Rolling over in the Crib and Waking Up!

E.
I had this same problem and this is what I did:
I went to a furniture upholster and bought very firm foam about 8 inches wide and high and a little longer then my baby. I covered by gluing a very thin fabric onto it. I made sure it was close enough on both sides of my son so he could not roll over. I can't remember if I had to wedge rolled up towels between the "bumpers" as I called them and the crib sides or not? The good thing was it worked like a charm, the bad side of course is the risk of having anything in the crib that could effect their breathing if they became pressed up against it. My feeling is at this age they have a inborn reflex that would automatically result in their moving their head away from the bumper or anything else obstructing their breathing. They have full control over their neck muscles at this stage and an innate preservation for survival.

I have two children, 7 and 12 years old. The 12 year old was the one I used this method with. He was three month premature and colicky ALL day. I guess maybe I used drastic measures to get some peace at night. My younger girl would climb out at 18 months from the crib , so with her I had to buy one of those tents that attached to the top of the crib to prevent her from escaping. It was see through mesh and shaped like a bubble so she could still stand up in her crib.

Because of my son's prematurity he had very poor oral muscle/sucking control. I also developed a binky with elastic so it would fit around my son's head. It was loose enough so he could spit it out if he wanted to but would keep it in place while he sucked instead of it falling out constantly in the car where you can't reach it to put it back in. I only used this in the car where I was able to supervise.

Our daughter is 7 1/2 months old now and she did the same thing at around 5 months. It does pass, but we too risked the breathing issue and wedged her in. We had a crib toy station that hung from the side of the crib and wedged the sleep positioner next to her and the toy. She didn't like it at first, but learned to go to sleep easily after a while. Give it a couple weeks at least, or even a month. It'll get better!

E. - Isn't that just rotten?! My son is about 5 1/2 months old. Right around 5 months, he started rolling over in his crib. You're right - it would wake him up. The worst was when he would get a leg stuck through the sides of the crib - that would make him REALLY mad.

Here's what's worked for us -
1) I put him to sleep in a blanket sleeper and a sleep sack. Have you seen those? They're at Babies R' Us and it's basically a fleece sleeping bag, with arm holes. That keeps him warm and stops him from sticking his legs through the bars of the crib.
2) If I put him down, and he rolls over - I LEAVE him. At first, it was REALLY hard. He was so frustrated. Eventually, though, he did fall asleep. The first day or two, it took 20 minutes of crying for one or two of his naps. It was heartbreaking, but now (a few weeks later) he is FINE. Really, it took about 3-5 days of just letting him figure out how to sleep on his stomach. Some nights, he's too tired to even roll over, and that's fine by me!

The way I see it, if I keep going in there to turn him onto his back, 1 - he'll never learn and 2- it just ticks him off. If he sees me, he wants me to take him back out of his crib!

I hope this helps. Try the sleep sack - it also makes it a LITTLE harder to roll over.

My 3 children did the same thing... you're not alone! (by the way, I have a son, Tyler too!). My opinion is that you should let him fuss for a few minutes before going in his room. He will learn to put himself back to sleep very soon, I promise! He just needs to learn that once he rolls over, he is going to have to sleep that way. This should take about 3 nights, tops. When he starts fussing and wakes you up, look at your clock... give him 3 minutes of fussing. It will be SO hard to wait that long, I can assure you... but remember, he's not in any pain, a little fussing will not hurt him at all. Grab your ipod if you need a distraction. If he is still fussing after 3 minutes (go for 5 minutes if you can), go in and try to soothe him by gently rubbing his back, but don't turn him back over. Stay for about a minute and then leave. If he starts fussing again (or never stopped while you were in there), give him another 3 minutes and go back in to pat him on the back. After a few times of doing this (and try to extend the time you wait a little longer each time), he will quickly learn that he can fall back to sleep just fine.

Just give it 3 nights and if it doesn't work, then wait a couple of weeks and try again.

Hi E. -- My son did the same thing when he was around 5 months old. I keep him in a sleepsack so his legs never stuck out. I also let him cry it out. He just had to get used to sleeping on his stomach. He was fine in a couple of days. Now, he PREFERS sleeping on his stomach. He flips over the second I put him down. I hope your son adjusts soon. Good luck!

Hi E.,

Since your son is rolling over on his own (and will soon learn to roll back), you could try putting him to sleep on his side or (if you put him down awake) put him down on his belly so he is learning to be comfortable in that position. By the time he can roll over there is less need to put him on his back. My baby now sleeps on his side/belly with his leg up and has for over a month. If I put him on his back he rolls over and snuggles in on his belly. The waking is annoying, but it will pass. Everything does this first year! :(

Oh I've been there...but what I learned to do was NOT go in when he'd wake up. They need to learn to self-soothe. I know it's hard, trust me! But if you keep going in, obviously he's going to expect it and cry even harder until you do. Just let him fuss, it won't hurt him, he'll learn how to fall back to sleep.

Good luck!
Lynsey

Hi E.!
I used a sleep positioner. They have all different kinds, some for back sleepers, some for side sleepers and they range from simple to fancy. I used a very simple (and cheap) one that was two little foam wedges that could velcro on a little pad and kept my baby from flipping over.
If your baby has any issues with "flat head", then the side sleepers may be better, so you can change what side they sleep on...

Take care!