My 6 month old rolls over onto her stomach while sleeping. She moves her head fine, and rolls over back and forth while playing on the floor. PROBLEM is when she's sleeping and rolls over onto her belly, she is FACE DOWN in the mattress with her hands tucked up by her face. She wakes up crying and I have no idea how long she has been in the position before she wakes up. If she can roll over on the floor, why can't she roll back over in the crib??? How do I keep her from rolling over????????
Any ideas will be greatly appreciated,
Very Worried MOM
Thank you guys SO MUCH for the feedback! Although some of you may not agree, I used the rolled up towel trick. I rolled it up tightly and placed it in the crib halfway down. When I lay her down, I lay her on her right side with the towel behind her, hitting her just below the belly button. She hasn't rolled on her belly one time since and the towel is rolled up too tightly for her to unwind. I will continue using this method until I feel that she can safely sleep on her tummy. I still get up several times a night to check on her, but with less stress and worry. Remember, my biggest fear was NOT that she was on her belly, but that when she was on her belly, she was face down in the mattress and wouldn't turn her head sideways.. Thanks again!!!!!
Both of my kids did the same thing. They were fine and seemed to sleep better as do most people on their stomach. As long as she can move her head with no problems than I would say she is fine.
IMO, at 6 months, if you see her having good control of her head, she is fine! Both of my kids slept on their bellies as soon as they could roll over. They got into a much deeper, restful sleep. If she looks comfortable without blankets toys around her, then leave her that way.
If you did not go in immediately chances are she would roll onto her back.
At 6 months you cannot prevent her from rolling over.
Calm down, it's okay! Actually, it's better than okay, because your daughter wakes up crying, and so she isn't suffocating - she's waking up before that happens!
What I suspect is happening is that your daughter cannot roll over in her sleep - she needs conscious thought to do it. So her body wakes her up when she needs to roll. Disturbed at being woken, she cries. It probably has nothing to do with airflow, but if her body is waking her when she needs to roll, it will wake her when she needs to breathe, too. This shows that it is unlikely that she will not notice if something is going wrong, and so you can relax a little bit.
Once your daughter can roll over on her own (usually around 4-5 months), there is very little a mother can do to keep that baby on its back! I found this disturbing with my baby, too. ALWAYS put your baby down on her back, but then if she rolls, it is up to her. If you want to help, during playtime, put her on her tummy in her crib and then help her to practice rolling back to her back. And remember that chances of SIDS are reduced by about 50% by the time a baby reaches 6 months old, probably because most kids are able to roll on their own by this point.
I totally remembered when this happened with my daughter. I freaked! Everything's ok. Just make sure that you keep her crib safe - no blankets, no stuffed animals, no toys, etc. Also - and very important - if you are swaddlling her, STOP. I disagree with others who suggest ways to keep her from rolling onto her stomach and with the poster who says maybe she needs to be awake to roll back over. Don't rush in and turn her over. (You can sneak in and watch just to make sure she's safe, but your presence may inhibit her. Maybe invest in a video monitor???) This is a normal part of development and you need to let her tackle it.
The next time she fusses I would go and check out the situation. Is she in a pool of drool or spit up? Mine does that occasionally, I go and just move him out of the slob and he crashes back out. My five month old always rolls over when he wakes up, if he is sleeping on his belly. So I am wondering if she is feeling the need to roll but is just so tired and it is frustrating to her bc she wants to be on her back but is too tired to mess with it! You could try checking her before you go to bed for the night and flipping her to her back. I used to do that with mine all the time once he was really hard asleep. A lot of times whatever position they are in once hard asleep, they will stay that way. He scoots all over but doesn't roll to his belly once hard asleep. One more thought, is she hungry? Have you started solids yet? Maybe adding some rice cereal at night would help. I haven't started yet, but I know 6 mo is growth spurt time and it is common for a little hiccup in sleep patterns. It will settle down:) I wouldn't worry about the belly though. She can raise her head fine, so I really don't think there is a concern there:) It sounds like a comfort/growing issue to me and learning how to handle her new found skills! Good luck, and don't worry, you will sort it out. Take care!!
My daughter was born before the risk of SIDS was linked to belly sleeping. Most babies then slept face down, and if none of the other risk factors were present, most had no problems. If your sweetie isn't in the high-risk category (please see more below on this), she will probably be fine, especially now that she has the ability to roll over.
Speaking of risk factors, I'd like to throw out a concern of mine that I've seldom seen mentioned: CHEMICAL EXPOSURES give me a type of sleep/breathing problem called Central Apnea, which is a sleep wrecker for me but could be deadly for a baby whose brain signals are not well developed yet.
What happens: when I've been exposed to any scented products like fabric softener or detergent, air "fresheners," most toiletries and cleaning products, and even the formaldehyde that comes off of cotton-poly blend fabrics (think "sheets"), my blood becomes too acidic to give the normal signal to my brain stem to breathe when the CO2 in my bloodstream becomes too high. I simply never get a signal to take a breath. So the oxygen in my blood keeps dropping until another part of by brain kicks into emergency mode and wakes me just before I suffocate.
Research suggests this might be how old folks pass peacefully in their sleep. A baby might not wake, either. I think daily chemical exposure should be evaluated as a possible cause of SIDS, too. Just a thought.
Relax. Always put her to sleep on her back, but if she rolls over on her own it is fine. Once they learn to roll on their own (especially back to front) the threat of SIDS is greatly reduced. As always keep items like bumpers and toys out of the crib and minimize blankets and covers (easy to do this time of year) and your baby should be just fine. If you read any baby book or baby help websource (babycenter, etc...) they will tell you the same.
What's wrong with sleeping on her stomach with her hands at her face? I'm 52 and that's the way I sleep best!!! Quit worrying over things you can't control - and why would you want to control THAT anyway???? Relax, life's too short to tie your insides up like that. (these comments were made lighthearted and with a smile on my face!!!)
One theory about SIDS and why there is less danger as they get older is related to brain development. As a baby gets older and their breathing is compromised, their little brains can get the signal that they need more oxygen AND they can do something about it. In other words, she will roll over if she needs more air.
Just ensure that her sleep environment is as safe as possible. This won't be the last time she frightens you in some way.
OK...I have the WORST case EVER!!! My DD would roll over AND she sucks her blanket!!!! She is three now and still "sucks" her blanket. Talk about SIDS!!!! People would "warn" me all the time...there are some things you cant control....unless you just sit and watch your kid sleep....
If you really want her not to roll over... "tie" big towels (like beach towels) into a roll...tuck those along side the baby....
My son has slept on his belly since day one of his life. He sleeps fine...just make sure there isn't anything in the crib that could get near her face..no extra blankets or toys and she'll be fine. My son slept in a sleep sack at that age, on his tummy and he was fine...it's only the blankets and toys that might be a problem...that's how they suffocate. But belly sleeping has been happening for eons before the AMA decided it was wrong. Just relax, if she's rolled over on her belly its because that's how she's comfortable. As long as she can pick up her head, she'll be fine.
Usually if they can roll over then they are fine at this age to sleep on their bellies, but I don't get the face in the mattress thing. You are right to be concerned.
There are paddings that are specially made for the purpose of not letting them roll over. You can try Baby's R Us or online. Good Luck.
Hi, my son did the same thing. I worried too. My doctor told me that as long as the baby is rolling over on their own and you put them down on their backs there is not a whole lot else you can do. They should be fine. Up until not too long ago people only had babies sleep on their tummies. As soon as my son outgrew the SIDS risk age range, he started sleeping on his back. Go figure.
I know you are worried about SIDS. My understanding is that is a greater danger when the child is under 6 months old. Does she not like being on her tummy? If not, then I would find the wedges that can keep her propped where you want her to be. If yes, then make sure that you are following all the other crib-safety rules: no pillows, blankets, sheets or even stuffed animals that are biggish.
http://www.target.com/Fisher-Price-Infant-to-Toddler-Rock...
wow long link. sorry about that. Fisher-Price Infant to Toddler Rocker. my son slept in this for the majority of his first year. he still sits in it. our daughter dosent care for hers so much. but i sleept sound knowing our son was safely sleeping in his rocker which he loves.
Both my kids did the same thing at 6 months! The doctor told me once they are rolling over then they most likely can roll back. Most SIDS cases occur between 2-4 months as well. Once she has started, there is not much you can do to keep her from rolling over that I know of. She will really start progressing and growing from here. Best wishes!
My son did the same thing at about 4 mths, and slept so much better to boot, but his problem was he had a slight case of Torticollis, which prevented him from moving his head back one way or the other. The pediatrician said once he can flip over on his own he's fine. But it still made me so nervous, partly I think because the mattress I bought for him seemed to cradle his face too much for my comfort.
So I went out and bought the firmest mattress I could fine. Wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but when he turned his head there was still plenty of breathing room with his face smashed down...Now at 9 months I thinks its adorable, he does raspberries while I pat him down to go to sleep. Once he's out I just turn his head, but often find him face down. He just loves to sleep that way. During the day I wasn't bothered by it, I just checked on him ever so often. At night I just couldn't sleep so I went and bought the SnuzaGo (I still co sleep a lot with him that's why I went with this...I used the Angelcare sensor pad with my first)...My lifesaver...It's a little bit difficult when they move around, but I just attach it to a bib, and then velcro it around his waist. NOw everyone's happy :)
Really tho' once they get to this point there isn't much you can do, except trust that his body will do what its supposed to do. I should also mention a sleep sack worked great with my first for this problem. Not so much with my second he is way tooo hot of a sleeper and the sleep sack just agitated him more at night...Hope this helps some sorry so long winded :)
She is fine once she can roll over by herself. My son did this at 3 months and he went from waking up a ton during the night to only a few times as soon as he switched. Unfortunatley the back is not nearly as comfortable for them.
my son started sleeping on his belly at 6 mnths too....it worried me at first so I did some research. as it turns out once a baby can roll over onto their belly they are out of the high risks group for SIDS. you should continue to put her to bed on her back but if she rolls over you shouldnt worry
Mine did this around the same age and slept with her face towards the matress. I would move her head but that would wake her up so I just resorted to standing there and watching her breath to make sure she wasn't suffocating herself. She was fine and eventually learned to move her head to the side. It takes a lot of effort for a little baby to roll back and forth and when they are sleeping they won't exert that energy to roll back. Don't prevent her from rolling over you will just make her mad and end up waking her up.
My son slept on his tummy, (yeah I know about sids), but it was the most comfortable for him. I think he was blowing raspberries on his mattress sounds funny but that is what he would do. He could lift his head up and look around.
Is she sleeping face down? or is she crying when you get to her and that is the position she is in? She might be sleeping with her head turned, and then moving it to cry?
The crib is softer so it makes it harder to roll over as to a hard floor that doesn't flex. If she is able to roll over onto her belly on her own then it is ok for her to sleep on her belly. She should have enough head strength to be fine.
My son slept the same way and it is a scarey thing. I ended up buying a monitor to ease my worries...it is a monitor that measures if they are breathing or not and if they aren't, it beeps/has an alarm to wake you up...the only down fall is if they roll off it-he only did a few times (you put it under the mattress...is a sqaure shaped monitor)...but saved my sanity...and allowed my son to sleep how he was comfortable...it is called the "Angelcare Deluxe Movement Monitor". I bought mine at babiesrus.
