Baby won't sleep on back?

[harleysmammy]

Hi, my 11 week old has always slept on his back (or on his belly but only only my chest - he has never been put to bed on anything but his back) but tonight when I put him down on his back he went straight onto his side. I moved him, he went straight back onto his side. This happened 3 or 4 times. I know I'm not going to sleep tonight for checking on him but is it okay to let him sleep on his side?? I know the guidelines say his back but I can't keep him there. I might stay up and put my hand on his belly all night to stop him rolling over, but I can't do that every night. Is this okay or does he have to be on his back? Thanks x

If he can move himself onto his side then it's fine.

The guidelines say to put a baby on its back, but if he or she can roll onto their side on their own that's nothing to worry about. DD did the same at a similar age and actually slept better like that. She now chooses to sleep on her tummy!

Ds1 was a terrible sleeper till he was able to roll over- he's been a. Elly sleeper, and s much better sleeper till then.

DS2, I fed and then put onto his tummy from the moment we were home- 2 days old. He would fall asleep immediately.

I was aware of current advice, but chose not to follow it. I honestly dont believe I was irresponsible in making my choices.

Both mine sleep on their front and always have done. They would wake up if I put them down on their back. I always put them on their side though and let them roll themselves onto their front. I don't think there's a right or wrong - every child is different and you know them best of all.

DD slept on her side from newborn, nothing would stop her. I worried so much because of the back to sleep campaign and SIDS risk, asked my HV what I should do and all they said was 'don't let her' i.e. Never sleep and keep pushing her back for her to roll to her side the second my hand was not on her. I would have gone mad from sleep deprivation so I just made it as safe as I could. If he can roll you can't stop him, just make sure there are no loose blankets or sheets, might be worth getting a sleeping bag to reduce the risk of blankets getting rucked up.

Can he roll himself back if he wants to? As long as baby can roll away from the mattress if they get uncomfortable, you should be fine. It's just when they can't move themselves, you should be lying them on their back.

However the Lullaby Trust advice is, if baby flips onto front but can't roll themselves back, you should turn them back into their back. This does seem highly impractical though....