Baby rolling on side when asleep

[PaR99]

Hi, my 3 month old has started to roll on to his side when he is asleep. The HV has told me all I can do is roll him back on to his back until he confidently rolls back to front by himself. But when I do roll him back, he rolls straight back on to his side! Has anyone else experienced this? He just will not stay on his back and I’m struggling to sleep as I’m constantly trying to roll him back.

30 years ago, we put babies to sleep on their side in the “recovery position”, to avoid them aspirating vomit in their sleep, OP!
It’s possible your baby suffers reflux on his back, or is just more comfortable on his side. It really isn’t practical for you to stay awake all night every night on “rolling back” duty.

The guidance is only to put them down on their back when you're completely making the decision for them. Once they can move about on their own there's really nothing else you can do. Just still don't put them down on their tummy, although they may well end up there when they can do that on their own too!

Thanks, I think I’m panicking so much because the HV told me to roll him back over and then someone from the Lullaby Trust told me side sleeping causes babies to go in to a deeper sleep!

Your HV is nuts. If baby can roll himself on to his side, let him. Just make sure he is sleeping on a firm mattress with a tight sheet and that there is nothing he could roll his face into, I.e., no crib bumpers, no loose blankets, no toys. At 3 months, babies start choosing their own sleeping position and that is fine. I always used to put my 3 down on their backs, and they’d grunt and turn onto their tummies with their bums in the air the second they hit the mattress. 😂

Thank you this makes me feel a lot better! He’s currently in a bed side crib but thinking of moving him in to his cot (in our room) so he can’t press his face up against the side like he can in the crib.

Both my children always slept on their sides, it was their chosen position. It was the designated position advised by the Health Visitor when the eldest was born so I just did the same with the second even though it had fallen out of favour by then.