M.R. asks from San Antonio, TX on May 31, 2007
Baby Rolling onto Stomach While Asleep
My 5 month old son has learned to roll over on his stomach and now he does it while he is asleep. So far as I can tell, whenever he has done so, he wakes up startled and crying. Since he sleeps in our bedroom, I can rush over and roll him back. I'm terrified that one day he will be in deep sleep, roll over onto his face, and not be able to wake himself up. Needless to say, whenever he sleeps, I check in on him every 15 minutes which is totally exhausting me. He does tummy time several times a day and is able to hold himself up for a few minutes at a time. Does anyone have any advice or past experience with this? Am I being paranoid? Will he outgrow this in a few weeks? I would appreciate any suggestions or help.
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C.M. answers from San Antonio on May 31, 2007
M., I had the same exact problem with my son. And no matter how I centered him in his bassinett, he would roll onto his tummy, scoot himself over and would end up smashing his face against the side-rails.
I got a sleep positioner and it solved the problem. Here's the link to the product:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=258566...
Good luck and hope you get some sleep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
C.
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C.M. answers from Austin on June 04, 2007
He is five months old. It is time for rolling over. Just make sure that you don't put a blanket in with him and he will be fine. He's getting bigger sooooo fast, huh?
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A.P. answers from Austin on May 31, 2007
My kids are tummy sleepers. I freaked out too with my first one, but my pedi. said that if they can roll themselves over while sleeping, just to leave them that way. Some kids are predispositioned to prefer sleeping on their bellies and while you should lay them down on their back, once they can roll themselves over, don't sweat it and let them do their thing. Next time it startles him, try just patting him gently and talking softly to him, but try leaving him on his belly and see if he'll get back to sleep on his own. If it seems to do more harm than good, go back to using the wedges or towels on each side to keep him snuggled on his back. Get some rest girl! :)
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E.H. answers from Austin on June 01, 2007
Once your baby can roll himself onto his stomach its fine to let him sleep that way. No need to panic, if he has the muscle control to roll over, and you don't have anything in his crib he can suffocate on (pillows, large blankets, stuffed animals) than he should be just fine!
Also, it might be nice to move him into his own room now. When I finally moved my daughter into her own room (at 3.5 months,) everyone got a lot more sleep :-)
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J.M. answers from San Antonio on June 01, 2007
Hi, M.. If your son can roll over you don't need to overly worry any longer about him suffocating. He can turn his head and you can always roll him back over if he starts to fuss. Don't get up every fifteen minutes, that is doing you no good. Let him sleep and you sleep and if he is unhappy he will let you know.
J. M
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A.J. answers from Killeen on May 31, 2007
from all that i've read and been told by doctors, when the baby is old enough to roll themselves onto their stomach, they are also developed enough where they can prevent themselves from suffocating. by the time they have the muscle control to roll onto their stomach, they also have the muscle control needed for neck control. so basically, no you don't have to worry =) if he gets upset in the middle of the night it's because he probably is too asleep to realize he can roll himself over. so by all means, if he wakes up crying roll him onto his back, but otherwise he'll be just fine!
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L.B. answers from El Paso on June 06, 2007
My daughter slept on her stomach by choice from the time that she was 2 days old. As long as your son doent have his face down into the bed he should be ok. Just turn his head to the side. My daughter even learned to lift her head and turn it to the other side when she was only about 2 weeks old. If he is rolling over on his own he might be more comfortable that way. I'm not a doctor or anything but just telling you what worked for me
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C.M. answers from San Antonio on May 31, 2007
M., I had the same exact problem with my son. And no matter how I centered him in his bassinett, he would roll onto his tummy, scoot himself over and would end up smashing his face against the side-rails.
I got a sleep positioner and it solved the problem. Here's the link to the product:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=258566...
Good luck and hope you get some sleep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
C.
1 mom found this helpful
A.W. answers from Amarillo on June 01, 2007
M.-
If he can roll over while asleep, and it wakes him up, I wouldn't worry too much about it. My son is 10 months old and I put him down to sleep on his back and when I come to bed he's rolled himself over on his stomach. He sleeps most of the night like this. Your son is fall enough along developmentally that is he rolls over while he's asleep, there shouldn't be too much to worry about.
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