rolling-onto-tummy sleepers, come in
It's official, we have an unintended tummy sleeper.
I knew it would be any day now, because she lasts about 3 minutes on her back on the playmat until she decides that her tummy is more fun. She rolled from tummy to back at 11 weeks, but only for 3 days and has never done it since.
Last night, she applied the rolling to her bed. She has been in sleep sacks since she was 2 weeks, so this isn't a swaddling issue. The annoyance (or scary) part is that she is laying almost face down, or with her face only slighly to the side. I monitored her for a long time last night and she was still breathing with no problems, and turned her head from side to side a few times. She never returned to her back on her own, I turned her over a few times.
I know there is nothing safe that I can do to stop her, I know this. I am trying to figure out how to deal with ME, not her. Tummy sleeping really freaks me out. I keep telling myself that plenty of babies sleep on their tummies, and that she has good head control and is breathing the whole time... but still. I'm really struggling to deal.
Thoughts? What do you tell yourself to not freak out? What are the magic words for me to just get over it?
Re: rolling-onto-tummy sleepers, come in
Natural Birth Board FAQs
Cloth Diaper Review Sheet
My guy sleeps most the night on his tummy now. There is no way to stop it. If I put him on his back he automatically rolls on to his tummy within 5 minutes. The way I see it is his risks for SIDS is so small now and I've done everything else that I can to prevent it. i.e. nothing else in the crib but him, we use breathable bumpers, he sleeps in a sleep sack, non-smoking house...etc.
I was really worried the first couple of nights but he's been sleeping on his stomach for about 3 weeks now and there isn't much I can do. I did check on him the first couple of nights a little bit more often just for my own peace of mind.
Baby #2 on the way!
Gus rolls onto his belly the minute I put him down in his crib. He has very good upper body control and can even get up on all fours for a while, so if something was obstructing his breathing, I think he'd be able to move easily.
Anyway I can't stand there all night flipping him over to his back every 5 minutes so while I do worry a little, I'm trying not to stress over what I can't control.
Thanks ladies. I'm still struggling, and she is asleep on her tummy right now. Ugh.
I really wanted to make it to 6 months, and I think that is the tipping point of what is bothering me. I knew it would be any day now with how much she loves to roll on her belly during the day, but it still bothers me. I decided to take the sheet off of the PNP because I couldn't get it taunt enough for my comfort so I just let her sleep on the PNP mattress surface.
I thought about using an Angelcare system, but it is not recommended by the AAP and is not shown to reduce the risk of SIDS. I think she actually rolls around too much for the surface area, too.
I am still doing all the other things I can do like having her in our room, non-smoking home, sleep sack and not swaddled, no blankets/bumpers/anything in the crib... I guess it is just nice to know that other people are dealing with this, too.
We gave up on back sleeping around 10 weeks. It scared me so badly at first, but she had great upper body strength and head control at that point. I just couldn't keep spending 1.5 hours trying to force her to sleep on her back every night. Of course now she rolls to her tummy every time I put her on the playmat and flips to her back every time she wakes up in her crib, so she's comfortably rolling both ways.
After reading that the Angelcare monitor wasn't recommended, we decided not to get it. I don't recommend tummy sleeping to parents before they're past the peak for SIDS (2-4 months is the highest, with most cases occurring before 6 months), but I wouldn't hover over a baby to keep flipping him back once he's rolling to his tummy by himself.
Because she's slept on her tummy for so long, we've been really careful to reduce other risk factors as much as possible. We keep her room at a comfortable temperature, don't use bumpers or blankets, have a firm crib mattress, use a ceiling fan, and breastfeed. I'm learning that there are so many things to worry about as a new mom, and that stressing about DD's sleep position preference really isn't getting me anywhere!
BFP #1 9/7/10, EDD 5/14/11, Violet born 5/27/11.
BFP #2 4/9/12, EDD 12/16/12, M/C Rory 4/24/12.
BFP #3 10/6/12, EDD 6/16/12., Matilda born 6/17/13.
DD sleeps on her tummy now too, sometimes... I really like when she does it now, since it seems that she gets her best sleep that way. However, she too a lot of the time is kinda or really face down. We do have a video monitor and she does move her head here and there, so it is perfectly fine.
I will say that we started using her ceiling fan now that she is on her belly for airflow in the room. My only complaint is that she is trying to crawl now, and ends up moving up so much that she hits her head. Tonight, I might put her down at the foot of her bed so she can inch her way up.