Sleeping on stomach!

[tjackson02]

Please help! My LO is four and a half months old now and has figured out how to roll onto her stomach. Has not quite mastered rolling from stomach to back. She has great control over her head and neck. My fear is that she's now begun to do this in her crib while sleeping. Earlier, she napped while on her stomach and was fine. My worry is that she will seamlessly maneuver onto her stomach and I won't be able to hear her with SIDS occurring mostly in infants younger than six months.

Are there any solutions to aid her in staying on her back while sleeping? I'm quite worried, as you can tell! 

[PokerDad]

I always allowed Cub to sleep on his stomach.

The significant threat is suffocation. I'd wager that the overwhelming majority of SIDS cases are nothing more than suffocation. There's also an effluvia type of theory that explains a portion of the cases. For these reasons, I'd recommend BabeSafe or similar, no pillows, no toys - and relax a bit.

But, others are welcome to disagree with me here.
 

[Kimba15]

What poker dad says is fine. As soon as mine could get on to their stomach and sleep that way, they did. I totally freaked out but my DH reminded me that if they can get into that position they can get out of it to. If you wish to improve safety you can get rid of the cot and just put the mattress on the floor like they do in Montessori Bedrooms. Google Montessori Infant bedrooms to see how they are set up. Made for maximum movement of the child.

[Kimba15]

Here are some images

[Kimba15]

Here are some more

[Kristiina]

Karma for you Kimba! Great posts again!

[GeniusExperiment]

With my first daughter I insisted she sleep on her back and it was a total nightmare, she just wouldn't sleep especially when she had a blocked nose. With my second daughter I quickly realised she can sleep much better on her tummy, researched it extensively and then decided it is safe. She slept on her tummy since she was 2 weeks old. If you read the actual research papers, they hardly have any proof (I couldn't actually find any conclusive proof) that sleeping on your back is safer. In the US research, SIDS cases had slept on their tummy disproportionately, but SIDS cases were also higher among immigrants, smokers, poorer people etc. and it seemed like letting a child sleep on the tummy (which is the natural position) is more common among immigrant communities. One major reason they cite as "evidence" is that SIDS rates have halved since the "back to sleep" - campaign but a) this campaign was about much more than sleeping on your back but a general awareness campaign, so it is not clear it is down to babies sleeping on their backs more and b) actual infant deaths haven't really gone down by much at all, it is just that what we call SIDS (unexplained death) has gone down but explained deaths (suffocation, heart failure, child abuse) have gone up accordingly so it isn't actually clear that SIDS cases were reduced at all through sleeping on the back. Also, I have noticed that A LOT of babies sleep on their tummy, parents just won't talk about it because of the stigma associated with it. I was really secretive about what I did with my second daughter at first, but EVERY SINGLE mum I told it to as the months passed confessed to me their baby was sleeping on their tummy, too!!!!

So don't worry too much about it, especially at four months!!! Formula feeding also doubles or triples SIDS risk versus breastfeeding according to the same studies and no-one freaks out about formula feeding as much, so it's really not such a big deal.

[Tamsyn]

Doman recommends that babies sleep on their stomachs from birth on a crawling track.  I haven't done this yet, but his advice makes sense.  He says babies are upside down on their backs, and they do a lot of crawling while they sleep.  So tummy sleeping is good if you give them a safe environment.  I haven't done this simply because I co-sleep, I like my baby to be close to me, and on my bed, their back is safer.  But I'm second guessing myself.  Next baby I will try harder to do nap time on the track.  Once they can roll on their tummies on their own, I let them.  Even if they couldn't roll over, they're strong enough to lift their head to not suficate and cry for help if necessary.

[BTBVEN]

My daughter's never enjoyed sleeping on her tummy...she's always been more comfortable sleeping on her back and she doesn't roll-around much in her sleep. She's in a sleeping bag in a cot-bed. I guess, each baby is different, just have to go with what makes them comfortable and allows for a restful sleep.

[Humbler9]

Tjackson,

My wife and I bought products that detected the babies breathing and/or moving.  One such device is called the Snuza.  None of these products are cheap.  You are most likely looking to spend at least $150 US.  They really gave us a peace of mind when sleeping though.  For us....  Expensive but worth it.

I think there is a study out that that also linked the chances for a baby to die from SIDS with their health.  If I'm not mistaken, babies with respiratory problems have a higher chance of dying from SIDS. 

My wife and I were overprotective, but to each their own.  Our doctor also said that once a child has learned to roll over, there isn't much you can do.  Research and ask your doctor.  Then make a decision that you are comfortable with.  Like I mentioned above, a SNUZA may help you with your worries.

John

[tjackson02]

Thank you all so very much! Being a first time mommy, I was worried about SIDS and suffocation because that's what EVERYTHING emphasizes these days and then becomes a worry, especially when the parents on sites that I've read stated how sleeping on their tummies was not recommended. I then specifically researched children sleeping on their stomachs and was relieved to know it was a lot more common than I had originally though. Granted I checked on her every hour, but everything went well over night.

I do agree that she will cry if necessary (she tends to get frustrated easily) in which the monitor will go off, so I'll be able to catch it.

Thank you all! I'm not as worried as I was before! 

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