Infant Sleeping on Tummy ADVICE Please

If you are concerned, get an Angle Care monitor. It detects motion and an alarm goes off if there is no motion. I put my kids on their backs, but even so, I just feel better with this.

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You are right! They are saying that about SIDS. Another study that goes along with that one is saying babies suffocate them selves and have carbon monoxide poisining. This happens because the infant does not have much of a "breath range" when they are layed on their tummies or sleeping with someone they don't breath in ''fresh" air so to speak. So one thing to help move the air is by having a fan in the room. With my little one we bought a big stand up fan and always pointed it towards him but the air went over his crib so it wasn't blowing directly on him. Maybe this will help. M son is now 2 and he still sleep with a fan on him. I think that he got really used to having that noise so it is comfting to him. Hope this helps.

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The fact is that they have changed the "rules" about this so many times that myself and my hubby and our kids have each lived through a different "time"...some of us HAD to be on our backs...and some of us HAD to be on our tummy??

The bottom line is they DO NOT KNOW WHY SIDS happens...they only have an educated guess.

So, I think you are fine to allow your son to sleep on his tummy...he is comfy that way :) and it's an added bonus that he is so strong already and he can roll himself over...I personally think you are safe.

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Who knows? Seems the "experts" have changed their opinion over the generations. My mom says when I was a baby it was put them on their tummies. When I had mine it was on their side. Now my daughter had hers and it's all about the back. I think as long as they're strong enough to move their head if they have to whatever position they're most comfortable in is fine. I know that I could not sleep on my back all night but my hubby can. We're all different as you see with your twins. One likes the back and the other the tummy. As long as their environment is as safe as possible and you feel comfortable let them sleep how they like.

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If he prefers sleeping on his tummy then let him , just make sure there is nothing in his crib that he can pull over his head and place his feet against the bottom of the crib so he can't wriggle anywhere.

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Here is my response to a similar question from a week or so ago. Hope it helps.....

You have to trust your instincts as a mom.

Here is my experience...
I currently run an in-home daycare. I have cared for several children when they were infants (under 1yo). According to CO state law, childcare providers must put infants to sleep on their backs. I do that. I have NO problem doing that with other people's children. They go to sleep right away and have great naps.

My children, however, are another story. ;o) I have a 4yo son. When he was an infant we tried putting him on his back to sleep. He wouldn't do it. We finally gave in and let him sleep on his tummy. We checked on him all of the time and worried for a while. Finally we relaxed and just let him sleep and we got our sleep as well.

I also have a 3 mth old son. When we were pregnant for him, I was determined I would do it the "right way" this time. Well, he had a different plan. :o) He was like your daughter. He is a cuddler. He always wanted to be held. Slept great if he was right next to me, but terrible if I tried to put him down AT ALL! I saw a lactation consultant when he was about a week old and discussed this with her. She said, "Follow your gut!" This baby was inside of you, a part of you, next to you... for 9 mths, all of his existance so far. It is really hard for some babies to get used to being away from Mama at first.

So... I let him sleep with me. And he did great! We all got more sleep that way. Slowly I tried moving him out of my arms, eventually out of our bed, eventually out of our room. I didn't push anything but let him lead. By 3 weeks I could lay next to him sleeping without holding him and he would sleep well. By 5 weeks he was in a pack n play in our room. By 6 weeks he was sleeping 6 hours a night without waking. By 8 weeks was in his own crib in his own room sleeping 8 hours a night without waking. By 9 weeks he was sleeping on his own for 12 hours at a time! And, yes, he sleeps on his tummy. Yes, I know that is not what is recommended. But, yes, I feel comfortable with it. He has an angelcare monitor (with breathing sensor) on at all times. We check on him often. He has no medical conditions. He can hold his head up well and there is no smoking in our house at all.

I don't know why I don't seem to have any issues putting other children to sleep on their backs. My mother-in-law says all of the children in their family slept on their tummies. Maybe it just feels better to them for some reason.

Go with your gut. If she sleeps well, let her sleep.

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two of my three were strickly belly sleepers from about 3 weeks and on...just make sure nothing is in the crib with them...and if they are paci users even better because the paci forces them to keep their mouth open

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I know what they say but I had 4 children and all of them slept on their tummy...of course they were born in the 70's before we knew all of this stuff. My second child was 3 weeks old and was flipping over from his tummy to his back. I would like to send you an email I got yesterday. S.

Updated

I know we did not do everything right but I thought this interesting, S.

Born between 1930 and 1979

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE

1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs

covered with bright colored lead-base paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes,

we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats,

no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.

Riding in the back of a pick-up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon.

We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight. WHY?

Because we were always outside playing...that's why!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day,

as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill,

only to find out we forgot the brakes.

After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's and X-boxes.

There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's,

no surround-sound or CD's,

No cell phones, No personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms.

WE HAD FRIENDS And we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls

and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes..

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and Knocked on the door or rang the bell,

or just walked in and talked to them.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.

Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.

They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best Risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.

If YOU are one of them?

CONGRATULATIONS!

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My doctor told me that if the baby is strong enough to turn himself over, then we don't need to keep turning him over to his back. If your son really wants to sleep on his tummy, he'll turn. But I'm of the 'better safe than sorry' school of though and would, at least initially, lay him to sleep on his back.

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Okay, well actually SIDS really is accidental suffocation. I kind of think they are one in the same. The research of SIDS deaths are not so much unexplained b/c they are an anomoly but unexplained b/c they hand't figured out the problem yet. They are starting to agree that it is mostly b/c of suffocation due to sleeping on tummy because it is/can be restricitng to airways by snuggling, blankets, crib mattresses and/or bumpers, etc. But, if he can really roll himself over from tummy to back regularly, then you probably don't have to worry too much. The risk for SIDS goes way down when they can roll. Personally, at 2 months I'd be freaked, but that's just me. I understand that you need him to sleep and you need to sleep, so you really have to weigh the pros and cons.

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My understanding is that it's safest for them to be on their back but once they are able to roll over onto their tummies and back again, the risk is much less, and it's really not necessary to keep placing them back on their backs once they are able to roll onto their tummies on their own. But your son seems to be doing it earlier than average, so you might want to check with your pediatrician on this one.

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My son would NOT sleep unless he was on someone's chest. Finally when he was about 10 days old, I was on the phone with my mom, and she said, "PUT HIM ON HIS BELLY!!" And ya know what? He slept FIVE HOURS!!!!! He slept on his belly ever after. Even when he learned to roll over, and even now at almost 4, he's a tummy sleeper. My daughter is 10mo now, and she's the same way. LOVES to sleep on her belly, but so do I, and so does my husband.

As long as baby can turn his head and there aren't any toys, blankets, etc that can accidentally fall on his face, he'll be fine. The other instance I use as an example is: What are you going to do when he learns to roll over in the middle of the night, and you're peacefully sleeping? How are going to know until he wakes you to eat, etc?

I honestly don't think it's UNsafe to put a baby on their belly, to sleep, play, etc. It's UNsafe to have things in the crib that could suffocate them. My two cents.... :)

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pediatricians advise to always put your child to sleep on their back; however, once they are strong enough to be rolling around on their own, then they are strong enough to roll over if they are in a bad position. baby's sleep patterns are not like ours, and they begin sleep in a deep state, then move into lighter states and cycle through, it is most important that for that initial deep phase, they are face up. just be sure there is nothing in their crib that could get caught up around their face like blankets, dolls, or bumpers.

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My first thought is this... if he can roll himself on to his tummy and back to his back, then really there is no stopping him from sleeping that way. I was so paranoid of SIDS and my son had absolutely nothing in his crib with him for atleast the first year. If you still have concerns, I would maybe call the Pediatrician and talk to them about it. They may have some good input as well.

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Ok, well this is just my thought..My daughter didn't like sleeping on her back our tummy she liked sleeping on her side. Which if you think about it I think that's the safest way because if you lay them on their backs what happens if the baby spits up and chokes on it and well they just think it's not safe to be on their tummies. But like another lady had said it's just mommy instinct do what you think is best for your baby. If he is that strong and rolling over and there is nothing in the crib he should be fine. Hope I could help.

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Both of our children practically refused to sleep on their backs. I actually had to write a note to our daughter's daycare and give them permission to let her sleep on her tummy. I too worried about it, but they could NOT rest or sleep otherwise. Ours did fine with it and we all got much needed sleep! Good luck and congratulations on your twins!

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I had the same problem with all 3 of my girls - I spoke with my Dr. about it and he said that 10 years ago they said belly to sleep (this was 8 years ago...) and that all of his kids slept on their bellies and that he felt I should put the baby however it was that they would sleep best. He said that the SIDS death rate had actually increased since the back to sleep campaign started and that really they have no idea what causes it. He said that it was better for the baby and for me to get the rest that we need and to not worry about it. Of course my daughter is now 8 years old and we never had any issues. My other daughter is now 19 months and the last one is 2 months old. All of my girls slept on their bellies....I don't worry about it at all.....Hope that helps to relieve some of the stress. I remember being really stressed about it with my first daughter, but now it doesn't bother me one bit, I know that they will be fine! Good Luck ~

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I was so concerned about SIDS that I didn't sleep much the first 6 months of their lives they were always placed on their back once they were able to roll over themselves @ 21/2 - 3 months they loved their tummies for sleep it was a new position to them but I always rerolled them back onto their backs just to wake up again & find them back on their tummies, you wake up to check on them roll them back onto their backs nothing in their cribs or cosleep your doing everything that you can to prevent this from happening to your babies.
There is lots of info out there..I would go dirrectly to the SIDS website errr can't remeber the name of it,i'm hoping someone else here does & can post it.

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He sounds like a pretty strong little guy and you are probably fine with him on his tummy. If you are still too worried to keep him like that, maybe try a wedge--my daughter never liked being on her back but I didn't want to put her on her tummy so I put her on her side in the wedge and that seemed to work for her. Though she was not as strong and mobile as it sounds like your son is, but it may be worth checking out. I highly recommend a monitor with a screen so you can watch your babies on the "baby cam" if you don't already have one--the image on them has gotten so much clearer that I can actually see my baby breathing on it! May give you a bit more peace of mind. Good luck!

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All three of my children slept on their tummies. It is the only way they would sleep. They were just fine.

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All 3 of my babies slept on their tummies and still do. Take precautions if you do sleep them on their tummies, no blankets (dress them appropriately) and no stuffed animals. If they can lift their head side to side, it's our natural ability to not stop breathing; if they are face down and can't breath, the natural instinct is to turn to breathe. Take naps with him, watch him sleep, keep a monitor close so you can hear the occasional sighs, movements or gurgles. Eventually they may start sleeping on their side or even on their backs. I think they all find their comfort level in their own time. Mine sleep VERY well on their tummies. Good luck, you are a great mommy to feel concerned.

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I have an 18mo old son and yes he slept on his tummy! I know you are not supposed to however he slept the longest on his tummy. And between my 2 cousins their 6 kids all slept on their tummys as well! I know this is not the answer you are looking for but I thought I would let you know!

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my children slept on their tummies just fine. it should be fine since he can move his head and roll on to his back he should just be fine. let him use the most comfortable way of sleeping.
C.
grandmother and mother

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IT'S FINE. My son slept through the night only when he was on his tummy. During the day he had tummy time and could lift and turn his head. I also read up on SIDS and noticed that there were many factors or risks such as smoking in the home, too warm a room, fluffy blankets/pillows, etc. Since we had nearly none of these other factors, and he could lift and turn his head, I figured it was safer for him (AND ME) to get a good night's sleep and be rested/sane the next day.

If you want to abide by the advice of 'experts' (who aren't woken up by your son's fussing to get back into his comfy tummy sleeping position) then go ahead. But me, I'll take the full night's sleep (after weighing the risks) , thank you very much!

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Put him on his tummy while he naps and you can watch him. If he's able to roll over and move his head to the side, then he should be fine. The concern with babies on their tummies, I think, has to do with them trying to turn their heads and not doing so completely- face in the mattress.

If he's safe and sleeping, then it should be okay.

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I would think that maybe it would be okay for him to do it IF he can roll back over but two months is kind of early.

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C., every few years the advice for how a baby should sleep changes. I have 5 children and have raised many foster children. They were pretty much all babies that slept on thier tummies as they slept more comfortable.
I have family members who have children die from SIDS and they are firm about how thier child slept had nothing to do with it. One was each way.
Every mother and father has fears with thier children so do not spend as much time with worry and more time just holding and loving your little one.

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My babies slept much better on their tummies so I would let your son sleep on is tummy, especially since he is strong and can move his head if he needs to. Remember they (Dr) used to tell our moms to put us to sleep on our tummies

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I think your baby will be just fine. The risk of SIDS is also greatly reduced if the crib is in the same room as a parent so you are tuned into his movements and breathing during the night.

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2 out of 3 of my kids REFUSED to sleep on their backs. Maybe it's a boy thing? My daughter was fine on her back but the 2 boys would only sleep on their bellies. Does he use a paci? That can help reduce the risk of sids as well. My now 8 month old still only sleeps on his belly and he is fine, it was HELL to try and make him sleep on his back so we gave in and everyone got a good nights sleep.

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My son was a tummy sleeper from the 2nd day we brought him home. I changed from a bassinet to a cosleeper and even though my pediatrician advised against it, he also said they USED to tell us to put babies on their back!!! I think he sounds like he's totally fine - especially since he can roll over and lift his head. My son wore a sack or blankets too when on his belly. He's a year old now and I still put him down on his belly but he'll often roll over, roll to his side, sometimes sleep on his back, etc.

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I'm 66 years old so what I say has no relevance on today's babies. They are made different today than they used to be. But all of our babies slept on their tummies. And we were told that this was to stop the startle reflex. When any small baby hears a loud sound, he jerks with hands and feet toward the middle. That causes most of the waking. On their tummies, this is limited.

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When my daughter was a baby, back when wooly mammoths still roamed the earth, there was no prohibition on tummy-sleeping, and babies probably slept better, as a group, than back-sleeping babies do today. In my circle of friends, all our babies slept on their tummies, and none of us personally knew of any crib deaths. They are, of course, incredibly tragic when they do happen, and so fear of SID has resulted in a couple of generations of babies who are required to sleep on their backs.

You're probably already familiar with this list, but evaluate what you think your son's overall risks are (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sudden-infant-death-synd... ). I would add, based on my own experience with apnea when I've been exposed to scented products, that you also use only the least toxic, unscented laundry cleaners and other household products around your babies.

Since it's hard to keep your son on his back, and you'd probably have to prop him there with a bolster that could then cause other problems, you might wish to consider allowing him the position that he finds the most comfortable. Because he's strong enough to move his own head easily, he is probably less at risk for smothering than a less vigorous baby. It sounds like you keep his sleep area free of soft bedding, stuffed toys, etc.

Good luck. I know there are some babies that just will not stay on their backs.

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My first son did not have blankets in his crib, did not co-sleep and died of SIDS. I would encourage you to try to find another solution. For my second two we used wedges that allowed them to sleep on their sides as neither of them liked to sleep on their back.

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My sister let her kids sleep on their tummy and they are 8, 6, and 5 and had no problems. I would let my boy sleep on his tummy, but my husband is so adamant about "the dr said no". Personally, I would get one of those monitors that monitor the movement so if they were to have an episode of no breathing you'd be alarmed right away so he could sleep on his tummy. Might mean more sleep for everyone..

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I agree if he is at least able to roll over or lift his hear up and move his head he should be o.k. Place the wedges there and do not give him blankets or pillows. If he gets cold put him in a warm pajama sleeper. I put a monitor near my baby just for re-assurance and I did check on him in the night. This is a hard question when you really think about it.

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Both my children hated sleeping on their backs. After 6-8 weeks of putting our first down on his back and his side, we decided it wasn't worth the battle and gave in to putting him down on his belly. He slept for hours after that. I should mention that both my kids were able to move their heads to the side - they never did face-plants, so that eased some of our worries. They also both found their thumbs early on, which forced them to keep their heads to the side and keep them breathing. Trust your instinct, but I think it will be okay if he can put his head to the side and keep it that way so he doesn't face-plant.

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In these days of so much emphasis on the dangers of putting the children on their tummies, this is a tricky question to answer. The rule of thumb I go by is that when a child is able to roll over from tummy to back and back to tummy, they are probably ready to sleep whatever way is most comfortable for them. Since you say you don't have any type of obstruction in the crib for him to get tangled up in, I don't see a problem in putting him on his tummy. You might want to work with him to help him learn to roll over from his back to his tummy on his own. That way you'll be able to put him down on his back and he can get comfortable by himself whichever way he wants to sleep, and you'll have the extra assurance that he's able to get himself out of trouble during the night.

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