rolling over/sleep question

[scout]

My ds (four months old) has been rolling over for a few weeks now. We swaddle for bedtime and naps, but tonight we put him down without swaddling. He immediately rolled to his tummy. He fell asleep on his tummy--with his face smooshed in the mattress and didn't turn it to the side. He was breathing fine, but I was paranoid and rolled him over to his back. He woke up ten minutes later, having startled himself awake by moving his arms.

I know that once a baby can roll over the risk of SIDS drops, but I just read that the risk of SIDS triples if a back sleeping baby suddenly starts to sleep on his tummy.

What do the rest of you do? Do you put your baby on his/her back and do they stay that way, or do they roll over on their tummies? Ugh. This sleep stuff is stressing me out.

[bluhimmy]

My DS always preferred to sleep on his tummy and it used to freak me out! I was so worried about SIDS. If he was on his back, his arms would move and he'll startle himself awake. So when DS was younger, I would put him down on his tummy to nap, it was the only way I could get him to sleep other than in my arms. However, I was next to him the entire time so I had my eye on him. Once he's sleeping on his own, he gets placed on his back, but he always ends up on his tummy or side

I was told by my ped. that once babies start rolling over on their own, there's not much you can do. Can your DS move lift his head up? If so, I think you can rest a little easier. Also, have you tried putting him on his side? There's a side position where the arm underneath is stretch straight out, so it sort of makes it harder to rollover onto the tummy.

HTH,

[dzmattie]

My son would do the exact same thing - it made us nuts. We ended up just putting him to sleep on his back and if he rolled over we just checked on him often. He also got a cold around that time and the ped recommended him sleeping in his car seat. This also helped our fear of the tummy sleeping - at least for a couple weeks. The sleep positioners don't work for that age so we didn't try that. Strange that the peds don't have any recommendations for this issue - I researched like crazy and found nothing!! All I can say is if your baby is strong and healthy the risk is probably very very minimal - but I know that won't ease your fear...sorry I can't be of more help.

[scout]

Thanks for the responses. My ds holds his head up very well, but he still smooshes it into the mattress when sleeping. It's driving me crazy. I put him on his back and he immediately rolls over. I roll him back....he rolls back over. Strange that the peds don't have any recommendations for this issue - I researched like crazy and found nothing! I know! Are most babies happy sleeping on their backs so this isn't a big issue?

[LeighW]

Once my DD learned to roll over (at 12 weeks), we put her in her crib on her back, but didn't reposition her after she rolled over. She would roll over immediately and has slept exclusively on her tummy ever since.

I remember calling my ped in a panic, and she said, well, you can either stand there and watch her all night or get some sleep yourself. I watched her for 2 nights and then gave up and went to bed myself.

For my DD, the face-smooshed-in-the-mattress position didn't last long. Within a week or two she was turning her head to the side.

HTH.

[ce_Kathleen]

As soon as my DS could roll he too would turn to his tummy after I put him in the crib on his back. I would roll him over or try to prop him on his side but after talking to my ped and my mom (RN) both said once they are able to roll there isn't much you can do.

Even now at 10.5 months DS still sleeps on his tummy with his arms under him and his face in the mattress. I think he must get it from DH!

It still worries me and I do check on him even now (just before I go to bed I check on him) but I figure at this point there isn't much I can do, he is crawling and standing in the crib and I know he is definitely strong enough to move if/when he needs to.

Can your DS roll from back to tummy and tummy to back? If so I wouldn't worry too much. I was most concerned in the beginning b/c DS could roll onto his tummy but not from tummy to back.

[Hedwig]

Usually kids learn to roll over by about 3 months...after that the risk of SIDS is greatly reduced. My daughter would bury her face in the mattress too, but she was fine. If you keep flipping him back over, you will just disrupt his sllep and probably make your life stink (due to a tired baby)! If you are very worried, just keep checking but more than likely at 4 months, he will be fine! :)

[scout]

Thanks, everyone! You're right--I can't keep watching him 24/7 and roll him back. He's a horrendous sleeper, and I know that tummy sleeping will probably help him sleep better. So many worries for a new mom, huh?

For my DD, the face-smooshed-in-the-mattress position didn't last long. Within a week or two she was turning her head to the side. That's good! I hope my ds figures this out!

[Daniel's Kitty]

Is there anything you can do for adults? :rolleyes: I hope my baby sleeps more like me instead of DH. He sleeps like a mummy all rolled up in blankets even over his face, and his head under the pillow sometimes. That is why I like the idea of gowns and fleece sleepers. I will be watching all night otherwise since I sometimes wonder how DH doesn't suffocate himself.

[marchfamily]

Scout-
My DD started rolling at 4 months. Around the same time, she started sleeping on her stomach. Still makes me nervous, but she can roll back. And, I agree, I hate seeing their little faces buried into the matress! P.S. DD has terrible sleeping habits (much like your little one). I find that she sleeps longer/better on her stomach.

[amychris03]

*bump*

My DS is a little over 5 months old, and can roll both ways. He goes to sleep on his back, but if he wakes up in the night, he rolls over. At first he would cry and want to be turned back over if he worked himself into an odd position and couldnt get back onto his back by himself (he tends to roll more towards the right). Now he goes back to sleep like that. I usually go in there and turn him over again, which wakes him up and then he decides he needs to eat. This morning he was on his tummy, sucking his thumb, and almost back to sleep when I went in there. When is it ok not to flip them? DH thinks I should keep doing it...

[ginandchris]

I'm just here to say I'm in the same boat as amychris03 DD can roll from back to tummy, but not from tummy to back. She doesn't usually want to eat after waking herself up, its just really tiring getting up and having to roll her over. Thank goodness last night was only 2 times!:(

[Susan]

Bumping this up because I am dealing with this exact issue with my DD right now.

She will be 5 months in a little over a week, and she has just recently been rolling over to her tummy in her crib at night. A few times now I have found her on her tummy, face down in the mattress. And she doesn't cry or act like she is in distress, so I really have no warning of when this happens. I just happened to check those few times and found her that way. It freaks me out! I try rolling her back over, but then she just rolls right back. I did notice that she finally turned her head slightly to the side at one point last night, so that I could see her nose and mouth - but I have no idea how long she would stay face down. I am so stressed over this that I fell asleep in her nursery last night watching her from the glider. :( Any one else dealing with this? What did you do to give you peace of mind that your DC isn't going to suffocate? She has strong head and neck control when she does tummy time during the day, yet still sleeps with her face smooshed into the mattress sometimes. It's making me a crazy person. :(

ETA - She is becoming very good at rolling from back to tummy, but not from tummy to back yet.

[jenjunum]

My daughter started rolling over at about 2 months and from about 2-3 months she still slept swaddled. When she learned how to roll over in the swaddle, I put a rolled up towel on either side of her up to her armpits (she wasn't able to move enough to ever get her face near the towels so I was comfortable doing that. At about 3-3.5 months I stopped swaddling but left the towels so she would stay on her back. Sometimes she would roll over to her side but she couldn't get to her stomach. At some point around 4-5 months I took the towels away because she was just moving too much. Now she will roll onto her stomach but always turns her head to the side. I let her sleep on her stomach at this point. I still put her to bed on her back and encourage her to sleep on her back or side, but let her sleep on her stomach if she ends up that way (she does not sleep face down). She probably sleeps on her stomach about 1/2 of the time.

[PookiePrincess]

My DD was a older when she started sleeping on her belly. She was about 7 1/2 months and I went in to check on her one night and she was on her tummy. I worried all evening and then decided to flip her back over before I went to bed. She had rolled both directions by that time, but it wasn't something that she did regularly (I knew she could roll, she just chose not to). Now she pretty much always sleeps on her tummy. I still put her down on her back, but she immediately rolls to her tummy. She never really did the sleep with her face down thing though.

Could you go in and turn her head? (I know that doesn't mean it will stay that way though.)

[isign]

DS, 14 months, still likes to sleep with his head/face smooshed into something like his bumper pads, or the mattress. If he's sleeping with us he moves under our pillows, which freaks me out. He's just now starting to sleep on his back, ONLY if he's in our bed, not his.

[TracyDP]

I believe 99% of babies naturally want to sleep on their tummys. It's most like the fetal position and feels comforting. The reason "back to sleep" works to prevent SIDS (one reason anyway) is that babies don't sleep as deeply on their backs so they wake up easier if there is a problem. My DD began sleeping on her stomach the minute I unswaddled her (or I should say the minute she learned to break out of her swaddle) and I let her. I wasn't going to constantly fight with her to force her to sleep in a way she obviously didn't want to. Now at 14m she almost ALWAYS sleeps on her stomach with her butt up in the air and her face mashed into the mattress. There is a reason that in yoga/pilates they call it "childs pose" when you are face down with your butt in the air. ;)

[Susan]

Thanks everyone! Just an update - I think I am going to have to accept the fact that DD is becoming a tummy sleeper (as much as it worries me). I spent a couple nights in a row going in to check on her a gazillion times - and rolling her back over from her tummy to her back. But, she just rolls right back on to her tummy the second after I roll her over - so, it was doing no good, and messing with her sleep. DH and I went out and bought the Angelcare monitor, which is giving us some peace of mind. I have noticed that she seems to be turning her head to the side now, and not smooshing her face into the mattress as much, so at least that. I will say that she has been sleeping SO much better these last few nights that she has been on her tummy. I still put her down to sleep on her back (if nothing but to be able to say that I do, LOL), but she is on her tummy within seconds. It's just funny, she has always disliked being on her tummy during tummy time, but now she wants to sleep on it! I do still check on her often, but I am just hoping that with her being almost 5 months, I don't need to stress quite as much about this (since her head and neck control is very good now).

Thanks for everyone's input!