Baby sleeping on stomach...is their sleep worth the risk?

KittyKittyCat17 · May 2014

Today has been a total nightmare. My son is 8 days old today and from about 3am this morning he has been inconsolable.

He refused to lay down, he barely tolerated be held, he would be calm for a bit then start crying. He would only fall asleep in my or my husband's arms and even that was short lived and if we tried to lay him down he woke up within minutes crying which turned to screams. I don't think he slept for a solid hour once today.

It wasn't gas, his belly was soft, he had a poo diaper and plenty of pee diapers and burps with each feeding.

Finally at 9pm after I decided to lay him on his belly and rub his back to calm him he fell asleep pretty quickly, and he has been laying there sound asleep for 2 hours and has only shifted around one time. He is completely passed out and content.

He is a big baby and has an unusually strong neck and already holds his own head up for 30-60 seconds and can lift his head and turn it side to side so I wasn't as nervous there but I've been watching him like a hawk but I feel so scared because I know you are not supposed to put them on their belly but this is literally the only real sleep he's gotten all day, he has barely stirred!

I asked my mother about it and of course her response was "I put you and your sisters on your tummy's and you were fine" but that's still not comforting to me, as baby's on tummy's used to be the norm.

I read some different things online from some people saying that if that's the only way your baby will sleep then to just let them do it, but I just don't know.

I'm going to wake him up to feed him momentarily and attempt to put him on his back when he's ready for sleep again but I don't know what to do if he starts up again like he's been all day. If he does it again tomorrow I fear that I'll have to put him on his belly again just to let him get some sleep!

Advice?

RACHELAD616 · May 2014

My daughter also sleeps so much better on her belly, but I would only put her to sleep like that for a nap when I was right next to her. She also has great neck/head control. One night I decided to just let her sleep on her belly because she had been fussy, I have the angel care movement sensor so I feel better that the monitor will let me know if she stops breathing. She's been sleeping on her belly for 7hr stretches for two months now but I don't think I would feel comfortable without the sensor.

flcl · May 2014

OP: Congrats on your LO! I'm sorry to hear that you two had such a rough day. Do you use any other strategies to help baby sleep? I know my little guy will NOT sleep at night without being swaddled or without his sound machine, even though he'll nap during the day without both.

As @WisconsinCheese12 mentioned, maybe you can have LO start on his back and then flip him after he's asleep. A girlfriend of mine has a DD who screams bloody murder any time she's put on her back so my friend would just lay her on her tummy, wait until she fell asleep, and then flipped her over. Best of luck... that first month was so challenging for me. Hang in there!

jasi704 · May 2014

I had the same problem. DS was a terrible sleeper unless he was on his tummy. He also had a very strong neck so I didn't worry too too much about it, but I still checked on him all the time, so much that I never really got any sleep. So I finally bought the Snuzza Hero a week ago and now I feel totally comfortable letting him sleep on his tummy. And I moved him to his crib. He was previously in a bassinet in my room. He now sleeps 5-6 hour stretches!

tbmadeamistake · May 2014

I flipped my now two-year-old to her tummy at about four weeks. She slept so much better, which meant we all did. I tend not to worry much, and she had excellent head and neck control. I had done all the research about SIDS and risks of suffocation and we had zero other risk factors, so I was comfortable with it. When my pedi asked, I gave that answer and she was also fine with it. HTH!

kalette · May 2014

Between 3-5 months lo will decide for you how they want to sleep. DD learned to roll to her belly at 3 months and that was it for sleeping on her back.

roo1oo · May 2014

I wouldn't let LO sleep on his tummy overnight, but regularly for naps he would fall asleep on my chest which was pretty much on his tummy.

At that age, you can get them to fall asleep in your arms and move them to the bed without them waking. I personally would keep on doing this and not let LO sleep in your arms as you need LO to get used to sleeping somewhere other than your arms. Just keep trying as much as you can throughout the day for every nap/sleep situation. If LO sometimes has to sleep in your arms then so be it. You could also try letting LO fall asleep on his tummy and once sound asleep rolling him over. The more he sleeps on his back, the more used he'll get to it. It will NOT happen overnight, or even in a week, but if you keep at it your LO will get used to sleeping where you want him to.

Have you tried letting him sleep in the swing?

KTdidit · May 2014

From day 1 DS refused to sleep if put on his back. He would jerk himself awake every time. Hated being swaddled. For 3 weeks he slept in my arms in bed. Finally I let him nap on his tummy and he slept for 4 hours straight without a peep. I realized that letting him sleep on his tummy in his crib was less dangerous than in bed with me and DH. Pedi confirmed it was perfectly fine. Turns out DS has reflux and sleeping on his tummy helps. So tummy it is.

Maybe let LO nap on his tummy for a while so ease your fears....

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Baby sleeping on stomach...is their sleep worth the risk?

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