6-Month Old Getting Stuck on Her Stomach

Meanwhile...

she is small enough you could put her in a car seat so she can't roll over - she probably dreams about it and does it - or something else you can strap her into. I put my son in a Fisher Price rocking chair for a while.

T.,

This is a normal phase. Both my daughters went through it. You just have to be patient and wait until she is ready to roll the other way. As far as the sleeping thing, my doctor told me not to worry about it and not to wake the girls up or try to roll them over. They are perfectly capable of turning their heads if they need more air. While the "Back to Sleep" campaign has been helpful in reducing SIDS, it has also bred a lot of fear in parents that their children will die if they sleep on their stomachs. If it makes you more comfortable, you could try a sleep positioner, but I found that at this stage, my children were perfectly capable of either rolling themselves out of the positioner altogether, or of rolling facedown in the sleep positioner.

I know it's not easy, but I would really recommend that you try to just breathe deeply and let it go. As long as you provide plenty of tummy time, she will finish rolling when she is ready. Until then, just make sure she gets plenty of sleep and try not to stress about it.

Best of luck,
S.

If the sheets are tight fitted, nothing else in the crib and NO BUMPERS then she should be fine. If the mattress is firm and though it seems she is face down she isn't obviously, there are reflexes wired in our brains that if we aren't breathing that will get us to move.
If she is strong enough to roll over on her stomach, she is fine. My son started right before he turned 5 mos and I freaked. My Dr told me 100% not to worry. He wouldn't stay in a back positioner, nothing so I just let him sleep on his stomach. He is fine and now just turned four!!! Still seems there are times I go to tuck him in and at four he is almost face down in the pillow but he is fine and breathing.

Let her be, Maybe even try now laying her on her tummy to fall asleep so she doesn't wake up when she moves over. If you have tried a back positioner and she is still getting on her tummy, take everything out of the crib and just let her sleep on her tummy. She is fine as long as there is nothing to block her face. Bumpers are bad and should not be in cribs anymore and can cause harm if babies are movers like yours.

I had the same problem when my son was about 5 months old. It took a couple of weeks, and I did some "practicing" with him during the day helping him roll from front to back. Eventually he figured it out and still sleeps on his tummy now and then.

T.,
Hey it is S. and we are in the same boat! I do have Luke's bumper pads still in and after reading this, I will probably take them off. He has been doing the same thing since I returned Houston! I have been waking up and nursing him back to sleep. Last night was the first time he only got up once versus 3 times or more. When I do get him in the morning, he is on his tummy with his head turned to the side. It is frustrating because I know he knows how to roll back over!
Take care and let's walk soon!

Basically, you have to wait it out! Within a couple of weeks, she will be competently rolling back and forth... in the meantime you'll be in for some sleepless nights. She may just get used to sleeping on her tummy, or she may cry every time she ends up there. Going in and rolling her over is pretty much pointless, a big exercise in frustration. I agree with the other posters in that there is no concern with her sleeping on her tummy at this point.

I don't blame you for being nervous about her sleeping on her tummy. We have collectively been trained to think that a child sleeping on their tummy is a death sentence. You can confirm this with your pediatrician - but once your child can roll over, as long as you don't have any pillows, loose sheets, bumpers or stuffed animals in the crib, your child is perfectly safe on her tummy. The same thing that keeps kids from suffocating when they are breast feeding keeps them from suffocating on a flat sheet - their noses are just not designed to get blocked. Just continue to put her to sleep on her back & let her roll over or sleep however she wants. So just make sure nothing is in her crib & try not to worry. Having her wake up when she does roll over, however, is a different problem. With my oldest kid, I was given the book, 'How to Solve Your Child's Sleeping Problems' by Ferber. It gives hints as to how to get your kids to sleep & keep them asleep all night starting at about 6 months of age. I tried it with all 3 of my kids and by 7 months of age all 3 of my kids were regularly sleeping through the night without waking. It is extremely rare for me to get up with them - maybe 3 or 4 times a year! It's great. Good luck!

I worried about my son too until i talked to my mother-in-law who is an rn, nurse. She said that by that age, they can move their head if they want to. i let my son sleep that way. for the first few weeks, i would turn his head when i checked on him. All i do now is pray he'll be ok, and that i would know or feel something if something is wrong. Even if the thought crosses my mind to check on him, i do. that's what i do. hope it helps.

My son went through this for a few nights as well, until he figured out that he could sleep on his stomach. You baby will also learn this, and she will get better at going from stomach to back as well. In the meantime, all I can suggest is just checking on her, not rolling her over if she isn't really awake (i.e. whimpering in her sleep), and hope that she figures it out soon! Good luck!

I iam having the same problem! My almost 5 month old started rolling to her tummy at almost 4 months and it has been a month and she still can't get to her back - it is very frustrating to watch! As soon as she figured out how to roll to her tummy, I made her figure out how to fall asleep on her tummy. After just a few nights of me getting up to comfort her (rub her back or feed her) she eventually figured that out. The problem is during nap, she gets really upset if she wakes up on her tummy and then won't go back down. I'm also wondering at what point she'll figure out how to roll back - it shouldn't be too long, right?! I also work with her to try to teach her, but she's just not getting it. I guess i dont' have a whole lot advice, since i'm in the same boat. My opinion is that if she can roll onto her tummy, she will naturally be fine. It would just be nice if she could get back so she'd be happier. If you figure anything out, let me know!

I would get a sleep positioner until she learns to roll onto her back from her belly. You just put it in her crib and then put her in between the two bumper type things and it will keep her from rolling onto her belly. I'm not sure where you can get them because I got mine as a gift, but I'm sure any baby store would have them like Babies R Us or probably even Target, Walmart, or Kmart. Then I would just keep working with her during the day to help her learn to roll from her belly to her back. Good luck!

as long as she's learning the rolling pattern,
place a little pillow so that it supports her left side, and the one on the right side,
so that when she starts the turning motion in her sleep,
then these pillows (or little blankies rolled up) will prevent this motion to be completed.
But then, maybe she wants to sleep on her side,
you investigate this thing also, look at daytime, what id her favorite position,
as then you can adjust those pillows.
If she sleeps about 4 hours on her back, it's ok, but if 8, then maybe it won't be so comfy, you know...

wishing you all a good sleep and great dreams !!! :)