When can babies sleep on their tummies?

My girls will be a month old tomorrow, and were 36 weekers. They are 5lbs 12oz, and 5lbs 15oz and are very good nappers still. They may have a touch of reflux, but nothing major, and rarely spit up. They are currently sharing a bassinet, and I mainly put them back to back and roll a blanket between their tummies and the wall of the bassinet as a sleep positioner. Mostly, I put them down when they are awake, and they coo themselves to sleep - they are great self-soothers for the most part.

At what point can I let them start sleeping on their tummies? Is there a certain age or weight or ability that you look for? Thanks!

 

You shouldn't let them sleep on their tummies until they can roll themselves to their tummies. That being said, I let one of mine do it at 2.5 months old. I researched it and SIDS. Talked with some medical professionals and felt confident in my decision. To this day she will not sleep on her back.

 

Hi, I personally let all of my children sleep on their tummies, probably sooner than many others might think of as acceptable. My children all slept a lot better that way, and I had no problems.

I know the daycare I used to work at, would only allow a baby to sleep on their tummy if they were able to roll over, onto their tummy themselves. They would lay them down on their back, but if they rolled over, they would allow them to stay on their tummy.

I think Ive heard something about the baby at least being able to pick their head up and look around, from the tummy position.

HTH!

 

Never. It's not safe. However at some point they will turn over on their own, and at that point there just won't be anything you can do about it. I'd still put them to sleep on their back though, even if they roll to their tummy later on.

 

The general rule is that when they can roll over themselves, it is ok to let them go ahead and sleep on their tummies.

 

Thrilled to read I was not alone in my response to this- I am a first time mom.... so many say not on tummies until they can do it on their own. Then one night when I stayed awake in the room with them, I tried sleeping them on their tummies around 8-9 weeks when they could pick up their head and turn it to the side on their own. WHAT A DIFFERENCE IT MADE. So first, I only did it when I was awake in the room with them. Then I started asking around to friends and MANY finally admitted they too slept their babies on their tummies, and the babies sleep so much better. I have found this to be the case with ours and now I no longer sleep in their with them. So mine have been on their tummies since around 2 months. Mine are also still swaddled, we've tried not swaddling and it isn't pretty. Even at 5 mo. they still need the swaddle. So we continue. Do what you think is best and what you are comfortable with little ones. Our doula said many start trying it around 3 months

 

I let mine when they could roll themselves.

 

Our pedi actually told us she is a big believer in varied sleep positions during the day while YOU are awake. She is an advocate of tummy time (sleeping or otherwise) as long as you are watching the baby. My girls are already very strong with their neck muscles and can pick up their heads and move them from one side to the other. Generally, I try to put them down on their backs, but if the fussing gets out of hand, I flip to the tummy and they zonk out like magic!

 

I think the official guideline is that you should encourage back sleeping until 1 year. But once they start rolling over, it's anyone's game. We had our boys on their back and they both developed flat head due to positional preference. I am expecting another baby and I will encourage TUMMY sleeping form the get go, or at least a combination.

 

QUOTE(lmayer @ Jan 30 2009, 06:14 PM) [snapback]1169324[/snapback]
So mine have been on their tummies since around 2 months. Mine are also still swaddled, we've tried not swaddling and it isn't pretty. Even at 5 mo. they still need the swaddle. So we continue. Do what you think is best and what you are comfortable with little ones. Our doula said many start trying it around 3 months


Ahh, this worries me. Are their arms in the swaddle and they are belly down? Even though they can pick up their heads they have no way to push themselves with their arms up if they need too.

I did it really early because we had horrible reflux, but mine were on apnea monitors so we got the go ahead from the Pulmonologist.

 

QUOTE(DATJMom @ Jan 30 2009, 01:34 PM) [snapback]1169366[/snapback]
Ahh, this worries me. Are their arms in the swaddle and they are belly down? Even though they can pick up their heads they have no way to push themselves with their arms up if they need too.

I did it really early because we had horrible reflux, but mine were on apnea monitors so we got the go ahead from the Pulmonologist.

yes, they do just fine- they turn their heads well and do just fine. I am cautious and I know others may not agree with this but feel very comfortable with this.

 

I don't know if anyone has heard about that research in New Zealand that SIDS would be linked to mattresses, and deadly gas that escapes from it that immature systems can't handle... The thing with tummy sleeping is that your baby has his nose right over it, so he's more likely to breathe in those gas... Another reason why fans in the room help, as they're more likely to dissipate right away.

That's why I personally never thought that a bit more sleep was worth the risk. I've heard of 3 babies dying of SIDS just this year because of tummy sleeping so no thanks (one on another twin forum). Sure, some of us might be lucky and our babies are fine, sure, we grew up sleeping on our tummy and we're fine, but if you check the SIDS death rate the last few years, well, those babies are not fine.

 

I let DS sleep on his tummy once when he was about a week or two old as we just couldn´t get him to sleep any other way. We kept an eye on him and it was his best nap to date! I think he slept for 4 hours straight!

Mine don´t sleep on their tummies, only their backs. I, too, have read that once a baby can roll onto his/her tummy then they can sleep that way and the risk of SIDS is greatly reduced. DS rolls all the time but doesn´t seem to want to sleep that way just yet. I´ll cross that bridge when it comes!

 

QUOTE(Fran27 @ Jan 30 2009, 01:49 PM) [snapback]1169504[/snapback]
I don't know if anyone has heard about that research in New Zealand that SIDS would be linked to mattresses, and deadly gas that escapes from it that immature systems can't handle... The thing with tummy sleeping is that your baby has his nose right over it, so he's more likely to breathe in those gas... Another reason why fans in the room help, as they're more likely to dissipate right away.

That's why I personally never thought that a bit more sleep was worth the risk. I've heard of 3 babies dying of SIDS just this year because of tummy sleeping so no thanks (one on another twin forum). Sure, some of us might be lucky and our babies are fine, sure, we grew up sleeping on our tummy and we're fine, but if you check the SIDS death rate the last few years, well, those babies are not fine.

I have read many articles on this and it is amazing the decrease in sids over there. I wish the US would remove the fire retardant that is causing these gases.

 

I would say not to try to put them to sleep on their tummies until they can roll over with confidence (that is you are confident in their skills) or you get your pediatrician's okay. That being said, I know we put our kiddos down on their backs every night and we will find them on their tummies in the morning. So it's difficult to prevent once they start going there on their own. I would say mine started doing this around 7-8 months.

 

I confess to being an "alarmist" regarding SIDS sleep practices and I follow all of the recommendations for decreasing the risk of SIDS- but, in my opinion, there is a reason that young babies wake at frequent intervals. Totally unrelated to hunger. Maybe young babies need to wake up frequently to keep their breathing regulated and protect themselves from SIDS? They will roll over on their own eventually - and then there is nothing you can do about it. I still put my 1-year-olds down on their backs and they roll over if they want to. I could have never forgiven myself if I put them on their tummies for a few extra hours of sleep and something had happened to them. The sleep deprivation - though it feels like it lasts FOREVER and it is very hard - only lasts a short time in the scheme of things. Again, just my thoughts. Each parent has to do what is right for their child and themselves!

 

Ditto the once they can roll over thing.

Both of my older kids slept on their sides, after my ds nearly choked to death on his back. I won't put my twins on their backs either, I use a sleep positioner to keep them on their sides, and I rotate sides each feeding at night to prevent misshapen head.

 

I was just going to post this question...................

My DD WON'T stay on her back.......she flips herself over as soon as I leave the room! She's constantly flipping onto her tummy and scootching around her crib...but then ometimes sshe cries out like she is stuck on her tummy and can't get over.....I keep rolling her back onto her back and this back and forth game makes going down for her naps alot longer.....should I bother? She has always slept on her back until now! Im petrified of SIDS.......but from the previous posts I'm taking it that it should be ok for her to sleep on her tummy since she can roll over....right? (btw she is 71/2 months/6mon adj.)

 

I would say as soon as they can roll over well. FWIW, I always put mine down on their backs. When they were able to roll, they would sometimes switch to their tummies. HTH .

 

Mine flipped over at 5 months. I put them on their backs and they immediately roll to their stomachs. I have to say, they do sleep much better this way. I just switched to breathable bumpers and feel a little bit better, but I still worry about SIDS. Never heard about the mattress gas thing...great one more thing to worry about. I do keep a fan in their room.

 

When our kids were still in the bassinet at 2.5 months old in our room, I tried laying them on their tummies for a nap. They took a LONG nap, I kept placing my hand on their backs to make sure they were still breathing every five seconds. From that point on we let them sleep on their tummies, and at 3 months old we transferred them into their own cribs in their room, and put them on their bellies there too, ever since then they have slept through the night, and they still prefer to be on their bellies sleeping.

When I was a child, my pedi told my mom to put me ON my tummy to sleep, because laying on your back can cause you to choke on your spit up... so really everyone defers, from years to years, who knows, maybe when our children will get older and have kids, it will be back to Only on the tummy! You just have to do what feels right to you, and be confident in your decision.

 

better not to do tummy ever, then when they decide they want their tummy and roll over and sleep that way, let them.. you can't really stop them anymore.. one of my twins rolls to her stomach the second i put her down on her back.