This is normal. I'd take all bumpers/blankets/toys out of the bed. Just him in the bed.
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.
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!
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!
Jen,
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.
Angelique
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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! :)
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.
Hi Jen,
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!
cathy
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!