Rolling over - still worried!!!

[LoveActually]

Put thread up about this the other day but am still worrying! Have been trying to calm down about this but my 5 month old DD is rolling over onto her side throughout the night. She has cried out when her arm or leg got stuck so i go in and put her on her back but most of the time she is rolling onto her side and I can't be getting up all night to put her on her back. I'm really run down and lost my voice today so need my sleep. Can she damage herself? She seems to be breathing okay. Anyone else worried like me. Please help. xx

Hi, easier said than done but I would try not to worry - if she is able to roll onto her side then she should be able to roll back again if uncomfortable. Does she roll about during the day when playing? Maybe seeing her do this could reassure you?

Hi OlandDaisysmum she does roll about during the day, from her back to her front but hasn't quite mastered the front to back roll. When I spoke to my mum just now she said she always put my sister and I to bed on our fronts. How times change!! x

My dd did the exact same thing - and I worried exactly the same way you are and everyone told me not to. Two separate health visitors said that if she's strong enough to roll over on her own, then she's strong enough to move her head if her face is too hot against the mattress etc.

I was worried about the SIDS thing, as she was less than 6 months old, but it seems to me the 6month thing is really arbitrary, as babies' development is so different. My dd was so strong, I'm sure her physical and muscular development at 5months was more like many 6months old. Whereas my new ds is a tiny dot, and at 8weeks, looks more like a brand new newborn. The age thing can be a red herring, I think.

I would accept your mums suggestion LoveActually about how we were placed in cots as my mum has told me exactly the same thing, and be reassured by this.
The other thing you could do is give her plenty of opportunity to practice rolling from front to back? Although I always place DD on back, from a few months old I would find her in a wide range of comedy positions in her cot - notably horizontal with feet and head touching bars! I truly believe that if uncomfortable babies will wriggle about a bit!

I've just been in her room again and she has rolled over again! She is quite strong and unlike a lot of her friends (all 5 months) she is rolling over so maybe PinkyRed is right.
Thing is it's also quite hot tonight so it's not the most comfortable temperature (23 C).
Having looked around MN I'm now more worried about the fact she comes in bed with us between 6am and 7am every morning. Maybe that's what I should be worried about!

I think what you are encountering is MWS - mums worrying syndrome! I see nothing wrong with DD having an hour in bed with you - try and relax and feel fortunate that you are able to get a lie in !!! My DD feels that 5.30 is perfectly acceptable time to be up and about - so if you have any suggestions? xxx

We were always told to put babies to sleep on their fronts so the wouldnt choke if they were sick.I worried when mine learned to roll onto thir backs.If you think about it the natural sleeping position is on the side and most babies adopt this when left to their own devices.

Hi, my DD was rolling onto her front from 4mths and it completely freeked me out too. However, as others have said on here, if baby is strong enough to roll over then really they are strong enough to move their heads and keep breathing.

DD is now 3.8 and stil going strong.

Also, my DS - 4mths - spends at least half the night in bed with us. I'm so tired from BF him and managing DD that sometimes its just easier.

As OlandDaisy said, worrying is what you do as a mum (along with a very very big dose of guilt). Try not to as much and be sure that it gets easier as time goes on (well, kind of, you just end up with another heap of things to worry about instead)