Rolling onto Tummy While Asleep

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!

1 mom found this helpful

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)

1 mom found this helpful

My son was a tummy sleeper from day one, he would not sleep well on his back. We even tried the wedge pillows, but he hated them. I was pretty worried in the beginning too, but after asking my mother, aunts, grandparents, etc. about their kids sleeping habits, it turns out most of their children were tummy sleepers also. I did quite a bit of research on SIDS during this time and found out that some babies are a lot better at correcting themselves if they are laying on their faces, or not getting enough air. Some of the instances of SIDS victims turned out to not be good "correctors" and couldn't adjust themselves if there face was being covered. I'm sure loose bed clothes was also a factor.

There was also a study that just came out that revealed that many SIDS victims also suffered from a protein deficiency and were born with respiratory problems. If your son doesn't have any respiratory problems, can correct his own head while sleeping (turns from side to side) and you don't have any siblings in the bed with him, I would think he's gonna be just fine. Just keep the sleeping area bare (we co-sleep and my son slept comfortably between us, no pillows no covers) and dress him warm enough so he can stay comfortable without covers.

:) Take care and get ready for him going mobile!

1 mom found this helpful

I wouldn't worry all three of my boys slept on their tummy's from day one and are fine.

Hi J. 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. J. L.

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.

Both my babies were belly sleepers and they slept SO much better on their bellies. Once they roll over on their own, that's just their natural progression. Now he will learn to sleep both ways (back and belly) - enjoy it all! :)

Hi J.,

As always, call your ped. if you're concerned, but I think he's probably fine. My son would smash his face so far into the corner of his crib, his rear end would be up in the air! It really freaked us out, and I can't tell you how many times we'd go in to straighten him out, even though the doc said not to worry. :-)

good luck!
C.

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.

Yes. It did worry me. BUT as others have said, SIDS diminishes by something like 90% after 6 months. It is still a worry till one year but that is quite a big difference! I have also read that once they roll over then there is not much you can do and I did not want to wake her up so I left her on her tummy. When she was younger we used a sleep positioner. Try jamming your face into your mattress and see how well you can breathe. I have a friend who lets her baby sleep with a blanket over her face! She said that was the only way she would sleep so she put the blanker over her own face to see how well she could breathe herself and found out it was not a big deal. Good luck!

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!!

This is normal. I'd take all bumpers/blankets/toys out of the bed. Just him in the bed.

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.

Hi there. My daughter started sleeping on her tummy at 7 months and like you, I was worried. Our pediatrician even gave me a hard time about it, but short of moving in with her and watching her all night, I decided to just let her be. I made sure the sheet she was sleeping on was pulled tight across for no creases she can burrow into. I took out the bumper cribs and blankets. Kept the crib clear, just the baby. She is now a thriving 18-month old monkey :-) Best of luck, he will be fine!

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.

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!

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!

I believe SIDS is only up to 6 months. My daughter did this too and I figured she knows how to flip over too so if she's uncomfortable she'll flip back over. Of course I also watched her intently for at least half an hour a night for a week before I was secure in the fact that she was fine.

My daughter also rolled onto her tummy at night. I just let her sleep how she was most comfortable. I may try to adjust her if she was faceplanted or pressed against the side, but otherwise she seemed content and I was just thankful she was sleeping!

My daughter was a tummy sleeper from the beginning. Could hardly ever get her to sleep on her back. She is a healthy 2 1/2 yr old. As long as you have a very firm mattress he should be fine. Softer mattresses allow them to bury their face in it. A firm mattress will not allow him to do so. Make sure the sheets are tight fitting also.

J.,
My 5 children were babies back in the day when we were told to put them to sleep on their tummies, to prevent swallowing anything they may urp up. They survived. Your little guy must prefer his tummy. If it were me, an old grandma, I'd let him sleep where he is comfortable.
Just be sure there is nothing soft for him to get snuggled up into, like stuffed animals, that may cut off his air.
A.

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.

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.

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
R.

our daughter tummy slept from about 2 months on, tried back sleeping initially and she just didn't sleep well at all. around 7-8 weeks she rolled over from tummy to back on her own, then not again for awhile when rolling over became a regular occurrence. ours also had great head control at an early age so that helped me feel better about it; I knew she could move her head around and reposition well.

I agree with the other moms who posted; firm mattress, tight crib sheets, not stuff in the cribe with him until he's over a year and he should be fine.

I have a 7 month old son who also rolls around in his sleep and is most often on his stomach during the night. We were so worried at first and I barely slept and would keep checking on him during the right. But, ultimately all I can do is say a little prayer every night and make his crib and room as safe as possible.

We do not wake him up to put him on his back, b/c he's just going to flip back to his stomach and we don't want to wake him up. To minimize the risks of SIDS, you should have a fan in his room, statistics have shown this to greatly reduce the risk of SIDS (something about the air circulation). We also have a breathable bumper on the crib instead of a thick padded one and don't have any toys, blankets, etc in the crib with him.

It is nerve wracking, but as long as he can roll from stomach to back and back to stomach, it should be okay. Good luck!

My girl was like that from day one. Of course she could not flip herself over as an infant-but she had that real jerky twitching everytime i put her on her back-her arms would flail around and wake her. It was only when she was on her tummy would she really sleep.
As she got older-it did not bother me. While she was young i would lay her on her side....but you little one is old enought to manuveur around!
My daughter has done fine on her tummy. However if i was a mother affected by sids i would say no-so it is what you are comfortable with. I think baby knows what feels right for sleep and will be just fine!

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!

No need to worry. If he can roll over by himself, it's fine for him to sleep on his belly. The risk of sids decreases at 4 months, and if he wakes up to eat, that's also good (well in terms of sids) in that he isn't in that deep of a sleep where the risk of sids lies. I wouldn't worry about it. My son is 7.5 months, and for the past month has slept on his belly. I asked the pediatrician, and this is what he told me.

Hey J. - 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!

my first baby did that, as well....she now at 2 years and 1 month still sleeps on her tummy. i always put her blanket under her so she would straddle it when she was young. that way, her face was elevated a bit and her face wouldn't be smooshed into the mattress. she still sleeps that way to this day. as a first time mom, i totally understand your concern but do know that they can breath and that is probably the position that he will prefer over time......

dont worry, after a baby reaches 6months the chances of SIDS diminish greatly. it is ok for him to sleep on his tummy, but do turn his head if he has it facing down. if he has a pacifier you are even reducing more the chances of SIDS. make sure you dont have bumpers on your crib, just the mesh lining that keeps their arms and legs from poping out of the crib.

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.

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!

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.

My son started rolling onto his stomach at age 4 months. i was freaking out and turning him back over all the time. society gets us completely freaked out about SIDS. then I started asking my friends what I do and discovered that almost all of their kids sleep on their stomachs. who knew? when they start rolling there isn't really anything you can do while they are sleeping. make sure everything is out of the crib though. no bumpers, no blankets, etc. put them in a sleep sack to stay warm at night and don't worry.