5 1/2 Month Old Turning onto Tummy, Not Able to Fall Back Asleep in Crib

I went through the EXACT same thing. My son grew out of it. Try to avoid feeding him if you can.

Try putting those pillow wedges beside him, if hes rolling over in his sleep it will stop him. We use one to keep our daughter on her side becuase of acid reflux. They work pretty good.

Hi,
They have this great thing for infants that is breathable fabric. You can find it on line with Baby's R Us.
Its a Bumper on both sides of the baby so they stay on their back? I don't know if it would help but check it out..

My now 11 month old went through the same thing! Swaddle your boy. I know it sounds ridiculous to swaddle at this age, but that is what someone told me to do and it worked! When my baby broke out of her swaddle, I let her cry for about 15 minutes and she soothed herself back to sleep. Now she sleeps at all angles, tummy, side, back!

My daughter also started waking up at night once she had learned to roll over. I made the mistake of thinking she had woken up to eat and started nursing her back to sleep. This has now turned into a terrible pattern of nursing her back to sleep several times at night. My only advice is try to get him back to sleep w/o nursing. Even if it's just patting his back, it's ok for him to sleep on his tummy now. If it's past the point of no return you'll have to decide if you're willing to "cry it out" or else succomb. :) I can't stand letting her cry and now she happily sleeps with us (so I wouldn't have to get up every few hours when she woke up) This has worked out in that I've gotten used to sleeping this way, but to each her own. :)

Dear G.,
It is likely that your boy will soon be able to turn himself over - it is a natural progression. So just ride it through, giving him whatever he needs until he gets there. The thing about parenting is that we are here to take care of these little ones in any ways they need. Trust that this stage is temporary.
Best thoughts, J. Birns
Waldorf teacher/educational consultant/mother of two

I had this exact problem with my daughter. The problem was that she was way too strong for the sleep positioner and she would manage to roll over anyways. Usually at this age most of us have given up on swadling, but I would recommend you give it another try. Swaddle him with his arms out, real tight and then put him in a sleep positioner. Once he learns to roll himself back over it will be better. A whole new trial, yes, but it should be better. Good luck. Oh, and I agree with the girl that said not to nurse him back to sleep unless you know for sure he his hungry. It will start a whole new problem.

E.

I did and that was when I started using a sleep positioned. I think she was about 5 months old at the time. Get one that is adjustable so you can use it for longer as you are starting with it later.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2585661

Best of luck!

Hi, I had the same problem with my daughter and there are thing you can buy at the store so you baby wont roll over during the night. I just rolled to small blanket and put them on each side of the baby so she wouldn't turn over. She slept like if I was holding her. and it's nice to get a good night sleep.

Try a sleep positioner, so he can't roll over in the middle of the night. You may also want to try swaddling him as well. Good luck!

Hi G.,

We had this same issue with my now 6 1/2 month old. About 5 or 5 1/2 months, he started to roll over in his crib. He did not like to be on his belly and so did the same thing and cried until I went in to flip him. At first I would nurse him, but I didn't want another issue to deal with. Like someone else said on a post, unless he is hungry, don't nurse him. I would just flip my son and say good night again and then leave the room. He would put himself back to sleep.
This has been going on for a month now and he is now sleeping well (on his belly) and only has to be flipped every few days.

It will get better.

Take care
S. D.

Put a wedge on both sides of the bed so he can not roll over. Then during the play time with him teach him how to roll over from his back to hi tummy and back. That way when he rolls over during the night he will be able to roll from is tummy to his back.
good Luck J.

i've recently been in a very similar situation with my 5 month old, but he is a tummy sleeper and has been rolling onto his back and waking. i would recommend a sleep positioner. first years makes a wonderful, inexpensive one, which i ordered from amazon. i'm sure we'll be using ours until our son learns to roll both ways! hope that helps!

is it possible the crying is from teething? my son was a great little sleeper until the teething started.

HI,

My daughter did the same thing and I just helped her turn back over and put her back to sleep. It was very temporary until she was able to roll from her tummy to her back.
I think it was just a couple of days.

G.,
What we did that helped was to roll up two blankets, one for each side of the baby and use them as wedges. This way he could still move, but not completely roll over. I hope this helps you.
T. G.

Have you ever tried swaddling, I did this with both my daughters until they were more than two years old, and they were and are still great sleepers.Swaddling mimics the womb, and that tightness also helps in waking themselves up from jerky muscle movements.Try it, when I learned about it from my anthroposophic daycare in The Netherlands I was so relieved because the 2o minute naps went to 2 hour naps and at night they would only wake up or from hunger or being sick, Good Luck ,
C.