What About Tummy Sleeping?

Hi A., my son is almost 2 years old. i started him out sleeping on his back but after about 2 months he didn't want that anymore. so from 2 months on i let him sleep however he was comfortable most of the time it was on his tummy. it pretty much changes every generation on which way is safe so i really don't see a problem with it.

I started putting my baby down on his tummy to sleep once he was able to roll over--about 6 months. If I put him on his back, he would just roll on to his tummy anyway and the doctor said it was OK for me to start putting him down on his tummy to sleep.
I wouldn't put a baby you baby's age down on her tummy, though...

I always put my child on his stomach to sleep. Think about it... If they are worried about the vomit smothering them what about if they vomit on their back would it not go back in causing them to choke on it. I think it is perfectly safe for babies to sleep on their tummies, my 6 yr old is just fine. It has to do with something other then if a baby sleeps on it's tummy or back there is something else that has to go wrong.

I fully respect the opinion of the SIDS researchers when it comes to sleeping on the tummy. The possibility of suffocation is there as well. Sleeping on the back has the vomit issue and if your baby is congested it can choke on that too, my daughter has. Since my daughter doesn't like to sleep flat on her back and she has the ability to flip onto her stomach, I use her swing to let her sleep in. Her swing lays her on her back, but her head it above her feet and she is cradled, similar to the position a baby is in when you hold them. I strap her in and tap it to swing and that puts her right to sleep. I have had a friend tell me that her child only slept in his carseat so she put the carseat in the crib and he slept with that for a while.

Oh, I saw a study on sids saying that sids was a genetic defect. I searched for genetic defect sids and here are some articles .....

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/health/articles/061105/13sid...

http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2...

I hope this help, J.

A.,
My daughter slept on her tummy... she is 5 now... but that was the only way she would sleep. It was appartently her natural position to be comfortable. If she can roll over on her own I think everything will be fine with her sleeping on her tummy. When I was a kid they said "never let them sleep on their backs" now thats the only way you are supposed to lay them. Just remember that you are Mom and ultimately you know what is best for your child.

I know this is taboo or whatever you call it but When my first daughter was 2 months old she would NOT go to sleep on her back...SHE CRIED AND CRIED everytime i put her down on her back to sleep! Well i tried the tummy thing one day during a nap and she slept for 3 hours!!! IT WAS BLISS! So i tried it htat night terrified she would die from sids i slept by her the whole nite and she was fine! so i say go with your instinct..if you feel she will be ok and benifit from sleeping on her tummy do so and maybe give her a binki or a passifire to suck on(they say that helps with the sids too) So Good luck and remember only you truely know whats best for you and your baby!!!

I don't know if I will be much help but I am in the same situation you are in. My son will sleep so much longer when he sleeps on his tummy. I always put him down on his tummy for naps but I have not gotten the courage yet to place him on his tummy at night. Nights are very long because he is always waking himself up with arm movements(startle reflex).I would also like to know what other moms do with their babies.

I have 2 grown children and one that is 6 yrs old. ALL of them slept on their tummies.

The "no tummy sleeping" protocol is a recent thing in an effort to reduce the number of SIDS cases. Through the years i have had several friends with SIDS babies. All of them stopped breathing the same amount of times whether on their backs or on their tummies. As a matter of fact, once they were labeled a SIDS baby, they followed the no tummy rule and were still having to rush their chid to the hospital when breathing stopped. So I've never know any children to stop breathing because they slept on their tummies.

However, I HAVE had friends have to rush their infants to the hospital for aspirating spit-up while sleeping on their backs!

So I am a hard-core advocate of tummy sleeping. When on their tummies un-swaddled, they have control of thier own sleep and head position, and feel more secure because they are not "open", but rather "tucked".

If you baby is 3 months old, and has never stopped breathing during sleep, then you dont have anything to worry about. The SIDS symptoms would have appeared already.

You're a good mommy! Enjoy your baby!

I have a 4-month old daughter who also sleeps on her tummy. She slept with us until she was 7 weeks old and when we transitioned her to her own bed, she wouldn't sleep longer than 20 minutes on her back. Out of desperation one afternoon, I put her on her belly & she slept for over 3 hours! That's the way she's been sleeping the past 9 weeks. She sleeps in a "sleep sack" so I don't need to use a blanket. I also have a 27-month old daughter and she also slept on her belly. As long as there are no other risk factors (loose bedding, smoking in the house, etc.) plus the fact that she is able to roll over, she has a lower risk for SIDS. I'm sure you'll hear lots of mommy's "yelling" at you but you need to do what's best for you & your family.

Actually SIDS is at highest risk from 3-6months. I think it is fine to place the child on the tummy when an adult is constantly watching, but otherwise the infant needs to always sleep on the back. I know many people feel differently about this but as a nurse I know the research on this issue. As for your child not wanting to be swaddled anymore that is about the age when my daughter no longer like it either. So try new things. We gave our daughter a small blanket to cuddle and she loved that and she still uses it when she wakes to help put herself back to sleep. Often at this age children want to wiggle around more and swaddling can be confining. This every 2 hour thing will pass, just be patient and try new things to help her self soothe.

I let my son sleep on his tummy. It was the only way that I could get him to sleep at all plus I'm a very light sleeper and was able to hear him if anything wasn't right.

It's all in what you think is best for your child and you.

A., you sound just like me about 3 months ago. Out of desperation for sleep, I started sleeping my baby girl on her tummy at about 2 months. She slept for 4 hours that first night and I was hooked. She's been on her tummy ever since. My husband was afraid that she'd suffocate or there'd be a danger of SIDS, but in our case she's been fine. I had a friend (mother of her 3rd child) tell me that "If God wants my baby, it's not going to be because I put him on his stomach at night." This made me feel a lot better because I believe it's true. We do our very best for them, but when it's time for God to take them home there's not much we can do. Hope that helps. I'm sure you'll get lots of responses that help you decide what's best for your little girl. Good luck.
-A.
www.littlebird-design.com

SIDS is scary. In the end, you have to look at the statistics and decide if the risk is worth getting your baby (and maybe yourself) some good sleep. My little girl was about the same age when I decided to try putting her on her tummy. Lo! She did sleep for 4 hours solid! I worried myself sick about it, but found that it was the only way she would sleep for more than 1/2 hour at a time. My pediatrician told me, as long as she can lift her head when she's on her tummy, I shouldn't worry too much. I kept her in the room with me until she was five months old. By that time, she was rolling over easily on her own, so I felt safe letting her sleep in her own room.

She's nearly 11 months now. To this day, I put her to sleep on her tummy. For ages, before SIDS research revealed that most children who die from SIDS were sleeping on their tummy, mothers always put their babies to sleep this way. Ask your grand-mother.

I'm not going to advise you to do it, but simply tell you, you wouldn't be alone. I would only add that you should use sleep sacks versus blankets if you choose tummy sleeping.

I have 2 children that are 14 yrs. apart. When my oldest son was little you were instructed to lie them on their tummies when they slept. When my youngest son was born that was determined to be a big no no.
From what I have read, when a child dies from SIDS there is no explanation why it happened. It has happened for years and still continues to happen no matter how we lay our children down.
I put my youngest on his back to sleep in the begining but like your baby he slept better on his stomach so I let him. If SIDS occurs I believe that it is out of our control and short of watching each and every breath they take we can not prevent it.
Pray for your child each night that he is safe while he sleeps and leave the rest up to the Lord.
ElizabethJ

Hi A., I am a mother of 5 and grandmother of 4 1/2 plus I babysat for years, still do at times, and I helped raise some of my childrens close close friends babies and I will tell you that everyone of them were put on their tummies from day one at home and never had any problems!! I know children that have died of SIDS and they were all on their backs! before my first son was born, a police captain who worked with my husband, told me to always lay him on his tummy. his grandchild died from SIDS and was on his back! He told me to think about this, when a baby spits up and he is on his tummy then it doesn't go back down his throat but if he is on his back then it will go right down and strangle them! I have never know anyone who has had problems with putting the babies on their tummies and they sleep alot better!! I don't believe they really know what causes SIDS and blaming it on tummy sleeping just scares the h*ll out of parents and I think without cause but this is my opinion!!

I had the same problem. I eventually put her to sleep on her tummy. It was very scarry and I prayed every night to keep my baby breathing. She is also a thumb sucker and laying on her stomach made it easier to keep it in her mouth. She's nine months old now and is crawling. So she usually ends up sleeping kinda on her side. I know SIDS is a scarry thing but sometimes you just gotta have a good night sleep yourself!!!

I have read most of the replies. I know that most people will not like this, but have you looked up possible causes for SIDS on the net. If you do you will pull up lots of sites about vaccinations. The reason that a doc will not tell you that vaccinations put your child at risk for SIDS is because they have their hand in the money pocket of the pharmacists. I have found several doctors that agree with me. I've actually spoke to them myself in the hospital.

When a baby is laid to sleep on back or tummy and dies of SIDS it is not because the child is smothered. SIDS is when the child "forgets" to breathe. Some say that sleeping on the tummy makes a child sleep deeper and that is why they forget to breathe. But I disagree. I believe and it is up to you to study that the vaccination effects the part of the brain that causes the child to breath. So when they fall asleep it is easier for them to stop breathing on back or belly. Just look it up.

Read the back of the advertisements of the vaccinations in the parenting magazines. Read the list of possible adverse side affects. Study it out before you turn off the idea. Make the decision with all the information.

Then you will have to decide which risk you want to take. The risk of getting practically non-existing illnesses or the side affects of the vaccinations.

You are making the same decision when you put your child to sleep on back or belly. Spit up or the unknown? Pray! Pray! Pray! seek wisdom from God.

Well, I'm just adding to the long list of mommies you've got going but I was the same way. Both of my boys (now 5 and 2) preferred to sleep on their tummy. And of course my mom put all 3 of us on our tummies to sleep as my mil did her two. I know what all the medical research says but I of course, like many of you, worried about them spitting up and choking on it. I tried propping them on their sides until they were old enough to roll over. Their favorit way to sleep was on their tummy so that's what they did--not necessarily all the time but the majority of the time.

This is a touchy subject. My daughter did the same thing at 3 months and it was my mother in law who put her on her tummy for naps. I talked to our pediatrician and he said naps were more acceptable for tummy sleeping, night time not so much. Also, you may try side sleeping, which is safer and can be done at night. Just find a wedge pillow and rest her on her side. My daughter puts herself on her side now to sleep at night and it seems to be very comfortable for her. Hope this helps.

Hi A.,

i know that just thinking about "sids" is extremely scary that doesn't have to happen to you, just think for a minute: if you place your baby on her back and for any reason she has a little vomit coming out after feedings and she can't get it out of her mouth she will have a hard time breathing and well you know else..... You know anything could happen, but if you get her to sleep on her tummy you don't have to worried about it because that leftover from the feeding will get out and the chances are that she will spit it out and also you will hear her making noises she will wake up because of that and you'll catch her when that happen.

Also don't let ohter people scared you just beacuse that happen to them, is sad but usually when that happen is beacuse the a/c was too high or too low either in summer or winter and that is one of the "number 1" reasons for a little baby to die, trust your six sense about it i know its scary, i have 2 kids now, one is almost 3 years old and my girl is 7 months and both sleep on their tummys very good and they enjoy it that way; also the dr. Is going to tell you to place her on her back, do that too but also always rotate positions for her once in a while so she gets use to it, again trust your self never let anybody tell what to do, just take the advices is always good to do it, but always put a line between advice and do it as an order or your baby will get hurt or else.....don't let people make feel nervous about it you are a mom now and as one you'll never let anything happen to you little one.

Good luck to you and enjoy your baby girl!

My son was born 6 weeks early and He has been sleepin on his belly since he was a month old thats the only way he will sleep.. He started sleepin all night ones i put him on his belly i would feed him right before bed time and he would sleep 6 hours before wakein up to nures.. All of my boys slept on there belly i would just get up and check on the baby when i or my husband woke up to make sure they was ok.. Good luck

Hi A.,

I have twins and I put them on their tummies at one week old. I was nervous about the tummy sleeping, but completely disagree with it now. I read all the research possible (and I do research as a career) so I understood all of it and I believe your baby is as likely to die from SIDS on the tummy, on the back, on the floor, etc...it is not because the baby is on the tummy. Your baby is already turning over, and she will be able to move on her own a bit. I watched my babies go from uncomfortable sleeping to sleeping beautifully! PLUS - you will not have to worry about your baby lying on her back too much. Many of the babies in the past ten years have suffered from their head being flat in the back, and this will help that not happen. That is mostly because they sleep on the back, are on their back during the day, and nap on their back. That is too much. While that can be fixed with a helmet and therapy, you don't need to worry about it with her sleeping on her tummy.

I truly believe grandmothers and old school women know what they are doing by keeping the babies on their tummy when they sleep. Be sure when she is on her tummy she does not have pillows or big blankets in the bed until she is completely capable of moving herself around in the crib (6 months or so).

Please email if you need. Having my babies sleep on their tummies was a big shift in sleeping and comfort for all of us!

S.

My oldest would only sleep on her tummy. Like you I tried from the beginning to swaddle and put her on her back, but by 6 weeks she had made it known that she prefered tummy sleeping. I had her sleeping through the night at 9 weeks this way. The latest research I have read says there are other factors involved in SIDS so tummy sleeping is not always the issue. I would just let her try it and see. I would take any bumper pads out just in case she rolls into them and if you do use a blanket use a knitted one with holes woven into it. Sometimes your baby is just trying to tell you what she wants. I worked in a daycare and about half of the babies i kept slept on their tummy from early on and most of the rest slept that way once they were old enough to get in that position anyway. My youngest was put to sleep on her tummy when she was in the NICU after she was born the nurses said it helped her breath better. Once we got her home though she was not a tummy fan and didn't sleep on her tummy until she was about a year old. She hated being on her tummy so much she didn't even turn over until she was 8 months old. So it sounds to me like your little one wants to be on her tummy. If she can roll over she will get off her tummy if she wants to be.

I had the same problem with my son. He woke himself up all the time! As soon as he started rolling over (which you said that your daughter has already done) I started putting him on his stomach, and he was fine. Yes, SIDS is scarey, but so am I when I don't get enough sleep. haha. Do you wake a few times a night to go to the bathroom or whatever? If you do, I'd say that it's fine to put her on her tummy, just get up a few times a night to check on her, and make sure that she doesn't have any blankets or stuffed animals or anything that could get up in her face. Good Luck!

I just wanted you to know that I have the same issue and my son is 5 weeks. Only Ian liked being swaddled for the first two and a half weeks only and then he started kicking and fussing when swaddled which was right after I bought a swaddle me. He would wake within fifteen minutes after being placed on his back at this point and I was not getting any sleep. I bought a new positioner that was kinda ramped so he wasnt flat and that didnt work. On rare occasions he would sleep on his side but he prefers his tummy. It scares me but at the same time I know my son needs his sleep, so at 4 wks I caved and let him sleep on his tummy. My mother did us and so did my MIL. I have also heard of cases where children die of SIDS on their backs as well so I figured my son needed to be comfortable. I will have to go to work soon and what worries me is the daycares will only put him on his back and he wont sleep that way. Thanks for writing your concern because this helped me as well.

Hi A.,

I've got a 12 month old girl, Kacee. When I first put her in her own bed at 2 months, she woke up every 3 hours on the third hour, and I didn't know what to do! I knew she had to eat, b/c she was a new baby, but I did try putting her to sleep on her tummy and every since then sleeps all night! At 12 months she still sleeping all night!

Good Luck,
S. :)

I never put my kids to sleep on their tummy (they are 3 and 5 now). I remember when they first learned to roll over from back to tummy. The pediatrician said if they could roll over themselves, they were ok. I still would always put them on their back but I didn't freak if they flipped over. Hope this helps.

I have 2 boys, 19 mos and 8 mos old. They both slept on their backs for about 2 weeks and then they would wake up every 30 minutes. We ended up putting my oldest on his side to sleep until he was about 6 months when he started turning over on his own. My 8 month old would only sleep on his stomach. My pediatrician said it was okay even though he did recommend that he sleep in our room until he was at least 6 months old. Trust me, I worried about sids every night they were sleeping but it was the only way they would both sleep. He still sleeps on his tummy and his crib is still in our room. That definitely helps with worrying about the sids knowing he is right there and I can hear him through the night.

I personally was never comfortable with tummy sleeping untill my children could roll regularly because after that it is not an issue. Have you tried putting her to sleep on her side? Could she be wanting to sleep on her tummy because of gas? If that is the case try elevating her head with a pillow. Maybe sleeping flat on her back hurts. Good luck.

When my son was a baby, I put him to sleep on his tummy because that was the only way he would sleep for extended periods of time. His startle reflex would wake him up every time if he was sleeping on his back. My aunt, who is a nurse, said if your baby has strong neck muscles (which most do), they can lift their head to get themselves out of any danger they could possibly be in. My son is now 2 1/2 and is just fine. My personal thought on SIDS is that they don't know what it is or what causes it, they just come up with stuff off of the top of their heads to try and prevent it. Most of us when we were babies were put to sleep on our stomachs and we turned out just fine.

If your baby sleeps well by being swaddled, then swaddle her. It reminds her of being tucked up tight inside of you, and keeps her warm as well. My oldest slept all swaddled up until she was 6 months old- until she was rolling forwards and back. I then put her in a sleep sac to at least keep her warm and preventing her from getting tangled. I have a 5 month old now, and she too wakes herself up if not swaddled.
It is NOT recommened that you put your child on his or her belly. You said you know of 2 babies who have died of SIDS- why put your child at risk? When she is ready to sleep on her stomach, she will do it herself. Our mothers all put us to sleep like that because they were told to do so. Research has now proven otherwise, along with smoking/drinking during pregnancy etc. Times have changed.
Be sure to let the babysitter know whatever you decide.
I don't mean to chastize (?) or sound mean. I too know of a child, 4 months old, who died of SIDS last month. He was at the babysitters house, and was found face down on the bed. It makes me so sad to think this MAY have been prevented.

I never put my son on his back to sleep. the least little thing would startle him and he would wake up. he slept much more peaceful on his tummy. good luck.
jenn

They say lying on a tummy is bad news, but sometimes babies sleep best there. I had a little pillow that you lay the baby between that makes the baby feel swaddled and they can only turn on their sides. This seemed to work for mine. My son is now 12 months and tries to roll on his tummy all the time. It still makes me nervous because I have heard of babies dying under the age of two from sids. It does scare me, but those were rare cases. Just remember, she/he could be teething and that is why it is restless. They go through stages of sleep as well. At times my son would be restless and would not sleep. I still have nights where I am up till 1 a.m. and he wakes up at 4:00 a.m ready to go! I think God knew what he was doing when he made us sleepy all the time when we were pregnant so that after the baby was born, we got no sleep for atleast the first two years. Just remember, that it is only for a short time and things will get better. Just enjoy life now that the baby is little because mine just turned a year old and I wonder where the time went. Let me know if you need anything! A. from, MS

Hi, my son is 6 now, and I put him to sleep on his tummy as a baby because that was the only way he would sleep. I had tried to get him to sleep on his side, but he just would not. I may be among the few, but I do not believe tummy sleeping causes SIDS. I think baby deaths are labeled SIDS when the death is not known. (But, of course, I could be wrong). My mom put us on our stomaches to sleep (4 of us) and we are fine.