Tummy sleeping

[spudmummy]

My Little boy is 6 months old and has mastered rolling into his belly but doesn't seem to be great at rolling onto his back again. He can do it but tends to get upset/distressed during the day so I generally turn him over onto his back again.

My issue is he's now started to turn over in his cot and sleep on his tummy during the night.

Should I turn him back over or trust that he'll sort himself out and be ok to sleep on his tummy now? It's so drummed into us now that babies must sleep on their backs to reduce SIDS I'm not sure what to do...

Sleeping on his tummy seems to help him settle himself back to sleep. He's just woken up, grumbled, turned onto his belly and gone to sleep again.

He's in a sleeping bag so not worried about sheets.

[FATEdestiny]

The official advice for rolling babies is you should continue to put baby down to sleep on back for first year, but if they turn over you can leave them. But if they wake and you resettle, put back to sleep on their back again.

[3andamdone]

Don't worry about it, he can roll so he's fine.
Can't wait for ,my dd to start doing this!!

[3andamdone]

As inbyes out on his back when you put down but if he rolls him it's ok to leave him

[Floweroct2]

I could have written this, my ds has started doing the same and is also sleeping better. I do as others have said but it does still worry me a bit

[PrancingMoose]

My DS is a tummy sleeper. Has been since he was about 3 weeks old as he was colicky and my HV suggested settling him on his tummy for about 30 minutes until he was properly asleep then flipping him onto his back. The risk of SIDS decreases significantly when they can roll and I was also told this was the point not to worry about whether they were on their back or not. My DS is now 4.5 months old and nearly always sleeps on his tummy as he settles best there. I have an Angelcare monitor which although is not going to stop a disaster happening, does give me a bit of peace of mind.

[spudmummy]

Thanks everyone. I was waking up every hour or so last night to check on him

Typical as he's just started to sleep a bit longer having gone through a nightmare but of 4 month sleep regression and now I can't sleep still for worry.

I'll continue to put him down on his back in the night but leave him if he rolls over onto his tummy.

I'm sure I'll relax a bit in a few days

[Jengadreads]

Your little one has plenty of neck control so can easily keep his head to the side. Some babies are tummy sleeping as they get older so don't worry,

[Bubbinsmakesthree]

I do wonder what impact the SIDS advice has had on infant (and parent!) sleep. Most babies do seem to sleep better on their tummies and naturally do this once they can roll independently.

Not undermining the SIDS advice or suggesting anyone does any different - the reduction in infant mortality speaks for itself. But it must mean younger babies aren't sleeping as they used to?

[FATEdestiny]

Bubbinsmakesthree

The central theme in SIDS advice is that babies suddenly die usually when I'm a deep sleep. The belief is that the reason breastfeeding reduced SIDS risk is because bf babies wake frequently whereas ff babies, especially ff from newborn, sleep deeply.

How easily a baby is to rouse is directly correlated to risk of dying from SIDS. So yes, tummy sleeping babies do sleep better and that is exactly why it is a SIDS risk.

[WhatHaveIFound]

It takes a bit of time to relax into this but so long as you're putting your baby down on his back when he goes to bed or wakes in the night you're doing the right thing.

Both of mine were tummy sleepers from an early age and they still wake on their tummies most mornings (now 15 & 12). I'm a tummy sleeper too so maybe it's hereditary?

[ricecrispies16]

My baby has started doing this. Found her this morning asleep on her tummy with her head to the side and a leg stuck out of the cot. Really worries me

[Bubbinsmakesthree]

FATE - I realised that was (at least part) of the reasoning behind "back to sleep" but was curious how much the 'lighter' sleep actually manifests in difficulty settling to sleep, frequency of night waking etc. Is there any evidence this effects sleep longer term?

I would never do anything different or suggest anyone else did unless under medical advice - it's just interesting to wonder.

[spudmummy]

Hi all,

thanks again for all your comments and reassurance.

I'm still settling him in his back but he always turns onto his tummy after about the first hour.

Come to think of it my partner has always been a tummy sleeper so it obviously just another daddy trait he's inherited!

I have a new issue with this tummy sleeping business now and it's leaky nappies... sorry but as nasty as it sounds I think he's squeezing all the wee out of them lying on his tummy.

I'm back to changing him when he wakes and have tried a few brands.

Has anyone else had this issue or have any recommendations?

[Me624]

Spud my DS is 11 months and he has been sleeping on his tummy ever since he could roll at around 4.5 months. I have exactly the same nappy issue as you - nearly every morning he wakes with a damp patch on his tummy where his nappy has leaked over the waistband. I'm afraid I've never really cracked it - I found switching from pampers baby dry to active fit nappies helped a bit, but it probably depends on each baby's shape. The only other thing which works is putting a second nappy on him at night, back to front over the top of the first one. I don't do it every night though because it seems like such a waste!

[EatsShitAndLeaves]

It's a while ago for me now but re: nappy leakage I ended up testing different brands.

I found it made a big difference - as per pp some designs just seem to work better depending on your baby's shape.

Just remember as they grow, this will change, so I found a nappy that had "worked" stopped being effective and had to try different ones again.

Just mentioning as I think it's easy to get sucked into sticking with the same brand, especially when it worked for a time.