i have a little turkey foot who is 16 weeks old--amazingly active and a all around GREAT little boy!! he has yet to master rolling over, or so daddy and i thought! when we went into his room to check on him this morning, he was lying on his stomach!! AHHHH. my questions are, though i know it is better for him in regards to SIDS to sleep on his back, what is the SIDS risk for an infant his age? what is the SIDS risk if HE is turning over and placing himself in the position? and is it risky to use a "wedge" to keep him on his back or side during the night? just curious. i am also contacting our pediatrician, but wanting mommy advice as well.
thanks!
When my daughter began rolling over, I told my dr. she would keep rolling over to her stomach while she was sleeping and asked if I should be concerned. He told me not to worry about it because she was strong enough to roll over so it would be ok. We didn't really go into a discussion on SIDS so I don't have any information on that.
I tried the wedge at first to keep my son on his side. I never put him on his back b/c he spit up a lot and even choked and turned blue in the hospital nursery. When I tried to keep him on his side he was up every hour. I put him on his stomach at about 2 or 3 weeks old and he started sleeping so much better and only got up every 4 hours to eat.
My son will be 5 years old later this month. My dgt. will be 3 years next month. My pediatrician said that when they started rolling over on their own it was ok for them to sleep that way. I always put them to sleep on their back though.
My niece is 5 months old and has been rolling over for quite a while now. My sister asked her pediatrician about it and he asked how long she slept that way for. My sister said 10-12 hours! He said it was ok if she was rolling over herself. Hope this helps.
I would also say to make sure not to put any blankets, pillows, toys, or anything else in the bed with the baby. Instead of a blanket, you could use one of the halo sleepsacks. Good luck!
From what I've read you can't really control what position they sleep in once they start rolling over. Take everything out of his crib including blankets and bumper. If it makes you more comfortable and if you have room, move his crib into your room for a couple of months. I have a 13 week old so I'm not far behind you. Right now she sleeps in a basinet in our room. I'm looking forward to her rolling over but I'm not looking forward to her moving out of our room.
Hi D.,
Doctors say that once the baby is capable of rolling, it is ok for him/her to be on his/her stomach. Just make sure you don't have stuffed animals, blankets, or toys in the crib with him at bed time.
A..
Hi! My name is A. and i have a 6 month old girl. The SIDS stage is from birth to 12 months i think not sure. But my daughter has slept on her stomache since she was about 16 weeks and she refuses to sleep on her back. I believe it would be ok to place a wedge. Hope i have helped you out a little.
I have 2 children - Trenton is 3 1/2 & Jacob is 9 months. Both of them selpt on their stomach since the first day they were born! They wouldn't sleep any other way. With my first child, I used a wedge and it seemed to work okay. If your child is rolling over on his own a wedge might get in the way. The daycare always told me that they couldn't put him on his stomach to sleep until he could roll over - that was state rules for Georgia.
What I have heard is that generally if the baby is strong enough to roll over on his own, he should be strong enough to turn his head to the side if he is not getting air. I don't think you have anything to worry about. I have never used a wedge or sleep positioner. I don't think it would be necessary. Glad you're checking with the doc though.
I used a sleep positioner for a while when she was first born. After she learned to control herself rolling over in the positioner, I took it out and now she just sleeps how she wants. Sometimes she will get all turned around and when I check on her I just fix her position and lay her on her back. They say giving them a paci helps reduce SIDS. Sometimes she sleeps on her side or even on her stomach occasionally but I believe she is strong enough to roll back over if she can't breathe. Once he has gotten the rolling over down, I wouldnt worry about it so much.
D.,
My little one was doing the same thing early on. Just remove any blankets and toys from the crib. I lost a sister to SIDS so it was terrifying for me at the beginning, but my son couldn't get to sleep any other way. (Now is when it's really cute - he tucks his arms under and pushes his bootie up the air). Anyway - watch him for a night if you are nervous, talk to your pediatrician and relax - all kids are different and you happen to have an active little turkey foot :).
D.,
Obviously, check with your ped, but I think once a child is physically rolling over on their own I don't think you should need to worry because they have enough strength to move their head from side to side. I also would think if you tried to restrain your child from rolling over he may have a difficult time sleeping because he actually may prefer sleeping on his stomach.
Good luck.
I have 2 children, now 5 & 2. My daughter was our first, so I did everything by the book, but she had a lot of spitting up issues and I was scared she'd choke lying on her back so I used the wedge to keep her on her side. My daughter loved to be cuddled, until she got mobile, so she loved the wedge. I think it was comforting and felt safe to her.
With my son (the "belly baby"), I found he would get mad at the wedge because he couldn't turn over onto his belly! I guess if your son is like mine was, very active and can easily move his head on his own, then he would probably enjoy having his belly time and sleep better.
Each child is different, good luck finding what works for your little "turkey foot" :) A.
I was always told once they were able to roll over they would be fine. With my first son when he would roll over I would roll him back over and people laughed at me. So I just let him sleep on his stomach and he seemed to sleep better. Now my twins are rolling over and I just leave them on their stomachs too. Hope that helped
Stay at home mom of 3. Two year old son Davis, and 5 month old twins Will and Emily.
if hes actually rolling over on his own it would be more dangerous for you to put something in there to try to keep him from doing it. And rolling over leads to many other milestones that he might get while in his bed. AND as others have said drs say that if they are rolling over its ok for them to tummy sleep.
I had a similar experience with the other moms in that my son was a big "spitter upper." I'd put him on his back, he'd spit up and once he actually choked and started turning blue. When I mentioned it to my pediatrician (who is in his 70s), he said that although the new "wisdom" is to put babies on their backs, 20 years ago "we were telling you mamas to put your babies on their stomachs - you do what's right for your baby." But I do think that if he's rolling, put him down however you want but know that he'll sleep how he wants.
