15wk DD will only sleep on her side - what can we do?

[MrTay]

Hi there, long time reader first time poster. Our 15 weeks old DD has stopped settling on her back and will only sleep on her side. She sleeps in a homemade sidecar cot. She will roll from her back to her side, but has only just started learning to go from front to back; if we push her onto her back she just springs straight back over into her side! My DW and I are naturally concerned about SIDS and suffocation, so I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this sort of thing, and wouldn't mind sharing some pointers on how they dealt with it! Does DD sleeping on her side increase risks, what strategies did you find effective etc. Many thanks in advance.

Mine did the same. Side sleeping. I was a nervous wreck but she was fine and slept better. I did buy an Angel sensor monitor as I would never have been able to sleep for worry.

I've seen things like this sleep positioner suggested Here

I had a similar issue with mine, I used to put a rolled up towel behind his back and let him sleep on his side. It was either that or have him sleep on my chest in my bed, so I went for the less risky option IMO. I would never want to advise anyone to do the same though, we all know the risks and that sleeping on their back is safest, but it's hard to know what to do when they just won't sleep on their back.

Thanks for your responses! Kippy, I may just be being slow but how does putting a towel behind their back prevent a LO from rolling over forward? I'd certainly consider it; we're in the same position where we know it's against all the advice but she's so resistant to sleeping on her back.

I asked a couple of HVs about this and they both told me that if DD was capable of getting into a position herself then it was okay to let her sleep that way. They both were emphatic not to try and keep moving her back to back as it would just be stressful and result in less sleep all round.

Bear in mind that the risk of SIDS is very very very small. If you are not smokers that's the already tiny risk even tinier as well.

try this www.amazon.co.uk/Rollover-Positioner-Infant-Support-Safety/dp/B007PDREPY/ref=pd_sim_sbs_ap_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=1KCKKM44RWCCDCXVH3J0 op or 2 towels rolled and fit the sheet over the top

My DD never slept on her back from birth. Even from her first night in hospital.

She would sleep for 20 minutes on her back compared to 7 hours on her side.

Clearly she slept on her side! She's now 2 and still has not slept on her back. We never had a problem with her rolling on to her stomach till she was about 6 months, but at that time, she could roll herself back again so wasn't really concerned.

You're not being slow MrTay, the towel just made him more comfy on his side, it wouldn't have stopped him rolling onto his front. After a while he would only sleep on his front (he could kind of roll both ways, but not reliably). Giraffes advice makes sense to me, if they can get themselves in that position then it's okay, but maybe speak to your HV and ask them what they think.

Once they can find their own position I'd leave them be.

If you put them down on their back and they change position I wouldn't worry. My ds has slept on his front from 12wks as he would just roll over.

I've read that one should always put them down on their back, but, as pp have said, if they roll onto their side/front you don't have to move them back.

I too was told if they can roll themselves they are ok - both mine were side sleepers by this age... Otherwise you will be up all night flipping them back !!!

One of my twins was a side sleeper, the other a front sleeper from about 8 weeks. With the side sleeper I would roll two thick towels and put one behind her back and one against her front. This worked well and she would only sleep like this, remember to alternate sides though. It wedged her into a side sleeping position.

They spent 2 weeks in NICU and both were put on their fronts to sleep from the day they were born. We also had an Angelcare monitor.

DD always slept on her side as others have said if that's the way they want to sleep leave them be. If you are worried make sure the arm she is lying on is out in front of her around shoulder level IYSWIM, it will be impossible for her to roll on to her front - try it yourself! Once DD could roll from back to front she slept on her tummy, we used an angel care monitor for peace of mind