Front sleeping...

[Flingmoo]

I know its highly frowned upon these days but wanted to hear your experiences.

Our 3 mo DS will only sleep properly on his front... I would never have even tried it but one day DH put him down to nap, closely supervised, on his front, and he settled very quickly.

Guiltily, I continued to sleep him on his front. He's gone from screaming and thrashing all day, overtired and not napping at all, to having a regular morning, lunch and afternoon nap totalling around 5 hours a day, and settling faster after night wakings too. He even self settles now.

I've been worried sick about it but don't want to go back to him being miserable 24/7. We've invested in an Angelcare monitor with sensor pad but I understand these can't entirely prevent SIDS.

I've been justifying it to myself by thinking that everyone in mine and DH's generation slept on their fronts, and that the risks might be outweighed by the health benefits of my baby getting the sleep he needs... And the monitor had given me some peace of mind. But I know I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to him.

Not expecting much reassurance but still thought I'd put it out there... I'm assuming my HV would kill me if I admit this to her?!

Dd2 was a tummy sleeper. We were talking awake every 15-40 mins all evening and all night until I would wearily at 4am five up the ghost and turn her over.

I started off letting her nap on her tummy downstairs so I could see how she was.

There was no way she was ever going to sleep on her back. No way.

I was worried when we had a couple of hospital admissions that I'd be lectured or get a look but no one said anything.

And one dr even said to me that they don't recommend it but the baby needs to sleep and so do you.

That kind of made me feel better. We reduced all other risks as much as we could.

Dd1 never slept on her back either. She slept on her side and then tummy as soon as she could roll.

Mine was similar. I'd do my best to put him to sleep on his back, but he always settled better on his front. And sometimes I did it.

An alternative is to swaddle as they can't thrash about (I only found out about this too late).

About the risk. Front sleeping is only part of the risk. I did some research at the time and I think it doubled the risk. But the risk itself is tiny. There are other factors too, such as smoking, overheating, getting under covers.
In a research paper they showed that babies on their front were more difficult to wake up. It may be a problem if the baby is already a deep sleeper. I think it had to do with accumulation of CO2.
Another factor is whether the baby can lift its head easily or not.

So, don't beat yourself too much, make sure all the other risks are covered, and try swaddle as an alternative, or do it mostly during the day. But at some point both you and him need some sleep.

The risk of SIDS also decreases after 6 months, particularly when they start rolling and babies may end up sleeping in their preferred position anyway.
Mine slept on his front with his bottom high up. :)

Meant to say also, she hated being swaddled. Would squirm until she got her hands free.

She woke her self up with a really strong startle reflex.

I'm so relieved I don't have tiny DCs now. Mine are grown and when I had DC1 we were instructed to put our babies down to sleep lying on their tummy with head turned to the side.
DC1 always went down like that and there were no alarms or anything more progressive than a regular plug in hearing monitor.

It was fine and there were never any issues for us, but of course, later on I was scared by all the later instructions and advice.

DC1 was a very calm and good sleeper btw.

Not sure if that helps at all except that we all do what we think is right by our own.

Lweji the bum in the air thing is so adorable. Mine does it too!

The good thing is he does have great head and neck strength, since birth. It does sound like a big part of the risk is that they sleep too well on their fronts...

I wish I'd stuck with swaddling more at the beginning, I tried it only once or twice to no avail, but maybe I should have kept trying. Seems like its a bit too late now, he doesn't like it.

I'm no expert on the risks. But I've slept my DCs on their tummies. They have all been instantly more
Comfortable. My latest still has her cord so am not putting her on her tummy but will give it a go as soon as it has come off. She's had great neck strength since birth as my others have. I know I'll get shouted down but I don't really see how it is any more dangerous than co sleeping (something I have done occasionally but not really).

Also don't under estimate how important it is for you to get some rest.

Tummy sleeping is just one of a range of factors that can contribute to SIDS. Babies can still be affected sleeping on their backs, although less likely but it can still happen. You all need some sleep!

Both mine slept on front from very early- used sleep apnoea monitor with first, not bothered with second. Youngest was swaddled on back for three months and then learnt to roll onto his front so I stopped swaddling and let him sleep on front. Both did have really strong head control from birth really. Lots of my friends admit they put babies down on front.

Something I have always wanted to know, is at what point, is the risk associated with tummy sleeping becomes less than the risk to baby from not sleeping and an incredibly tired mummy/daddy who are more likely as a result to fall asleep on the sofa or with baby in bed.