Is back always best?

ebl2

My daughter is 10 days old and my husband and I are noticing that she sleeps so much better when on her side or on her belly. I've been too afraid of putting her on her side or belly during the night, I only do it during the day when I can watch her. She seems to sleep in longer intervals that way. 

My husband and I started doing some research this morning about the effects of back sleeping and SIDS and we can't find much support on the different sleeping positions causing SIDS. 

How do you put your baby to sleep? What has worked best for you? Has anyone else thrown the theory of back is best out the window?  

kathyn21

my DD is almost 3 weeks old and she sleeps on her side. i use a positioner to ensure she doesn't roll back over or onto her tummy. she sleeps great that way.

https://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=infant+sleep+positioner&hl=en&safe=off&prmd=imvns&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1320&bih=704&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=13081551010020086570&sa=X&ei=aI3CT7HRN6WDsAL529XaCQ&ved=0CGgQ8wIwAA

sorry that's not clicky but thats an example of what i'm talking about. hope that helps

niknak7

Yes, back sleeping is important if you want to reduce the chances of SIDS for your LO. It reduces the risk by almost 50%. Almost all LO's sleep better on their stomachs when they are first born though. For me it boils down to I'd rather have a baby that sleeps horribly but that I am doing everything I can to reduce the risks. It's all a choice though because many babies sleep on their tummies and grow up just fine. It's whatever risks you feel okay with taking.

starrynight1658

My pediatrician said that almost all babies sleep better on their sides or stomach, but that's the problem--they sleep too deeply and are unable to wake themselves up, which is why those positions increase the risk of SIDS. 

I'm definitely tempted to put my son on his side because he sleeps much more soundly that way, but I'm too paranoid to risk it. I figure he'll be strong enough to roll over into those positions on his own soon enough. 

katcarls

Babies placed on their side or stomach are much more likely to die from SIDS.  The number of deaths due to SIDS dropped over 50% after the Back to Sleep campaign was implemented.  I thought the sleep position and SIDS connection was really well known and I'm surprised you didn't get a lot of info on this from your hospital and pediatrician.  Please do a little research about SIDS so you can put your baby to sleep safely.  These are a few sites with good info: here, WebMD, and First Candle.

Please don't use sleep positioners either, unless your pedi tells you to for medical reasons.  They're very unsafe and all the major medical and safety organizations (AAP, FDA, CPSC, NIH, etc) strongly recommend against them .  This page has more info on the dangers of sleep positioners.

KatelynEA90

My niece has side slept her whole life. And after she learned to roll, my sister constantly found her on her stomach.

My nephew was a horrible back sleeper. He literally would not sleep at all. My sister stayed up for weeks with him because she was terrified to let him sleep on his stomach. She finally called her pedi and he said to just let him stomach sleep.

 

DD sleeps in the RNP. so she's on her back but at an incline. When she was younger, I always put her on her side. She had a terrible spitting up problem and I would wake up to find throw up caked to her face. She occasionally sleeps on her back, every now and again on her stomach, but mostly she sleeps on her side.

katcarls

KatelynEA90:

My niece has side slept her whole life. And after she learned to roll, my sister constantly found her on her stomach.

My nephew was a horrible back sleeper. He literally would not sleep at all. My sister stayed up for weeks with him because she was terrified to let him sleep on his stomach. She finally called her pedi and he said to just let him stomach sleep.

 

DD sleeps in the RNP. so she's on her back but at an incline. When she was younger, I always put her on her side. She had a terrible spitting up problem and I would wake up to find throw up caked to her face. She occasionally sleeps on her back, every now and again on her stomach, but mostly she sleeps on her side.

When it comes to SIDS there is a big difference between placing your newborn on her stomach or side to sleep and an older baby, who is capable of rolling over, regularly getting into those positions by herself.

Eilis123

Most studies and articles I read indicated that SIDS is almost non-existant without the presence of risk factors (tummy sleeping, bedsharing, prematurity, maternal smoking while pregnant, second hand smoke exposure, low income parents, etc), and the vast majority of SIDS cases involve unsafe sleep or "modifiable" risk factors (tummy, bedsharing, items in the crib).

I think the Triple Risk Model gives the best explination of how unsafe sleep interacts with possible biological vulnerabilities to result in a SIDS case. 

Don't take risks with your baby.  Newborns aren't meant to sleep for long stretches.  Sleep position is learned; the baby will eventually learn to sleep in whatever position you place him. 

Newmoonbaby

Alright, I'll step up and admit it, yes we will put her down to sleep on her stomach in her crib.  There I said it.  If she's happily swaddled, she will sleep on her back but that is fairly rare.  Otherwise she's on her belly.  Also she rolled over from belly to back when she was four weeks old and has been able to hold her head up/ turn side to side since three weeks.  I will also admit that when we first brought her home, I let her sleep on my chest.  Yup it's true.  Was I paranoid?  Of course!  Did I sit and watch her sleep in the middle of the night?  More times than I can count. Right now she sleeps in her swing chair because she's got a snotty nose and she can breathe easier.  Several times she has woken up, coughed, spit up a little, and gone back to sleep...I can't bear the thought that she would do that flat on her back and risk aspirating her vomit.  So use your judgement.  

wheelsonthebus

Newmoonbaby:

Alright, I'll step up and admit it, yes we will put her down to sleep on her stomach in her crib.  There I said it.  If she's happily swaddled, she will sleep on her back but that is fairly rare.  Otherwise she's on her belly.  Also she rolled over from belly to back when she was four weeks old and has been able to hold her head up/ turn side to side since three weeks.  I will also admit that when we first brought her home, I let her sleep on my chest.  Yup it's true.  Was I paranoid?  Of course!  Did I sit and watch her sleep in the middle of the night?  More times than I can count. Right now she sleeps in her swing chair because she's got a snotty nose and she can breathe easier.  Several times she has woken up, coughed, spit up a little, and gone back to sleep...I can't bear the thought that she would do that flat on her back and risk aspirating her vomit.  So use your judgement.  

We let LO sleep on our chest all the time. My hospital encouraged it. My son hated being on his stomach, but this LO loves being on her stomach. I'm getting tempted to let her sleep that way. I know a lot of moms that have chosen to do the same. It's hard.

jeffsjayme

We tummy sleep and have since day 5.  Your call though.

KristelFowler

With my son (2 years old now) I let him sleep on his tummy at about three weeks old. He was sleeping through the night at five weeks old. Was I worried about SIDS? For sure, and I spent countless hours researching SIDS information. I still felt comfortable with my decision. My son would not sleep any other way, and he would not tolerate being swaddled. My daughter (12 weeks old today!) however, needs to be swaddled. She enjoys it and sleeps ok that way. But here we are at 12 weeks old and she is no where near sleeping through the night, she wakes every three hours. She does not like to sleep on her tummy and if she did, I would probably let her do so. A friend that I went to high school with just lost her 4 month old daughter to SIDS. I cant imagine the pain that she is going through. But her baby was not on her tummy when they found her.

Natali25

I think it's a personal choice that you and daddy need to decide. It's whatever you feel comfortable with and how sane you'll be with them sleeping like that. Our son who is 4wks could roll onto his side after being only 2wks. The pedi said that was fine as long as he wasn't rolling onto his belly. Which he can't cause he's still too little for that. I would almost rather him sleep on his side when he is flat cause he spits up and it'll gurgle in his mouth if he's on his back. But most the time and especially at night he sleeps in his RnP. He seems to do fine in it and I sleep soundly knowing he's on and incline.

BelleIsa

It depends on what you're comfortable with.  DD1 was a tummy sleeper from when she was 6 days old.  But, she could lift and move her head around even then so I felt okay with having her on her belly. DD2 is happy on her side.

The biggest correlation between *anything* and SIDS is that SIDS happens more often in low-income homes where one of the parents smoke. 

Again, it's your comfort level.  If you aren't going to sleep yourself because you're so paranoid about your LO, then tummy or side sleeping isn't for you. 

kkfeb04

AmyG*:

I have to say that I love the posters who say their dr says it's ok--like your pediatrician has done the research and proven tummy sleeping safe?  no way!

Also the posts that say I put my baby on their stomach to sleep and they are just fine!  You do realize that all the moms who lose their babies to sids while tummy sleeping (thousands every year) can say the first part of that sentence too--but the ending is NOT the same.

 

If you've ever talked to a mom who lost their baby to SIDS, who chose to take the risk to put baby on their stomach-- they say I thought it was ok, it's the only way baby would sleep, so I put them on their stomach, they went to sleep and they never woke up again.  And they beat themselves up every single day blaming themselves for taking that risk. 

 

When you know better, you do better and make better choices.  SIDS is not just a problem for low income families, or those who smoke, or those without a fan in the room, or poor black people.  It's a risk for all babies, and some things make it a higher risk.  like tummy sleeping.  I'd rather never sleep for 6 months than to lose my baby to sids because I put them on their tummy.  It's something concrete I can do to lower their risk.  Side sleeping is slightly safer, so I'd if sleep deprived I might try that.  but even then I know it's a danger and so do you.

It's like saying, well since most car accidents happen if you are drinking and driving, so as long as I'm not drinking and driving, I don't have to put baby in the carseat where they are safe but they scream their bloody heads off.  Nope, not a good idea and you know it.

Where is the love button?  All of this! My DD could roll to both sides at 3 1/2 days old (we have video proof) but I don't let her sleep on her side. It's not worth the risk for me. Oh and she's been STTN (more than 6 hours in one session, she is up every am at 4 to eat) since 3 weeks old and she's BF'd. DS didn't STTN until 23 months when we moved him to a twin bed. I was up at least 3 times a night to feed him until 14 months old. Some kids just are horrible sleepers.

FWIW, the risks outweigh the benefits and wouldn't do it. Just because the can roll to their side, move their head etc, doesn't mean they can roll of their bellies or move their head especially in a time of panic, think about when you choke on a piece of food, you tend to panic as you gasp, well I imagine it could be the same but if hte baby is gasping for air and can't cry......yeah, not worth it for a few hours sleep.  I haven't had a full 8 hours of (unbroken) sleep since June 2009, maybe even before then since I had hot flashes on clomid, it just isn't worth the risk. It only takes one time.