yrs and 1.5 yrs old) I too was worried when my first child did this. My pediatrician said that if they were strong enough to roll over and lift their heads, then they are safe to sleep on their tummies. Both of my kids would bury their little faces too and it made me crazy, but somehow they were able to breathe. Just leave your son be and try not to worry. I know, easier said than done!
Mandy's pediatrician is correct. My daughter is the same age and doing the same thing--she is always on her tummy or on her side nowadays.
Hey Jen - When my daughter was younger our pediatrician told us that if they are old/strong enough to roll onto their tummy that they are ok to leave them that way. My daughter was the same way and she would squish her face right into the bumper too! I would wonder how she could sleep like that but I guess it made sense for her. Hope it helps!
There wasn't anything I could do about it with my lil one. I tried everything...sleep positioners...towel behind her...ect. While I have friends that put their babies to sleep on their bellies (said it helps them sleep better plus "that's how our moms did it) I was so paranoid everytime she rolled over in her sleep. The only thing that allowed me to get any rest was using the moniter that also detects if they are breathing or not. Sorry I can't think of the name of it but babies r us or amazon carries it. Good Luck!
Both of my kids have been tummy sleepers since they were about 9 weeks old. They just sleep so much better on their stomachs. My now 7 month old would wake up in the night crying if he had rolled onto his back and couldn't get back to his stomach. The risk of SIDS drastically reduces after 6 months. Both of my kids also loved getting into the corners to "snuggle" with the bumpers. I think it must be a comfort thing. If they can lift their heads I feel like they are safe on their tummies. To me it's not worth having them wake up in the night I'd they are more comfortable sleeping a particular way. Good luck!
Sids is a the biggest risk when they are under 6 months. things you can to to help combat sids are put a fan on him. If he has a pacifier, that also helps to protect against sids. Make sure there aren't any toys or pillows in his crib. At this point he should be ok to sleep on his tummy, but we still have a fan on in the bedroom and my daughter is two... =) The white noise also helps soothe ours to sleep...
Good luck
Rosa
Once they are strong enough to roll and sit, SIDS isn't as big an issue. Kids slept on their tummies up until the late 80's early 90's with the SIDS scare. There are MANY other factors to SIDS. If he can roll one way, he can roll the other, don't worry about it.
Is he in your bed or his own crib? Less risk to SIDS if they're in their own crib. Also, a window cracked or fan on in their room is also supposed to help.
My daughter started sleeping on her tummy as soon as she could roll over (5 1/2 months). She, too, liked to sleep right up next to the crib bumper. I would get up in the middle of the night to check her until I realized that she was fine. Her neck was very strong, and she could pick it up and move it if she needed. She's just a tummy sleeper.
I think the back sleeping is for newborns who cannot pick up their heads. Talk to your pediatrician to make sure.
My second child (I have 4) absolutely would not sleep on her back. From the very fist day, in the hospital, she would scream if she was laid down on her back. She would be not just unhappy, but furious, shrieking, but it would shut off like a switch when we rolled her over. Once she learned to roll herself onto her tummy, we no longer had to deal with the screaming if she was on her back, which was a bonus. :) But there was never any question about whether she would sleep on her back.
Keep in mind that the risk for SIDS goes up only slightly due to sleep position. It's not worth making yourself and your son miserable. Plus, the risk only applies to children age one and under, and your son will soon be older than one. My daughter is a happy, healthy, educated 21 year old. Respect your son's obvious preference, follow the other guidelines (well ventilated, no big pillows) and you should be fine.
According to my pediatrician the baby can sleep on his tummy if during the daytime he is able to freely roll from front to back and back to front. If he has outgrown his sleep positioner and is able to freely move about on his own there isn't much you can do. Talk to your pediatrician about your concerns but I'm pretty sure the SIDS risk is extremely low after four months.
Once they're big enough to roll themselves onto their tummies to sleep, they're big enough to roll their heads to breathe if they have to. You can try putting a fan in his room to keep the air circulating, but the other moms are right, it's fine now that he can roll safely. Fans reduce the risk of SIDS even in infants under 4 months (the really dangerous stage) and at age 1 the risk is gone. Good luck!
When I had the same concern (except mine was about 5 months old) my mom just said, "If they can flip from their stomach to their back, then they're fine." He sleeps on his side more than anything now, and has been just fine.
All of my boys preferred sleeping on their tummies. When my oldest was about 4-1/2 months old, he started rolling over on to his tummy to sleep. After I had a frustrating couple of nights getting up to flip him over on to his back again (he wouldn't stay), my cousin helpfully bought me a sleep positioner for him. He promptly steamrollered himself right out of it and ended up on his tummy again! At that point I realized that there wasn't much I could do to make him stay on his back all night, short of giving up sleep myself. Go ahead and follow the common-sense precautions the other moms have suggested (no fluffy bedding, making sure there is good air circulation around him) and try not to sweat it any more!