Rolling onto Tummy at Night

Dont stress. my daughter slept on her tummy from day 1.. she had reflux and needed to be on her tummy.

she still sleeps on her tummy at 2.

My son prefered sleeping on his back and still does at 1 year.

some people are tummy sleepers and some are back sleepers.

your son is just trying to get comfortable.

1 mom found this helpful

maybe i just don't worry enough but my daughter slept on her stomack as soon as she coukd roll over, i also always had a blanket with her too. both my girls did and they are fine, just check on him right before you go to bed he should be fine, remember long ago we all slept on out stomachs as babys.

1 mom found this helpful

You can try rolling up a blanket and laying it next to him at night, so he won't be able to get all the way to his belly. Give him just enought room to either be on his back or side.

My daughter did the same thing. I would go and flip her over just so she could flip back before I could even leave the room. Our pediatrician said not to frazzle myself. If she can flip over, she isn't going to suffocate. She still prefers to sleep on her tummy (2 1/2 yo). I couldn't sleep either. I also had the angelcare monitor. It was a life saver for me. Good luck to you!

We also bought a pad with velcro foam wedges that you can adjust to fit your baby. It also has a memory foam headrest to help prevent flat head. I think my husband bout it either at Meijer or the Baby Depot at Burlington Coat Factory. Our daughter is only 2 1/2 months but I sometimes lay her on her tummy to sleep, and my son almost always slept on his tummy as a baby.

Hi,
I dont' have any more ideas then the other moms have already
posted.
I just wanted to say I understand your worries. Your letter could have been mine 7 years ago. That is why the frantic mother that I was kept my sons crib in our bedroom until he was 9 months old (right next to our bed).
It does get less worriesome I promise but right I understand how you feel. It's such a huge tug on our hearts with all the emotions that go in to trying to keep our babies safe.
best wishes
M.

I was totaly freaked out about this with my second. i made a appointment to talk to my ped about what to do. I would literally stay up all night and keep rolling him over. She told me as long as he can roll over onto his tummy by himself it was fine. He would be able to lift his head and cry .

I second Kim H. I would get an Angelcare sensor monitor. After I did this I was finally able to sleep at night - after moving her into her crib. It detects their movements and if there isn't any movement (it detects the movement of their breathing - chest rising and falling) for 20 seconds an alarm goes off. When they get older you can turn the alarm off and use it as a regular monitor.

I went through the same thng with my son who is now 6 months old.I asked my doctor and he said not to worry if they can get to there tummys they have enough neck strength to be able to turn there heads when neccesary.My son is a tummy sleeper and has been since about 4 months old.

Babies only need to sleep on their backs until they are old enough to roll on their own. There is no reason to try to make him roll to his back if he has already rolled on his own.

Also, on a side note, there are lots of opinions on SIDS, and after researching the issue, I am not convinced that sleep positions have as much to do with it as mattress gasses, fumes, and spores. We practice mattress wrapping (research it, you'll be amazed) because in the areas of the world where this practice has been standard use, SIDS rates have dropped to ZERO!

~L.

We used the wedges to keep my son from rolling and placed him on his side since he liked that best anyway. You can adjust them to keep the baby from being able to roll.

I was paranoid too. If he can lift his head, he won't suffocate himself. I purchased the Angelcare baby monitor that has a sensor pad for under the mattress that detects the movement of the baby's breathing. If she doesn't move for 20 seconds it sets off and alarm. It has given me such peace of mind for my tummy-sleeper.

Put him down on his back, but if he can roll onto his tummy on his own, it's fine to let him stay that way. Don't use a sleep positioner in the crib!!! Do some research or ask your pediatrician--they're not recommended any longer and babies have suffocated on them. The motion sensors are safe, though, if that would make you feel more comfortable.

How old is he? My son slept on his stomach in my bed from the day i came home from the hospital. It did freak me out, but that was the only way he would sleep for any amount of time--he had colic.
I think since your son is able to roll over by himself, he is okay. He is safest on a firm crib matress without any other blankets around him to roll up in. Remember that we were all put to sleep on our bellies with blankets and stuffed animals and most of us made it. :) If you have a bumper pad you could weave it in and out of the crib if you wanted to be extra cautious.

Good luck.
A.

Once your child is able to roll onto his tummy by himself, you don't have to worry about him sleeping like that. The big concern is for very young infants who have no neck or arm strength - they aren't able to turn their heads or push themselves up to breathe properly.

dana

Just my advise, but let him sleep where he's comfortable. If he can get to his belly on his own, he's strong enough to sleep there. I have a monitor that has a mattress sensor. My son slept on his stomach from the beginning. With this monitor, I felt safe letting him do so. If the mattress pad does not sense motion within 30 seconds, the alarm goes off. And when I say motion I mean their breathing, it's that sensitive. It's pricey but worth it in the long run. I still have it under his mattress and he's now 2. This way I know if he gets out of his bed when he shouldn't.
Good luck!

If you're really worried about it, you could try one of those pillow things that are really nothing more than a roll on each side and then a flat piece of material holding them together. You put the baby in the middle and that holds them on their back. If you can't afford one, or can't find them, another option would be to roll some towels or baby blankets up, tape them with duct tape and place them on each side of him. This will work the same way, but from experience, they could roll out of the way and allow him to roll over (we used it to confine the crib space as our daughter didn't like sleeping in the crib). When my girls started rolling over, we just allowed them to sleep on their stomach's. We just made sure that the crib didn't have anything in it that they could get tangled up in and once we realized that they kept their head sideways (and face open) it was okay. You may just have to help him with his arm and make sure that his face is to the side.

Hi, have you tried a triangle? You can buy them at walmart etc.. or maybe try rolling up some recieving blankets and tucking them up under him... Good luck

How old is he? Make sure his sheet is tight and there is nothing soft in his crib, not even a blanket while he is doing this. It's a normal, but sometimes scary stage. If he has neck strength, he should be fine. If he has the strength to roll over one way, it won't be long till he can do it the other way even in his crib. I think it's unlikely for an infant to smoother with just his mattress, especially if he is old enough to have the strength to roll over - he probably has pretty good neck strengh? Is this your first? I remember this phase with my first and it is scary. Even if his face is planted down, if it is on a tight sheet and firm mattress his little baby nose can still get air. You are going to worry until he looks more comfortable or can roll over the other way no matter what I tell you though!!!!

Hi all 3 of my kids sleep on their tummys. Always have.

Does your son have any of the high risk problems, ie... preemie, smokers in the house, mentaly impaired? If not and he is otherwise healthy I would let him do it.

I know it's hard to go against what all the doctors are saying but remember this... putting kids to sleep on their backs only reduces the risk of SIDS it does not prevent it.

God Bless
K. SAHM of 3

The craziest aspect of this...it's all a cycle. Sleep on the belly, the next generation is sleep on the side, the next generation os sleep on the back. If God didn't want us to sleep on our belly, I think our body may have been created differently. Just as long as there are no blankets, animals, etc. that may block the air passages while he sleeps.

Don't stress. He should be fine. If he can roll over he will roll when himself if he cant breathe and he can also pick his head up and turn it. If you are really paranoid, which I can understand especially with the first... there is a product out there that keeps them from rolling. They are like foam wedges the velcro to a mat and you place the baby in the middle of the two wedges and he cant roll. I am not sure what is called but you can find it Babies R us.

they say if the baby can roll over to his tummy on his own, it's fine. I myself am a tummy sleeper, so is my daughter. Just keep putting him on his back, and if he rolls over, just let him.
as far as being a preemie goes, my daughter was 9 weeks early, so I know how bad it is in the beginning with a NICU stay. as soon as she was strong enough she started rolling to her tummy. She is now a healthy just turned 3 year old :)
If your really concerned call your pediatrician.

please keep the bed devoid of all- things that he can get entangled in. That way he will have the space to breath no matter where his head is. Our son slept on his stomach as a new born ( was the only way he could sleep for at least 2 hrs without waking up). Also the side , head supports have suffocated children and i would stay away from those. Dr Sears has a very good book on sleep and related matters.
we found his suggestions not only helpful , but kept us sane.

My advise is, get him settled on his tummy where he's breathing ok and let him go to sleep that way. I know its not advised, but if he insists on rolling over, you might as well make sure he's okay in that position. You need your sleep too, and this should help you relax a little bit. I have friends who always put their daughter to sleep on her tummy and had no problems.