My Baby Is Now Rolling over on Her Stomach in Her Crib During the Night

She is fine since she is able to have the strengh to roll over is she needs to. The risk for SIDS decreases as the child gets older and is able to move on their own. I would still have caution with loose blankets.

Once she can flip herself over there is nothing you can do but let her make herself comfy and keep toys & blnkets out of the crib for awhile. My understanding that the risk of sids is extrely low after 6 months. A pacifier is supposed to help reduce the risk, if you want to go that route (as a mom bracing herself to get rid of the pacifier I wish we had never started!)

I have always been told that if they can roll over on their own, it is fine. I just clear out the crib of everything, even blankets, and put them in a warm jumper to sleep. Don't worry.

E., It's so hard keeping up with the ever changing do's & don't of raising a baby, children or even what's O.K. for us adults. I had 4 sons, and they all slept on their stomach. I was for some reason more afraid that they would spit up or throw up and choke to death. Now I have read recently that putting a fan in your baby's room helps prevent SIDS. I don't know what breakthrough's they have discovered regarding SIDS or what age of a baby that you can stop worrying about SIDS.
But if she is turning on her own and prefers to sleep on her stomach then I think she's probably ok. I always worried more about too much bedding, it getting hot & stuffy. One of the reasons it's harder for all of us to breathe if it's hot & stuffy. Me & a friend, I had made during the pregnancy of my 2nd influenced that conclusion alot. Our 2nd babies (for both of us) were born within a few days of each other. We lived in the same apartment complex. We would go to her apt and I would complain it's too hot & stuffy for these babies, she would come to my apt & complain that I was going to freeze my baby to death. I had to leave my son with her when he was 6 weeks old to attend an out of town funeral. I come back to find him in the emergency room with a severe asthma attack at 6 weeks that's practically unheard of it. Children don't usually develop asthma until they are around 2. He didn't have any further breathing or asthmas problems until he was 2 1/2 or almost 3. He is now 27, the next sibling which is now 24 didn't develop asthma till 5th or 6th grade. Now my Husband has respiratory problems and we have to keep the A/C on in this cold weather because if he gets hot sleeping then he wakes up and can't breathe. Don't take my advice on something thats causing you this much concern and something the Medical Community has been trying to figure out for years. Hopefully a Nurse or someone will give you better advice but I honestly don't think you have anything to worry about.
Best of Luck and I hope your fears are put to rest soon.
Happy Holidays and May God Bless your precious new baby.
R.

Just make sure there is nothing but a blanket in the crib and the baby should be fine. None of mine would sleep on their backs, all tummy sleepers, and all healthy teens and pre-teens driving me nuts.

Rolling onto their stomach is a big milestone! Especially given your baby's age, typically once they can roll onto their stomachs, then that means they're strong enough/old enough NOT to succumb to SIDS. Just to give you peace of mind, my younger daughter was rolling over at 3 months. We did the best we could to put her to sleep on her back but she'd always roll over. And she was totally fine!

Yep and it is completely normal.

Hello!

There is very very little SIDS risk after 6 months, and if your baby has the power to propel herself into a face-down position, she will also be able to adjust herself if she needs more air. So, don't worry!

I reacted the same way! My pediatrician told me that if he was strong enough to roll over on his own, that he'd be fine and not to worry about him.
You might just make a quick call to your pediatrician for peace of mind though.

If she is able to roll over on her own, and push herself up, she is fine! : ) I was so nervous with my little girl, too, but really she'll be fine. I think the most dangerous time for SIDS is within the first 3 months, anyway. But once she starts rolling over, you really can't stop that. Just celebrate her new-found skills! : )

Enjoy her, it goes by SO fast! My sweet girl is already TWO YEARS OLD! and I can't believe it!

Blessings,
S. R. (Emma Kate's Mommy)

E.,

Try to relax and enjoy your baby. Remember that your mother was probably instructed to always put you to sleep on your stomach! My girls (now 30 & 32) were always put to bed on their tummies -- a hard thing to do with a sleeping baby -- and they made it just fine.

Remember that everything that is considered so dangerous for kids to do now -- like playing on big metal swingsets and slides outside -- children have been doing for ages and learning from the laws of natural consequences. There is no way to protect a child completely from every possible danger unless you put them in a bubble -- and that causes other serious problems.

Jen,

Once the baby can lift up it's head, etc there is no more cause for alarm with SIDS. Most SIDS cases are in the first 6 months.

I have heard that it is ok if they do it. I was horrified of SIDS also when my daughter was younger. I have read though, if you see them do this then it is ok to try to gently coax them back on their backs. Otherwise, you'll just have to get used to it. ugh!

The same thing happenend to me! When one of my twins rolled onto his belly during the night, I freaked!! I made my hubby drive me to Target at 9p to get a positioner. My son was so determined to be on his belly, he could roll inside the positioner. I called every one of my friends who has kids to take a poll. All of them said, "Don't worry, my kids did the same thing." You know what, my kids both started sleeping through the night when I let them stomach sleep. Mine were only 4 months. I put a video camera under their noses to make sure they were breathing...I understand your worry. I'd let her stomach sleep.

SIDS is definitely something most moms always fear in the back of their mind whether it's the forst child or the 10th! The Back to Sleep program has been somewhat successful in decreasing the SIDS death rate, but it hasn't erradicated it. I would encourage you to visit this site and read the science behind mattress wrapping and how it has eliminated SIDS in New Zealand. It has had the most profound effect on this unexplainable condition that every mom should read and wrap their baby's mattress. Here's the link: http://www.prevent-sids.org/cot-life-2000.htm

Dr. Sprott will even email you personally if you have any questions. It's pure science and the stats speak for themselves. This is not a huge money making scheme, it's a mere $30, which includes shipping for your peice of mind and your child's safety. Oh, and I don't make a dime for this info, I just want to make sure that mom's get the info! I give this advice to all my new moms in my practice. God Bless!

my pediatrician told me that once the baby can roll over by itself, there is no longer a concern about SIDS. She explained that SIDS is a problem because the baby does not have the strength to lift her head to avoid smothering; once she can roll over, problem solved. You should, of course, call your own pediatrician if you are worried, but that's what my pediatrician said, and 4 infants later all is fine here. Good luck = my children usually slept a lot better once they could roll over on their tummies, so perhaps you will get more sleep now.

My daughter, who is now 7 months as well, has been rolling over since she was 3 months old. I believe that as long as they can roll over - there is no cause for concern for sleeping on their stomach. Especially, if they are strong enough to hold their head up and roll over - they have dramatically reduced their chances of SIDS. I hope this helps!!

Our pedi has been in practice for over 40 years and he said when they can roll over on their own they can sleep on their stomachs. Mine is 22 months and I still worry about it! It's just a mom thing!

Their is nothing you can do about it, unless you want to keep checking her all night and turning her back over. Once they are old enough to do it you can't control it. I worried too, but my husband is a physician and told me not to. I did have an angel monitor on him though until he was at least one though. If you don't know they are the movement monitors you put under the mattress. I loved it. It only went off once when he rolled in the corner, but it let me know and I moved him. It gave me some piece of mind.

What others have mentioned is true. MOST babies who can roll over and hold their head up are ok sleeping on their tummies. I say most, because my nephew, 22 months, died from SIDS - at least that was the official finding. SIDS can happen up to 24 months of age (or what we were told).
If you are concerned about it, there are monitors that you can get - ask your pedi.
K. Ryan

I understand your fear. I had it too, especially with my first one. I didn't worry so much with my second. Since your daughter is rolling over at night, she can roll herself back over if she needs to also. That is good. She is also past the most common time for SIDS. If she is breastfed and there are no smokers in the house, that decreases her chances further.

Congratulations on your little one. Try to push the worries from your mind and just marvel at your daughters wonderfulness!

No worries mom. If she is big and strong enought to roll over she's fine. Plus you can't wait by her crib and roll her back all night.

My daughter's pediatrician said if she was strong enough to roll over then she was more than likely okay from SIDS. She is finding her natural sleeping style. She just turned 1 yesterday and has slept on her stomach now for about 6 months- even though we put her down EVERY night on her back!

I know pediatricians strongly put the fear of SIDS into new mothers. I want to reassure you that your daughter is fine. Sleeping on her stomach is helpful to develop her brain and help develop her mobility.

I too was so scared about SIDS. So, I did alot of research about it. I learned that over 95% of Sids cases happen from 2-4 months of age. By 7 months old, your baby is able to roll around at night on her own. Her breathing responses are also such were she isn't going to sufficate or stop breathing. My baby also started rolling on his tummy at around that age.

Hope this helps to allievate some worry!

This is normal and my pediatrician says once they are strong enough to roll themselves over they have enough neck control to be fine when this happens. My 7 month old son is doing the same thing. My 2 1/2 year daughter did as well. Keep putting your child to sleep on their back and if they roll over, dont fret it.

I was told as long as your baby can roll both directions and can turn their head when on their belly, you are okay. My daughter is 4 mos old and has never slept in a crib....she's in a bouncy chair all night long. She hates being on her back and when on her tummy, she'll lay with her face buried so I understand your concern. Ugh! The doctors tell me I've started something I'll regret, but in time she won't fit in her chair and will want to be stretched out. She sleeps 12-13 hours straight every night so it's working well for us! Doctors don't know EVERYTHING I guess! :)

E., I'm a 54 year old grandmother of 7 & from a huge family. When my girls were babies & my Mothers children were babies we always laid our babies on their stomach. They have much prettier heads lol. Just a little joke but very true.Also if they spitup, they didn't get it in their lungs.
My oldest daughter is a repiratory theropist and was taught in school that babies should sleep on their stomach. The reason is Newborns up to 9 mo. even upto a year old, don't breath through their chest, their lungs expand to the back and it's harder for them to breath on their back. I'm sure that their is a repiratory web site that you could go to but I wouldn't worry about her rolling over. There are 52 of us and we all made it just fine.
Try not to stress too much. God Bless and Merry Christmas