Baby sleeping on stomach affecting my sleep

kit9452

DD has now mastered rolling over, so at some point in the night she always flips to her stomach. This has made me a paranoid freak! I'm up EVERY hour shining my phone light into her crib to make sure she is okay. I feel I am sleeping worse than when she was getting up multiple times a night to nurse. Because of this paranoia I can't even take advantage of her sleeping longer stretches at night (which I thought would never happen btw).

LaceyH13

Why does this freak you out? If she has mastered rolling over, there isn't much you can do to stop it and she can flip herself back to her back if she needs to.

My LO has been sleeping on his belly for more than a month now. That's when the good sleep starts! Everything I have read says that if they can do it themselves it is fine. Also don't forget that an entire generation of people (my age) grew up sleeping on their tummies just fine.

yes, it is a SIDS risk and you should be careful, but you should also acknowledge that our babies are getting older and we need to adapt.

tepr14

I can understand being a little freaked out, but like pp our babies are getting older and we have to adapt. My LO just recently started sleeping on his belly as well, at first it was a little surprising (since that was also the first time he rolled onto his stomach during a nap).
There isn't anything we can really do about it, and now that he's starting to figure out how to get comfortable on his side and stomach the sleep for both of us has been great!

redfallon

Here you go: https://www.whattoexpect.com/first-year/ask-heidi/tummy-sleeping.aspx

"Once babies learn to roll over on their bellies, there's usually no turning them back (especially if they prefer this tummy-down position). And there's no point in losing sleep over it either (so try to put your worries to rest, Mom!). That's because babies who are able to change positions easily are generally past the high-risk stage for SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) — which occurs most often between two and four months. Babies typically start rolling over between four and five months (or later, if they haven't spent much time on their tummies during play), and with that added agility comes an ability to protect themselves from whatever it is about tummy sleeping that increases SIDS risk, experts believe."

shannon173

Lurker here, we have an angelcare monitor that has an alarm that goes off if theres no movement. It's definitely given peace of mind!

love-mom-life

DD has been sleeping on her belly for a couple weeks. I too admit that it's nerve wracking. Plus I generally put a blanket on her back because her room has doors and it's chilly in there. She also has to have her lovie by her face. I just say my prayers that she is okay. And ever since she started on her belly, her sleep has given us longer stretches at night. It's been great. Hoping I didn't just jinx it.