Stubborn side/stomach sleeper (5 month old)

[LC92]

Hi everyone, my 5 month old son has started rolling onto his side/stomach in his sleep. Even when I roll him onto his back he is so stubborn and fights me to keep himself in a side position. When I do manage to roll him on his back most of the time he'll cry and roll back to his side. Has anyone else had this problem? With back is best drilled into my head I'm now a frantic mum staying up all night watching and making sure he still can breathe. He has already met a few later stage milestones (standing with support, sitting on his own and he has been rolling around for the past two months and had great neck control since he was around two months old) but the worry of sids isn't helping my post natal anxiety. I'm not sure if I'm being an over worrier, but If anyone has gotten any advice or has been through the same situation I'd really appreciate hearing from you. Thanks🙂

If he can roll, I wouldn't worry. It sounds like you already don't have a fabric bumper around the side so that's good. Others might have more advice.

Once they can roll themselves you don’t need to keep putting them back on their back. Leave him to it!

The risk of SIDS peaks at around three months and then begins to drop quite substantially. If he's rolling then he will be fine. It does take a little while to get used to as parents though as we have the risks drilled into us!

Once they can roll themselves it's fine to leave them.

Put him down on his back but then let him sleep.

A lot of babies do prefer front sleeping once they can get themselves into the position.

It’s completely fine and safe for them to sleep on their front/side once they can get there themselves. Just continue to put him down on his back, then leave him to sleep however he’s comfy.

Once they can roll it's fine. Mine did the same and I tried a no roll thing but she just shuffled down to get out of it and then rolled over.

He can roll himself onto his side and back again by the sounds of it. Leave him to it.

Your baby isn’t stubborn. They’re trying to be comfortable sleeping. If they can roll and the cot is safe, it’s fine!

Can he roll all the way over and back again? If so Don't worry.

Thanks everyone for your replies, he's able to roll from his back to his stomach but not the other way yet. Yeah there's nothing else in the cot with him, just his sleeping bag and if it gets too cold then I add a cellular blanket. He does look really comfortable when he sleeps on his side but the health visitors and NHS all advise to roll him back onto his back. That doesn't work at all for him, he just grunts or cries at me and pulls out of my hands. I watched him this morning to see what would happen when he rolled onto his stomach and if he'd move his head to the side but he just slept face down into the sheet. I didn't chance it long enough to see if he'd turn his head.

If he has the strength to roll back to front, he has the strength to turn his head and won’t suffocate himself. I’ve never heard that the NHS say you need to roll them back, you literally can’t every time unless you plan on never sleeping yourself which would be a completely ludicrous suggestion. The only thing I’d say is ditch the blanket now he’s moving about, I know it’s cellular but it’s not worth it when you can just add a vest or buy a warmer sleeping bag and lots of tummy time during the day to get him rolling the other way too.

Agreed with pp.. you said he has great neck control, if he can sit on his own and roll over to his front on his own this he can lift he will be capable of lifting and moving his head. He may even surprise you by turning back over in his sleep. Also agree to take the blanket away if he's rolling and fidgeting in his sleep now too ☺️ don't stress mumma! X

You only have to put them down to sleep on their back, you don’t have to keep putting them back on their backs. If he turns himself over it’s fine.
The first roll is usually front to back, so if he can do back to front you might soon get him going the other direction if you up the tummy time.