Belly sleeping

zfa061309

Does anyone let their baby sleep on his/her belly?  I can't get our little bundle to sleep any other way but on my chest while she's on her belly.  She hates being on her back due to reflux....we tried elevating her and that doesn't work either.

CurlyQ284

DS has slept on his belly on my chest since birth. Sometimes on his back on top of my body pillow with his head propped on my shoulder. We are moving him to his crib in the next 2 weeks when it gets delivered.

irishprincess135

My LO is the same way. She wouldn't sleep on her back to save anything. I tried everything, swaddling, elevating and nothing worked. She loves sleeping on her stomach. I know everyone is worried about SIDS and so was my husband and I but my mother and mother in law (plus a lot of friends that recently had babies) all told me that SIDS causes are unknown and kids used to sleep on their stomachs all the time and they lived. Just monitor and see how it goes. That's what I did and she is perfectly happy and healthy!

pb&fluff

CurlyQ284:

DS has slept on his belly on my chest since birth. Sometimes on his back on top of my body pillow with his head propped on my shoulder. We are moving him to his crib in the next 2 weeks when it gets delivered.

Wow!  How do you relax with him on your chest??

lkm2006

DS1 slept on his tummy since birth, and still does!

SIDS may have been reduced since the "back to sleep", but since it is unknown, there are a lot of other factors that may be credited to that (the decrease is smoking is a pretty big one).  As long as you are smart and reduce any other factors (NO smoking, keep a fan on, don't dress baby too warmly, etc) I say let your baby sleep how he/she does best!

If it makes you feel any better, invest in a movement monitor such as the angelcare.  I had it with DS and will be using it again with this baby.  It was worth every single penny!  I actually know someone IRL whose baby stopped breathing in the middle of the night (he wasn't on his belly) about 2 months ago and they would have never known if it wasn't for their angelcare system. 

sschwege

DS sleeps on his belly during the day for naps if we are right there with him.  Our pedi actually encouraged me to do this provided we were awake and with him.  Her big concern with all of her patients is 'flat head', so that's why she thinks it's a good thing.  Again we have to be right there with him.

For night he always sleeps on his back.  Do you swaddle?  I know both my kids would not have slept on their back had I not swaddled. 

Tennis Chick

Kemare20:

irishprincess135:

My LO is the same way. She wouldn't sleep on her back to save anything. I tried everything, swaddling, elevating and nothing worked. She loves sleeping on her stomach. I know everyone is worried about SIDS and so was my husband and I but my mother and mother in law (plus a lot of friends that recently had babies) all told me that SIDS causes are unknown and kids used to sleep on their stomachs all the time and they lived. Just monitor and see how it goes. That's what I did and she is perfectly happy and healthy!

SIDS has been reduced by over 50% by putting babies to sleep on their backs. So while they don't know exactly WHY babies die from SIDS, they have found a way to reduce it by 50%. 

They are getting closer and closer to finding out the cause of SIDS. Babies normally sleep much deeper on their tummy which has been proven to be dangerous. You don't WANT an infant to sleep deeply.

My advice is to keep trying. It is your sole purpose in your baby's life is to keep her fed, comfortable and SAFE. If your baby threw a fit and screamed her head off every time you buckled her in her car seat, would you just give in and not buckle her? Absolutely not. Even though the chances of getting in a wreck are pretty low- you would NEVER risk it. I don't see what the difference is between that and making sure your baby is sleeping safe.

Remember, infancy is fleeting. It is gone in an instant. These sleepless night WILL end. Your baby WILL learn to sleep on her back, or she will learn to roll over on her own where it is then deemed okay to leave them on their belly.

All of this. It is not worth risking my child's life so he'll sleep better. To each their own.