WIBU to put DD to sleep on her front in pram during daytime?

[emeraldgirl1]

She seems to absolutely hate being on her back. She has a lot of wind and is happiest when we wind her on her tummy.
At night we sleep her on her side wedged in with towels so she cannot roll over.
But she will simply not sleep on her back OR side in pram during the day. She gets horribly overtired and it is just impossible for me to get anything done (cooking, ironing, laundry) as she wakes and cries five mins after I put her on her back or side.
WIBU (or unsafe?) to put her on her front in her pram in daytime, watched at all times by me if course, so that I can iron, cook etc without having to stop and hold her for an hour at a time?
Will it mean she then refuses to sleep on her side at night do you think?
Anyone else done this?

[mybelovedmonster]

I stopped breathing when I was a baby - luckily my dad was in the room and managed to get me breathing again. I'd been put on my front.

Despite this,my mum still insists that babies should be put on their front.

Its nothing to do with 'fashion' its to do with a better medical understanding and cot death rates have dropped significantly since the back to sleep campaign.

[Talkinpeace]

www.sidscenter.org/Statistics.html
www.lullabytrust.org.uk/document.doc?id=300

[Pilgit]

I have a 4 month old who has had reflux. She hates sleeping on her back during the day. The nurses in SCBU showed me how to let her sleep on her side as she preferred it and it helps ease the reflux (rolled up towels). It is a very hard decision to make and a very hard thing to defend because of the risks. BUT all people are different and some people prefer sleeping on their fronts. FWIW - she has very strong neck control (always has). When she sleeps during the day, if she falls asleep on me I'll put her down on her front (propped up at an angle because of the reflux) and monitor closely. Before I get flamed - yes I am aware of the risks BUT she is just so much happier for doing this and she wakes easily - when prodded (I do this a bit too often).

Have you eliminated reflux as a cause of the your DC's dislike of her back? IT can be silent (i.e. you don't get the vomit with it - just the pain, discomfort, acid breath and general crankiness if flat) - trying putting a wedge underneath her mattress in her cot (a folded up blanket will do the trick or putting one end of the cot on some books and in her pram, a blanket under the mattress at one end) so that she's at an angle - it may work. She may also dislike being on her back in her pram as when she's on her back she hits the sides (doesn't happen so much when on front) - when they startle and hit something some little people get freaked out.

only you know your child. Make sure you're fully appraised of the risks and then make a decision. This is what we did and came to the decision we did. That is what being a parent is about.

[WillowB]

They are rubbish sleepers at 5 weeks anyway. DS hated being on his back. I persevered & he got used to it. He's a great sleeper now. I wouldn't have taken the risk to be honest.

[Cuddlydragon]

I wouldn't do it to be honest, although I sympathise. Have you considered having her checked for silent reflux. It's a typical symptom to not settle on back but better on tummy and side.

[Thepursuitofhappiness]

I've got a reflux baby who is the same, sounds so uncomfortable sometimes. We prop the cot up at 30 degree angle. I use a wrap (mamas and papas flex) in the day, he's really happy in the upright position. We make sure we wind a lot before putting him down. But like you, not a good quality of sleep often but just counting down till reflux gets better.

[dribbleface]

Have you tried swaddling? On front they don't startle themselves by flinging their arms, swaddling and placing on back can have same effect. I wouldn't put her on her front. If swaddling be careful not to overheat.

[emeraldgirl1]

Thanks v much everyone.
I will stop the side-sleeping thing at night too, I am in a fit of terror about that now. :(
I started doing that after a nasty vomiting incident as I was just so worried about what would happen if she vomited milk while on her back.

I feel unhappy with every option now!!!

We keep our room very cool at night so I hadn't been worried about the overheating thing, I didn't think about this issue of her not being able to move around to cool herself if she is wedged in.

FWiW she has excellent head control and a very strong neck... I still think had better stop side-lying though. Hate the whole sleep arrangements thing tbh, I am really stressing about it now.

[emeraldgirl1]

Oh and thanks for the reflux info, hadn't considered it, just thought she was v windy... What else could i look out for? Symptom wise I mean...?

[Talkinpeace]

OP
Read up the risk factors in the links I posted.
Sleeping position is just one of over 50 - and a pretty minor one at that.
But its easy to do so that is why the emphasis was put on it
(telling parents to stop being poor is rather harder)

SIDS is incredibly rare ... enjoy your baby and chillax

[Stillcluelessat40]

Talkinpeace, what change do you think has led to the drop in the number of cotdeaths then? As I'm assuming as many people live in poverty now as before!
(I genuinely don't know the answer, not being snippy - though always assumed it was back sleeping).

[emeraldgirl1]

Thanks TalkinPeace

[Cuddlydragon]

How is she with her feeds? Does she fuss before eventually latching on to nipple or teat? Does she hiccup a lot? There are some great threads on MN if you search for reflux or silent reflux. Every baby is different. My DS started refusing his bottles and getting very distressed when they were offered. He was very hungry but it was sore to swallow. He got quite dehydrated and thin. That in addition to sleep/ being flat issues led to our diagnosis.

[Talkinpeace]

Stillclueless
Identifying the factors made a huge difference as at allowed HVs to target their advice.

There was a significant problem around 18-20 years ago with poorer families bundling their kids up as if they lived in non central heated houses - and the poor things overheating because they could not regulate their own temperature newborns cannot kick blankets off like an adult or older baby can : the other part of sleeping on backs was foot of the bed guidance to reduce the amount of covers on them.

Also, the smoking ban has reduced the number of smoking mothers - and people are getting out of the habit of smoking indoors
AND
the housing risk factors are something social landlords cannot deny so they are forced to put families into better housing

We are now probably at the minimum level - as there will always be babies with undiagnosed cardiovascular problems.
Horrendous for the parents involved but very, very rare

[thebody]

Hintofbream.. My oldest is 23 and advice then was to definatly out baby on stomach to sleep. My mum was horrified as she was told lay baby in back. That horrified me.

There are fashions in child rearing as new evidence and research is ongoing.

Can't see what's 'stupid' about that.

[Misty9]

This will always be a contentious topic, but with ds (19mo) he just would not sleep on his back without waking every 20mins when he startled himself awake. So we did the research and, as his parents, made a considered decision. He slept on his front on dh's stomach for the first 10wks of his life then slowly transitioned to bedside cot and has slept on his tummy ever since. Still does now. Also napped on one of us until 7mo or so (frm what I remember) then in cot - on front.

Do the research and then do what's best for your family.

[Talkinpeace]

misty
both of my kids were twitchy - and in 1998 to go against Anne Diamond and set them to sleep on their fronts meant that I read lots and lots and lots so that I did not get grief from midwives and health visitors.

[thebody]

Yes totally agree, research and listen and then do what's appropriate for your baby.

[violetshoes]

My DS 1 vomited a lot as a baby. (Still is a vomity child, joy). But when he was v small and on his back, he just casually tipped his head to the side so no problems.

When he was only a few weeks old, I had him on his front on his changing mat and he vomited so much that he couldn't lift his head free. He would have drowned if i hadn't been there.

[DoJo]

I remember watching mine do the head-tilt-vomit one more than one occasion without even waking up. Sometimes I wouldn't know he'd been sick in the night until I'd find some in his ear (gross!) but it's just proof that they really can cope with it when they're on their backs.

[KobayashiMaru]

When the back to sleep campaign took hold, SIDS deaths dropped 60% straight away. Then, as people get complacent, they forget how important it is as they think the risks are low, not realising the rates are so much lower precisely because of the guidelines.
Babies do sleep better on their fronts, they sleep deeper. Which is why they think SIDS occurs at all.

[HintofBream]

Thanks, Thebody

[Talkinpeace]

Kobayasha
Which is why they think SIDS occurs at all
When the back to sleep campaign took hold, SIDS deaths dropped 60% straight away
Do you have a link for that? Just that sleeping position is not in the top dozen or so risk factors.
And the graph shows a very gradual decline over the 30 years of data.
www.sidscenter.org/Statistics.html

[Maggie111]

HintofBream

The past 20 years of "fashion" advice on SIDS has seen cases reduce by 70%.

[ICBINEG]

It is stupid to refer to changes in guidelines as fashions. That implies that they are a matter of choice/fashion/trend rather than a matter of evidence.

The initial advice to sleep babies on tummies was not motivated by evidence but by common sense. This turned out to be incorrect advice once proper data were collected. From the point at which data were actually collected the advice has been consistent and unchanging, that babies should sleep on their back.

SIDS may be rare but it is still accounts for a 5th of deaths in the first year and is, for instance a fantastically more likely cause of death than being in a car crash etc.