Tummy Sleeping

My 2 are almost 6 months old.. DS can't quite flip over from his back to his belly but sometimes he can go from belly to back. We've found that the only way we can get him to go to sleep peacefully (without CIO) is to put him to sleep on his tummy and then flip him an hour later so he's completely asleep, or hold him until he falls asleep (which in that case can take up to an hour..) Half the time when we flip him over, he wakes up and whines himself to sleep and has a hard time staying asleep all night.

When is it safe for him to just sleep on his tummy all night? I know the whole "back to sleep" thing is all the rage, but there's got to be something said for the quality of my baby's sleep when he's crabby and miserable all day because he didn't sleep well

Help!

 

Well, I think most people (doctors included) say that if they are big enough & strong enough to get onto their tummies by themselves then it's okay to leave them that way. Personally, I had several babies who slept waaaaay better on their tummies & I ended up just putting them down that way out of sheer desperation for sleep myself and we never had any problems. That being said, it is, of course, recommended that they sleep on their backs. You have to decide for yourself how comfortable you are in letting them sleep on their tummies.

 

That's the thing I'm not so worried about MY sleeplessness. I've just about given up on getting any solid chunk of sleep for the next at least 6 months of my life... lol! Its them I'm worried about because they're SO overtired during the day and just end up cranky as all get out... that can't be good for them.

 

I am not sure when it is "safe", but by 2 months I let all of mine sllep on their tummies. They sleep waay better that way, and none of mine slept well that way (on their back).

 

We started putting DD to sleep on her tummy around 2 1/2 months. She had reflux and this was the only way she would sleep comfortably for any period of time. I was nervous, but she was a much happier baby since she was getting more sleep.

 

I decided to put our boys on their stomachs for night-time sleeping by the time they were five months old. I had been doing it during the day for naps starting at around three months. It got harder and harder for them to get to sleep at night and I decided the risk was worth all of us getting rest. I kept a fan going in their room because one theory with SIDS is trapped CO2 and I reasoned the fan circulating air might help. They also had strong arms and necks by five months so I wasn't too concerned. For a while they both were rolling onto their backs and getting stuck during the middle of the night and would cry for help! They are now nine months and one baby will roll onto his stomach as the preferred sleeping position.

 

My boys were on their tummies by 4 months old. They could both roll over by that point and were very strong with their heads. One night, out of sheer desperation, I put Anthony on his stomach(this is four months) and he slept soundly. There was no turning back for me.

This time, as my daughter will be 8 weeks old on Wednesday, she's been sleeping on her stomach from the beginning essentially. DH sleeps upstairs so he can take care of the boys. So I would have Annabella either sleeping ON me, within a Boppy on the bed, or in the carseat. All of which I was not the biggest fan of. I need sleep as I need to take care of three kids under the age of two all day! Well-we knew she slept well on her stomach as she would pass out on us.

So-we put her on her stomach. She sleeps BEAUTIFULLY on her stomach! She curls up into a little ball and is passed out. She does have a very strong head/neck control and has from the beginning-even the Dr. mentioned it. That all said, I still worry! She sleeps in a PNP for now. And at nighttime, I move the PNP right next to the bed so I can see/hear her better.

That all said-you do what you feel most comfortable with. We all slept on our stomach's growing up. But it is now recommended back-to-sleep. However for me-*I* needed sleep to function on a normal level.

 

Once my boys did it themselves I let them.

 

I believe the guidelines are when the baby is able to roll over by himself, it is safe for him to sleep that way.

I'm a worrier - so I've always followed those guidelines, both with my older DS and my twin boys. They all did sleep better once they slept on their stomachs, but I always felt like maybe they weren't safe (my boys) sleeping through the night so young, and that is why they woke up so frequently.

My cousin and my good friend both have 5 month old baby boys and they both sleep on the tummies. You just have to do what you feel is the right thing for you and your baby.

 

The twins boths sleep on their tummies, never did it with my older two, but i wish i had, they sleep so much better that way. I worried a lot a first, but feel more comfortable now, they have very good neck control and strenght. Do what you feel is best, trust your instincts. And as pp posters said, do keep the fan in the room

 

As far as a fan do you think a ceiling fan would be sufficient??

I tried it tonight - I took off all the crib bumpers off of his bed (except the top one by his head in case he scoots up and bonks his noggin on the rails..) and put on the ceiling fan and put him on his tummy.. Out like a light, and he's been in bed for over an hour and not a peep out of him. Usually once we flip him to his back he'll whine every so often and put himself back to sleep. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

Thanks for the advice, ladies.

 

Our girls were on their tummies at 8 weeks. They are wonderful sleepers! I was nervous at first, but I slept them on their tummies for a week during naps only just to make sure they'd sleep OK like that. Then, I tried it at night (they were still in our room). But there was never a problem and they fell alseep so much quicker and slept so much better! (and, we didn't have to swaddle them that way).

I don't know how tall your crib bumpers are, but our babies tended to scoot around the whole crib, so I tied the bumpers to the top of the crib railing - leaving about 2.5" of open space at the bottom so they won't suffocate, but that there's padding all around for their little heads.

Now that they are older, they roll around and sleep in all different positions, but I am SO glad I switched over to tummy sleeping when they were small!

 

Glad you had a better night! Our sleep much better on their tummies and were doing so full-time by two months. Everyone's happier this way. When I told my ped, I thought I would get read the riot act for going against the "rules" but she just said to make sure the crib sheet fits tight and there's nothing in the crib they can bring up around their face to impede air flow. They have really good neck strength, but I still do watch them like a hawk.

 

Thank you, thank you! I've always felt afraid to do this, but after reading all of these posts, I'm going to put my baby down in his belly- he loves it that way! We'll see how it goes!

 

My girls have been sleeping on their bellies since 8 weeks. The pediatrican told me as long as they could lift their heads 90 degrees and could roll over from belly to back, they were fine. We've all been sleeping better ever since!

 

my girls are 5 weeks old today. and they have been napping on their bellies for about 2 weeks now. they seem to really like it and they do have good head control.
in there cribs at night though... they still sleep on there back, swaddled and on an incline.
But I can't wait to let them sleep on there backs all the time. I think they prefer it.

 

My were sleeping on their tummys since the NICU so, once we brought them home we tried the back and they did not sleep good at all! So, we put them back on their tummys and they slept tons better.
When we told the pedi she just told us that is the way her baby slept to be careful that there we no blankets,etc. in the crib.

Good Luck

 

I flipped my boys over on their bellies at 9 weeks and then they slept through the night. I am so thankful to have sleep again. Plus, Jonathan's head is rounding back out...it was getting flattened by the mattress.

So worth it! Enjoy your rest,
Jenn

 

I let mine sleep on their tummies once they could roll there themselves - so around 5-6 months. SIDS risk is actually highest in the 2 to 4 month timeframe, so for me I would not have put my babies to sleep on their bellies before 4 months.

 

I didn't update!

I put DS down for bed that night -- he didn't wake up until 8:30 in the morning and didn't make a SOUND all night. I woke up twice to check on him though.

*happydance* It was phenomenal! Now he always gets put on his tummy for sleep time. Naps, everything. (He even takes naps now!)

Its a miracle. Now if I could try to find a position DD will sleep in besides her side or in her swing, I'd be in heaven! HAHA!

Thanks SO much ladies!!!!

 

:woo: for sleeping!!

 

I'm glad he's been sleeping so much!