Baby rolling on to tummy at night - can’t roll back yet - how to ease my worry?

[Firsttimemummyworries]

first time mummy looking for some wise words from mumsnetters..
my LO - almost 6 months can roll left and right on to her tummy but hasn’t mastered how to roll back yet. My days are spent encouraging her to roll back/flipping her back.. repeat 6000 times 😂 (pls tell me this is a phase)
she has now started to roll on to her tummy at night and I’m so worried I might not hear her (one time she was face down on the mattress🥴) how worried should I be/how can I ease my worry
Thanks in advance x

Oh mine did this - and would lie face down with her nose squashed into the mattress. It worried me sick! If she can turn herself onto her front though she will easily have the neck strength to turn her head to the side and breathe that way. It isn’t perfect safe sleeping but at 6 months you can be a little more flexible than with a very tiny baby.

Has she got good neck control? Can she lift her head up while she's on her tummy? There's really not much you can do, and 6 months the risk really does reduce. My boy has slept face down for months now, it was worrying to begin with but I have stopped worrying now!

I think most of them do this and scare the shit out of us. In a Short while she’ll be rolling back don’t worry

Thanks everyone. Yeah she has good neck control whilst awake and on her tummy. It’s the face down business that’s worrying and the fact it’s drilled in to you that you must not let them on their tummies. I have flipped her back what feels like 8494 times tonight, and then she wakes up and whines.. roll on the day she can roll back… and then I’ll have to move all the stuff in my house😂
how long did it take for LO to be able to roll from belly to back?

I rolled a muslin cloth into a sausage shape and put it by the side of her so she couldn't quite roll onto her front but she seemed really comfortable.

Don’t roll cloths/ towels next to them it is a far bigger suffocation hazard than rolling on to their front. Don’t forget that until a couple of decades ago all babies were on their fronts. And at 6 months old it’s not a massive problem.

I think usually if they can roll themselves over they can always move their head to the side from their tummy if they need to
mid think as long as the mattress is firm enough and there’s nothing in the cot then they will be fine

Think yourself lucky - my premature 2 week old somehow used to flip herself to the front. It stopped after a week or so and I’ll never really understand how she did it but it was terrifying

I asked a midwife about this years ago and she said that once a baby can roll themselves into that position themselves, it's fine and not to worry.

i remember when my DS1 rolled onto his tummy, and finally started sleeping for longer than 20 minutes at a time!

Hi everyone!

First time mom here -

My little girl, she is 4 months old on the 17/02/2024. She learnt how to roll onto her stomach about 2 weeks ago now, still hasn’t learnt how to roll on back. I’m happy that she is learning & thriving. However, at night time she tries to sleep on her tummy, if I’m awake I won’t allow her to do this, there has been times where she has woke up crying to be turned back over so she is aware of what’s she’s doing, she’s always had amazing head control & can easily hold her head up for a long time whilst on her tummy. Is this safe? For her to sleep on her stomach? Please let me know.

P.S - Any tips for helping her learn to roll back would be amazing.

Thank you! 💛