At what age can babies be left to sleep on their stomachs?

[hestergraysgarden]

I know I'm probably being completely PFB about this so please give me some perspective!

DS is 7 months old and has recently started moving around a lot when we put him down to sleep at night. He's been in his own room for the last month and now spends about 10 minutes crawling around / pulling himself up to standing using his cot bars before drifting off to sleep, usually on his tummy.

Because of the SIDS guidelines, every time I find him in this position I turn him over onto his back, which usually results in him waking up. When he wakes and resettles during the night I find myself going in to check on him more than I really should.

Is it okay for him to sleep on his tummy now? I feel like I'm doing the wrong thing moving him after he's fallen asleep naturally, but the NHS website says that babies should be put to sleep on their backs until 12 months, so I'm in one of those new mum grey areas...

Put him to sleep on his back, but if he flips himself over, don't worry about it. He has the neck strength and coordination to lift his head if needs be.

6 months I believe the guidelines say. I think this is also the age when risk of SIDS drops dramatically.

If he's strong enough to move around and roll himself back and forth, then it's fine.

Thanks all. That's put my mind at rest :)

Once they can roll themselves into that position you don't have much choice! That will obviously be at different ages for different babies.