3 month old only settling on tummy

[Floopyandtired]

My 14 week old has been thrashing around all night, constantly waking himself up. I’ve fed, changed, rocked, shushed, etc. Nothing has worked. About half an hour ago I popped him down on his tummy just to see… and he’s been out like a light since. I’m obviously not going to sleep while he’s asleep on his tummy so I can watch him but what do I do if he seems to prefer tummy sleeping? He can’t roll yet although I suspect all the leg slamming is him trying to do that. He’s been an OK sleeper until now so I’m hoping it’s just a phase he’ll move past?

I remember this phase, especially the leg slamming! It's really frustrating but I think you do need to follow the safe sleep guidelines and keep putting him on his back, until he can turn onto his front himself. You're right that it's probably a phase and he'll get used to it and settle again on his back. I know some people do let their babies sleep on their front and use a breathing monitor but I don't think that's a reliable solution. At three months you're also approaching the stage where their sleep fundamentally changes so you might find things change anyway in a few weeks.

Sorry I don’t know the answer to what to do if he prefers sleeping on his tummy.

But could the bad nights sleep be to do with the heat? I’m making assumptions you are in the UK and it’s muggy where you are though! It’s been 26-27 degrees and horribly muggy in our house all bloody night (I know that’s nothing for some people in various climates all around the world BTW!) But my DD who is 5 months has had an unsettled night too and I wondered if it might be the heat.

As an aside, do you have a sensor mat baby monitor which alarms if it senses no movement after so many seconds? That could be worth a consideration. It has given us some extra peace of mind with our baby.

@Trufflepuffpuff thank you! You’re right, I do probably need to ride it out. I think I’ve been fairly spoiled by his sleep so far so I’ve forgotten that some nights are just rubbish no matter what you do. Doesn’t help that it’s hotter than Satan’s armpit tonight otherwise I’d normally be happy to hold him while he sleeps. I’m going to flip him onto his back and pray he stays asleep so I can try and get some kip before my toddler wakes!

Oh and I should have said that my DD leg slams too!

I ended up having to put my son down to sleep on his tummy as he wouldn't settle on his back at all, it was that or sleep with him on my chest which was much more dangerous. I did tell the health visitor who said that when she had babies the official advice was to lay them on their tummy not their back. Obviously laying on their back has been proved to be safest since then.