8 week old can only sleep on tummy- help!

[shezzle]

Desperately need advice from anyone in same position or just anyone who has any thoughts on this please. My lovely new little dd3 has terrible reflux as did dd2 and absolutely can't sleep if on back, dd2 managed with us propping her up with a reflux wedge although she was still very sick. Dd3 has silent reflux, same meds prescribed for dd2 not working for dd3 and doc suspects milk intolerance so referred us to paed, waiting for appointment, it has been put through as urgent so hopefully soon. Am bfing and on dairy free diet which has helped massively but she still suffers with really poorly tummy, mucus in poo, bad congestion,coughing, to name a few of the symptoms. She is at her most comfortable on her tummy and the pain seems significantly reduced. During the day today when I tried it she napped peacefully for two hours and was so happy for a while after she woke. I sat next to her and dh and I took it in turns to keep an eye on her as am petrified of SIDS risk, hence this post. She is sleeping now as I write this and i am scared to go to sleep due to the worry of something happening. For the past 8 weeks she hardly slept at night due to screaming in pain when lying down,so I either cuddled her then lay her down then she would start refluxing,gagging etc so we slept together with her stretched across my tummy. Obviously I didn't sleep properly again worrying about safety, so this is why I ended up trying the tummy thing as she couldn't even lay in my bed next to me on her back. Also tried a friends swing, and propping her on her side but she really didn't like either of those. I just don't know what to do which is crazy as am a third time mum! You just hear from day one- babies must sleep on their backs,but what if they absolutely can't ??? Do those baby alarm things actually work as have looked at this as a possible idea, although it doesn't help me right now. She is sleeping soundly on her tummy in her bed next to mine at the moment. Dd3 is quite a big baby over 11lb now and can move her head and hold it up most of the time by herself, I read that is a factor but too be honest I have read/googled everything but it is still a huge worry. Sorry for waffling post and thanks if anyone replies soon.

I could have written your post myself. My son had bad reflux and from 3 weeks old he slept on his tummy. I had sleepless nights staying up to watch him. But after a week or so realised he was fine. Very strong at holding his head up. He is 18 months now and still sleeps on his tummy. It helped with the reflux and he became and still is a fantastic sleeper xx

Oh buglove thank you so much for replying, am sitting here with my head practically in the carrycot listening to her breathe. So you too know how tough it is for the little ones suffering with reflux, just awful. Glad your son is okay and loves his snoozing! Nice to know we are not alone, it's just so hard in the middle of the night isn't it you feel like its just you and the baby x

My ds never had reflux (don't think) but screamed on back from day 2. Day 3 gave in and he slept on his tummy after that. He's been fine. Only got used to going on his back ,even for nappy change, at about 10 months. Up to then, being on his back even for a second he screamed. Don't think there was ever anything wrong, and he's fine now at almost 2.

[www.amby.co.uk/ Amby hammock.]]

Needed it for ds2, found it by the time I had ds3.

Marvellous.

bugger try again, the amby

(Ds2 btw who I didn't have the hammock for slept on his side. It was that or him face down on my stomach all night - I was more comfortable with the hammock)

My ds would never have slept in the hammock either! He wouldn't even sleep in your arms if facing upward.
Fwiw- he slept through from 5weeks, self settled, always brilliant sleeper.

Hth

I would recommend the Angelcare alarm, it beeps if they stop breathing and we find it puts our mind at rest.

DD1 and DD2 both had reflux and both slept on their tummies. DH looked at the SIDS research and it was very difficult to find anything where they had just looked at tummy sleeping rather than lots of things together (tummy sleeping, parents smoking, overheated baby etc). We took the leap of faith that as long as we didn't have any other risk factors then it would be fine if they slept on their tummy.

How is cutting out the dairy going? I did it with DD2 and it was hard at first finding all the dairy sources. I also cut out soya at the same time as that can be related. The good news is that at 12 months, she can now have dairy again. She still won't drink milk apart from bm but yogurt is back on.

My DD had reflux (thankfully over with now) and I put her on her tummy from about 3mo. The increase in risk of SIDS from back to tummy sleeping is something like 0.5% (or so I heard). My generation were mostly tummy sleepers and our parents were told this was the best thing to minimise risk of choking in vomit. Swings and roundabouts really! My friend bought one of those sensor mats but I never did. Just spent the first few nights obsessively popping out to check on her as she didn't wake at all during the night. Soon realised she wasn't waking at night because she was sleeping so well!

[Disclaimer - that's not to say parents who want their kids to sleep through the night should put them in their tummies - the SIDS prevention guidelines say back sleeping is best]

Thanks everyone,really appreciate this. Dd3 slept like a log for the first time last night , I kind of snoozed next to her on my bed,while she was in her carrycot close to me, she awoke only for a feed and straight back to sleep,no screaming or gagging. Shall definitely look at the angelcare alarm, wish I had the hammock to sleep in it looks supremely comfy! I feel so much better about the situation than I did last night. Camdancer- dairy free is better than I thought tesco has quite a lot now, olive spread without buttermilk, Kara dairy free milk is ok in coffee, havent found good substitute for a decent cup of tea which is the thing I miss the most! Dd reacted to soy actually, I did eat a lot of it at first and she was very sick, took me a while to realise as not used to all this. It's amazing milk is hidden in so many foods, an eye opener to say the least. Eating out is too difficult, did you find that? Or did you find anywhere that you could eat as a family? I have adapted my family meals for me just leaving out anything dairy related, have found quite a few meals taste delicious without it! Good to hear your dd is able to enjoy her food and she is ok, the things these poor babies go through.

There is definitely a common factor with our reflux babies sleeping soundly on their tummies, I agree buttonboo about the choking on vomit, this happened frequently with my dd2 it was scary.

Great news that she slept well last night! Hope you did too? And didn't spend too much time awake worrying...

Glad to hear she slept well last night. It makes all the difference in the world - especially when you have other DC's.

Eating out was hard. I tended to stick to simple cafe type places were I could have a jacket potato or something else without many ingredients. Most of our meals were quite easy to adapt to dairy free. We used to have a lot of cheese on meals (like on top of chili) but we just don't bother now. Labelling is pretty good now and shows if things have milk and soya in it. The hard thing was to keep checking labels when I went to different shops. The Tesco chicken slices were fine but Bernard Matthews had milk protein added! The thing I found hardest was having to say no to cakes - but it was good for my waistline. I've put on weight since DD2 has been able to eat dairy again!

I'm of a generation where we all slept on our tummies.

My friend's baby has always slept on his tummy - when she quietly confessed to her Dr he said that 50% of his Dr friends put their babies to sleep on their tummies and that its only the official guidelines that stop them recommedning it to patients.

Another tummy sleeper here. No reflux but pretty sure it was the milk intolerance that caused her too much discomfort to sleep any other way. I bought the angle care monitor in the end. Provided the head control is good then I'd just let her sleep. It's not recommended but a baby needs to sleep and so does mummy and rest if the family. Sleep positioners should be avoided at all costs though :) but do what feels right for you!!! :)

It's amazing how you feel after catching up on sleep! Dd3 went to sleep at 8pm after a busy day, (it is dh birthday today) and she is still sleeping soundly now,lovely for her! And I got to have a rest and time with dd2 this evening, our house is peaceful. I am still worrying but much less thanks to all of you and will take the necessary precautions for dd3 to sleep safely.

Another bum-in-the-air baby here too. As with previous posters I weighed up the pros and cons, and went for it. Never looked back and he still sleeps like that. Freeing myself up to make my own informed decisions about the best way to care for my baby changed my life - no exaggeration.

Sparrowfart I am with you on that! My baby is actually happy! She slept till 5am this morning and has been beaming at me since waking up. I can't believe how in just two nights things are so different.

Wonderful shezzle!!! Made a massive difference to us too. Hopefully you're seeing the world with refreshed eyes this morning! I'm in the 5:30am club too but if you can get to bed circa 10:30 each night, you should be getting nearly 7 hours and that's good in anyone's book!!!

Yes I feel almost normal again! Dd3 seems comfortable and content today, I am getting into the swing of the dairy free thing too, I only have to look at the scales to keep going on that one, very nice side effect. Just told dh he should try it and cut down on wine as he as been grumbling about having moobs and a bit of a tum, got a bit of a dirty look for that

My son didn't have reflux but slept only when on his tummy so I got an angelcare alarm thigny and felt very reassured. He was a good birth weight, and nobody smoked ever in the house or around him, and he slept in our bedroom. I cannot go against the guideline but you do what you think is right.

Definitely blueberrypancake thanks, I am more confident after talking about it, we are looking at the angelcare alarms, the reviews are really good.

Just like to add that a wrap sling during the day really helped us when DD was tiny (she now mostly is in the connecta) and keeps arms free too - gentle days and peaceful nights for my tummy sleeper although from 3 mo she suddly decided her back or side were good!