Rolling over at night

Hi
my 6 month DD has recently (well it's been almost three weeks now) learned how to roll from her back to her belly- but not the other way around. So come bed time, I lay her on her back and she will sleep like that for 2 or 3 hrs and then roll over and cry. At first I turned her over (btw she has a sleep sack on and there's white noise) but as soon as i leave the room she's rolled over!

So now I just leave her be (while checking to see she can breathe)and she will eventually fall asleep while crying but then proceeds to wake up every 20 min or sometimes 45 min or an hour- but will wake up until i get her and nurse her to drowsy and put her down on her back.

What should i do? Will she eventually sleep longer on her belly? I think she prefers her side as i've seen her sleep on her side and when she wakes up she's on her belly. Turning her over gets her MAD but leaving her causes multiple wake ups. Will she out grow this? Will the wake ups disappear after she's learned to roll back?

 

I afraid there isn't a clear cut answer. It is so hard when they can't get where they want to be and make themselves comfortable.

We had this problem but in reverse with DS. he slept on his stomach (don't be all shocked.. with is acid reflux it was the only way he could sleep). He could roll onto his back then he was stuck and not happy.

Try different things and see what works.
I would probably try leaving her on her stomach for the first part of the night hoping that she will learn to be comfortable in that position and if she is crying just before you go to bed then nurse her and resettle her. That way she has a chance to work on the problem herself but is not left for too long, missing sleep.

I would also make sure she is getting lots of tummy time during the day to practice going from stomach to back. Use toys dangling over head and to the side to encourage her to reach around.

It is not a fun stage..
I hope she either gets comfortable on her stomach or learns to roll over soon.



ETA- if she is twisting around well, but does not seem to be able to lift herself with her arms and upper body you can put a rolled blanket under her chest to help her get i a better position to build those arm and upper body muscles.

 

Thanks daisies! she does lift up on her arms quite easily- looks like she really wants to crawl. I guess it'll just take time for her to get used to sleeping on her side or tummy

 

It does take them a few days to just figure it out. Totally normal development phase, but a frustrating one!!

 

Once they start rolling over they are not suppose to be swaddled When the boys started rolling over they were allowed to stay on their tummies. Truthfully they slept muck better that way so I was happy. This was the point where they started STTN. But then again I never go in once I put them down until it was time to wake up. Now that they are older I do go in for discipline only if necessary.

 

I wish my 6.5 month DD would sleep better on her tummy but she wakes up soo much more often and in short intervals. She normally wakes up to 3x a night so 2-4 extra times is a lot! DS wakes 2x a night but sometimes more if DD is up and crying.