Crap- I think I have a belly sleeper...

GVSU-04 · October 2011

So, like many others, sleeping has been a big issue for LO. He started out great in his bassinet. Around 3 weeks, things went south. He'd break out of every swaddle we put him in. He'd start crying if he couldn't (miracle blanket, swaddle me's). I realized that he would wake himself up by kicking, which would lead to either unswaddled waving arms or struggles/crying. This would happen within 15 minutes of being put in the bassinet or the crib.

The only way he was getting sleep was doing it on me or DH. At first, I thought he liked to sleep in an upright position. He'd always fall asleep on our shoulders, never in a cradle (belly up hold). Then, I realized I could slide down horizontally on the couch and he was fine- as long as he was on his belly. I started flipping him over so he'd sleep on his back (while on top me). He'd start kicking and wake himeself up on me too.

I came to the epiphany last night (I blame sleep deprivation that it took me so long) that maybe it's not sleeping on me or DH he likes... maybe it's his belly. So, he's been napping for the last 35 minutes on his belly. I'm sitting in the nursery watching him and he's totally content (just farted and let out a happy sigh).

Now I'm not sure what to do... it seems like belly sleeping is his thing. Obviously we've been told (and told and told) by numerous sources that this is bad. Do we sacrifice sleep and keep putting him on his back only to pick him up 15 minutes later? Or do we let him sleep on his belly, which will probably lead to less sleep for me because I'm now worried about him suffocating.

We have an Angel Care Monitor, but we haven't installed it yet. There are also no other SIDS risks (no smoke, bumper, blankets, we have a fan going). Anyone else have a belly sleeper? What would/do you do in this situation?

Corbin30 · October 2011

My now-9year old daughter was (and is) a belly sleeper. We had a rough time trying to get her to sleep on her back. I actually didn't ever let her sleep on her tummy until she started rolling (which she did very very early). The first few nights after that I even got up multiple times to flip her back onto her back, which did not work. Once I gave up and decided that if she was strong enough to flip herself over, she would likely be fine we finally got some sleep.

I'm sorry, I know that doesn't answer any of your questions. I just know that for us, no one slept well until we let her sleep the way she wanted.

kermit0883 · October 2011

How does your little one do with lifting his head and moving his head side to side while on his belly? We went through the same exact thing with our little guy! Our son held his head up from day one so I wasn't too nervous...and I think he was around 2-3mths when I started putting him on his belly to sleep, and it worked like a charm! By the time he was 4 1/2 - 5mths old he was sleeping 9hrs a night, and by 5 1/2 - 6mths he was sleeping 11-12hrs a night! He is 7mths now and still sleeping that long and it's wonderful!!!
I know they say to only put baby on their back, but my son didn't like it...and really, people used to put babies on their bellies all the time and lived through it. If your baby moves his head well, and you feel comfortable with it, I would just do what makes you comfortable. I wouldn't swaddle him while on his belly....we swaddled from the arm pits down for our son so he still stayed secure and warm!

Good luck momma! Follow what your instinct tells you! Hope you can get some sleep soon! =D

GVSU-04 · October 2011

His head control is decent- he can move it around when we do tummy time. He's also great at holding it up when he's upright.

I know that we all used to be put on our tummies to sleep, I'm just a worry wart- I tend to find things to worry about when it comes to LO. I've been due for something else to worry about, so I guess this is it.

kermit0883 · October 2011

I'd say, just do what your comfortable with! The first couple of times I put our little guy on his belly I watched him closely, but I eventually got used to it and enjoyed all of the sleep I started getting!

kujanpup · October 2011

Mine did the same thing. My husband actually started putting him on the belly and he would sleep great length of time. I use to wake up alot to check on him. He is 14 weeks old, can flip himself over, had decent head control, so now I'm doing better letting him sleep like this.

I'm still terrified something will happen to him but I think I'll be that way if he is sleeping on his belly or not!

Good luck!

OUKap · October 2011

As an alternative, have you tried to have her sleep on her back but with the legs curled up...like the rock n play sleeper by FP.

LO sleeps best in the moby and car seat because her legs are not flat.

alstumb@gmail.com · October 2011

I know we have a belly sleeper. He will sleep on his back, but sometimes it takes a long time to get him to sleep...he fights and fights and usually only sleeps 2 hours at a time at night. One day we put him on his playmat for some tummy time and he passed out literally like 30 seconds after we laid him down! We thought he must have just been exceptionally tired...but we soon figured out that we could lay him on his tummy when he's tired and he will fall asleep all by himself...and FAST. The only time I let him sleep on his tummy is during the day when I am in the same room as him. He will take naps on his playmat, but I sit on the couch right by him and am constantly making sure he's still breathing. He has pretty good head control for his age...he was lifting his head off of us the day he was born...but I'd still never be comfortable letting him sleep that way at night. I can't wait for the day that he can roll over. I think we will let him sleep on his tummy then and hopefully we can have longer stretches of sleep at night!

Ledabe · October 2011

My LO slept in RNP until a month old then hated it. We tried swaddle, swing, different places to sleep and nothing worked. I also realized that LO would sleep on my chest, so I placed her on the stomach, and she slept GREAT! I informed my pedi and of course he said he couldn't say it was ok, but that his kids slept that way and I probably grew up that way too. She can turn her head side to side. I feel comfortable with it.

joeymylove · October 2011

I'm sorry for all the anxiety this is causing you! My LO has been a belly sleeper from the start, and there wasn't a whole lot we could do about it. He had a 5 day stay in the NICU after he was born and the nurses let him sleep on his tummy the whole time he was there! He was miserable attempting to sleep any other way once we brought him home. We also tried the baby tummy down on our chests, but I was terrified of ending up with a baby who would ONLY sleep on us. At 6 weeks, things got pretty miserable. Even fully swaddled, he was startling asleep every 15 minutes, furious at being on his back. One night I finally put him on his stomach and slept on the floor next to his crib. Instead of waking every 15 minutes, he slept for 5 hours straight! It was glorious! DH and I talked about it and decided that it was a personal choice to allow him to continue sleeping on his stomach. He has amazing head control and is very mobile in his crib. I feel confident that with no other risk factors present and his mobility, he should be perfectly fine. I hope this helps. Best of luck with your LO and I hope the anxiety eases up a bit too!

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