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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

10 week old only seems to have a decent sleep on his tummy - what do I do?

30 replies

nuclear · 02/01/2009 09:31

My DS2 is 10 weeks old and if he sleeps on his back then he has very fitful sleeps - waking every 40 mins etc.

This used to be only in the day but now it is creeping into his night time sleep.

In desperation he settles on his tummy straightaway and always has a much deeper and longer sleep - he sleeps through noises etc better.

Does anyone have any tips for resolving this - I really hate leaving him on his tummy for obvious reasons (risks of SIDS)

any help would be very gratefully received.

Thanks

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

belgo · 02/01/2009 09:35

Exactly the same problem here with ds aged 11 weeks! I'll be interested in what people advice.

belgo · 02/01/2009 10:29

Seems like no-one has any advise....

giantsantasacks · 02/01/2009 13:53

hi there - we had this (though it sorted itself out at 7 weeks when her windyness started to improve).

We used to let her fall asleep and then gently turn her over.

Do you think its wind/reflux etc or just habit?

mollythetortoise · 02/01/2009 13:55

I let both my ds and dd sleep on their tummies from birth as they both slept the best that way. They both co slept too so they slept on my chest until about 1-2 motnhs - sorry can't remember exactly. Obviously tummy sleeping has it's critics and it's risks so you need to do your own risk assessment and decide for yourself.

TheBlonde · 02/01/2009 13:58

The SIDS advice is still to sleep them on their backs
I admit I ignored it with DC2 as she only settled on her tum

Original poster

nuclear · 02/01/2009 17:18

thanks

why does sleeping on tummies increase the risk of SIDS?

I don't think it is wind I think he prefers it on his tummy because his jerky arm movements are kept to a minimum IFKWIM

having said that he has just settled quite well on his back just now

OP posts:

moogmum · 02/01/2009 19:08

I think it's meant to increase the risk because they may not be able to move their face to breathe when on their fronts. However, as with yours, many babies find it easier to sleep when lying on their tummies because their body movements don't wake them up in the same way. Have you tried swaddling to deal with that? You have to be careful not to make them too warm, but it has worked a treat with mine using one of those miracle blankets - could never get the hang of swaddling with an ordinary blanket. Might be worth a try if you feel nervous about sleeping on tummy.

MmeJaffaB · 02/01/2009 19:12

Dc2 & Dc3 both settled and slept well on tummies. Both were sleeping throught he night by 11 weeks. Once I was happy they were strong enough to lift their heads I let them sleep that way.

Obviously SIDS still advise on back. You have to do what you feel comfortable with. No one here I don't think, will tell you it's OK.

brazenhussy · 02/01/2009 19:16

I trained as a Nanny 20 years ago and in those days it was the only recommended way to put your baby down to sleep.

I have worked as a Maternity nurse, a nanny, have had 5 DC's of my own and am now a childminder and all my charges (with the parents permission) and my own DC have slept on their tummies if they wanted to.

Agree though that swaddling is a good alternative if you really would prefer he didn't sleep on his tummy.

ten10 · 02/01/2009 19:17

I let mine sleep on his tummy, pretty much from the word go,
this was the only way he would sleep for more than 5mins at a time,
he also had very bad colic and it is more comfortable for them to be on their tummy as it helps to break up the wind.

Most of my friends let their babies also sleep on their front, just that they never really talked about it to anyone except close friends.
and we definitely didn't tell the HV.
but all found that this was where the babies preferred to sleep

hercules1 · 02/01/2009 19:19

I wouldnt do it. Statistically I believe sids has reduced greatly since the sleeping on teh back thing came out.

littleducks · 02/01/2009 19:19

i would let mine sleep on front when i was watching them, for naps etc but luckily mine could roll early and so once the could roll i could let them sleep how they prefered

snickersnack · 02/01/2009 19:22

Mine both slept (badly) on their backs but I have a good friend who is a postnatal doula and trained childbirth educator, so I figure she knows a thing or two, and she has said before that when parents ask her this she points out that the advice is to sleep on their backs but if the other SIDS risk factors are eliminated (not too well wrapped up, not sharing a bed with a smoker, baby healthy and in the same room as you etc etc) then she would see it as the lesser of two evils. Maybe buy a breathing monitor if you're worried. But I agree with trying swaddling first - it did make a difference with mine, esp. ds who was the world's biggest arm waver.

Original poster

nuclear · 03/01/2009 12:52

DS is very fidgety so swaddling might well be the way forward.

Just waiting for him to be able to roll or gain some control over his flailing arms !!!

I am sure I watched a programme once about a special care baby unit where the nurse told the presenter about how they put the prem babies on their fronts as it helps with their breathing...

I find all this conflicting advice very confusiing but i suppose as with all things in life you have to make the best choice you can based on the information you have at the time.

OP posts:

stuffitllama · 03/01/2009 13:06

Am preparing to be flamed.

If he insists on sleeping on stomach and you go this way then maybe he will take a dummy for night time sleeps, as there is evidence this has a lowering effect on the cot death rate.

giantsantasacks · 03/01/2009 13:14

nuclear - presumably in the prem unit they are hooked up to monitors though and therefore would be able to tell if they stopped breathing...

WalkingInAWonderStuffingLand · 03/01/2009 13:24

One of those risks isn't it. Back to bed has resulted in lowering cot death by 70% but cot death was rare before. I agree dummy a good idea.

MmeJaffaB · 03/01/2009 15:45

Stuffitllama - It was in my thoughts, I obviously need to man up with my posting.

MmeJaffaB · 03/01/2009 15:47

Dummy on front tends to end up wedged in cheek/eye/nose at somepoint, leaving a nice space for breathing.

TheMuppetsChristmasMuggle · 03/01/2009 15:49

My DD slept on her tummy from birth - it was the only way she would sleep. My Doc said it was fine

LolaLadybird · 03/01/2009 16:16

Nuclear - I posted on this v same thing a year ago with a v colicky DS who was only a few weeks old. Exactly the same problem - he was v unhappy and woke up frequently unless on his front.

DH and I tortured ourselves about the SIDS risk but in the end we were all so desperate for some sleep that we let him sleep that way. As Snickers said, we also ensured that all the other SIDS risks had been eliminated.

We also almost bought a breathing monitor which would have helped with some extra peace of mind. Eventually, at about 3 months, DS outgrew the colic and was able to sleep on his back. Although he went back to sleeping on tummy when he was about 8 months and could roll over himself.

Only you can make the decision about the SIDS risk, but I know I felt better knowing there were others out there who had done the same.

toreen · 04/01/2009 14:05

You absolutely cannot argue with the statistics when it comes to the lowering of SIDS rates following the "back to sleep" campaign (I am a statistician btw). On their backs is definitely the safest sleeping position for young babies.

Having said that, my ds hated being on his back too. I used to swaddle him when tiny and think that helped - I would try this first with your baby.

laumiere · 04/01/2009 14:56

DS1 always slept on his front (he was 8 weeks prem) and we just checked that he was ok from time to time (eg not too hot or wrapped up). We didn't worry about it to be honest, our hospital always put him to sleep on his tummy and said it was far more important to have a new mattress and a room with no damp.

dreamteamgirl · 04/01/2009 16:59

My DS was put to sleep on front in hospital- whe wasnt preemie but was a weeny one and spent 7 nights in hospital and so we carried it on when we got home. Its the only way he would sleep

theowlwhowasafraidofthedark · 04/01/2009 17:03

We had the same problem. Swaddling definitely worked for us. The key is learning how to do it properly. There are videos on youtube I think demonstrating. Don't haev time to link now, but will come back later.

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