Hi all!
I have an almost 4 month old boy who over the past 3 weeks has learned to roll over onto his tummy while sleeping. I know he is strong enough to hold his head up so I'm not so concerned with sufficating but I am very concerned with the increased risk of SIDS. Currently he sleeps soundly on his back for 5-6 hours but around 3:00 every morning he rolls over on his tummy. I get up, roll him on to his back and within 30 minutes he's back on his tummy. I'm waking up about every 1/2 hour from 3 to 6, which is causing me to get very little sleep and disrupting his sleep as well.
Does anyone know of any products that can be used to help prevent him from rolling over? I saw a mat at Target that had sides built in but it's only recommended for children 0-4 months. Doesn't it matter after 4 months? I've tried putting tightly wrapped towels on either side of him so that he can't roll over them, but he just kicks them out of the way. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
All,
Thanks so much for all the support, encouragement and suggestions. You're response was overwhelming and greatly, greatly appreciated! It's very comforting to know that others have gone through the same frustrations. So thanks again to you all!!!
My son had his 4 month appointment yesterday and I'm happy to say he is as strong and healthy as a small ox! I expressed my concerns to both the Dr. and Nurse and both echoed what so many of you had advised. As long as he's strong enough to keep his head up, doesn't have anything in his crib other than the matress and a tight fitting sheet and is put down on his back, he will be fine sleeping on his tummy if he should roll over in the night. So last night I checked on him twice, didn't turn him over either time and all was well this morning. YEAH! While I'm sure that I will continue to wake up and keep an eye on him through-out the upcoming nights, I feel much better about it and he'll be getting much better rest each night.
Someone already recommended a sleep positioner to you, I've heard that works well for some people. I have one, but don't even use it. I've heard that once they can roll over on their own, the will be fine to stay sleeping like that.
I hope I can explain this right...my daughter went through the same thing and it was frustrating. What I did was buy 2 wedges at Target. They were made to put under your child's head to elevate their head while they sleep. Instead of under the head, I put them in the sides of the crib...so the high ends were at the outside of the crib, and the low ends met perfectly in the middle. My daughter slept in this 'valley' and couldn't roll uphill. It worked perfectly. Hope this helps! (It's called the safe lift deluxe universal crib wedge, $12.99 at Target.)
Don't put anything in his crib at this point to prevent him from rolling over! It could actually make the chance of SIDS increase! When my son started rolling over, I was also concerned and when I talked to his dr., she said it's fine to let him roll over. So I did and I slept fine and he actually slept better and longer. She said that as long as he can hold his head up, the chance of SIDS decreases significantly. I'd say don't roll him back over but still check on him for a bit if it'll make you feel better. Still put him to sleep on his back though! Hope this helps!
Well you can try the sleep positioners but my son would roll over even while he was in those which made me worry even more, and if I made it small enough so that he couldn't roll, he just was so uncomfortable that it wasn't worth it. They did work well if I swaddled him and then placed him in it because then his arms were not available and as hard as he tried to roll over with his legs he still couldn't..but I didn't do that for long because I felt bad for him. I can't imagine not being able to move at all.
I would work on rolling from tummy to back, and also having a fan in the room circulating the air is said to decrease the chances of SIDS [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/health/research/07sids.....
This is from Parents.com
"Q: My baby has started to flip onto her stomach during the night. How can I stop this?
A: You can't -- but don't worry. "Once a baby can roll over by herself, her brain is mature enough to alert her to breathing dangers," says Dr. Moon. "And by the time she's 6 months old, her improved motor skills will help her to rescue herself, so the SIDS risk is greatly reduced." http://www.parents.com/baby/health/sids/new-ways-to-preve...
I don't know if I would trust that. It's better to continue to be careful and wake up at 3am if you have to.
There are also monitors out there that can sense the baby's movement and breathing. I haven't tried them myself so I can't tell you how well they work, but that is another option. Google "SIDS monitor" and you will see a bunch of them
Scary as it sounds, i would let him roll over and sleep how he wants. Be sure not to use a bumper pad and do not have stuffed animals or a lot of blankets in his crib.
I agree with the prev. post.
I am an old fashioned mom anyway and all of my kids slept on their tummy's from day one and are just fine. I have a crib bumper and lightweight blanket or none at all depending on the weather.
But I do have a daycare and a medical background. While the AMA does recommend Back To Sleep they also say that once a child can roll from back to tummy their SIDS risk decreased dramatically. They also say if they use a pacifier it decreased their risk as well, good ventillation like a ceiling fan on low is also good.
Hi K.
the doctor told me that when they are old enough to roll over by themselves they also are old enough to not suffacate. and by 6 months the risk of sids is greatly reduced
First, congrats that your 3 month old is rolling over! He sounds like a big boy! I know that this is bad... but my son was a tummy sleeper starting at about 2 months old. He had such bad reflux that he wouldn't sleep more than 30 minutes by himself or 45 mins. with me. My son is now 11 months old and doing well. I was very concerned all the time just like you are until my son could roll over on his own. My dr. said that once they are able to roll over on their own, there isn't much you can do, and the risk of sids goes way down. There is also a book "healthy sleep habits happy child" by Mark Weissbluth that was very helpful to me. The book basicly says that you should let a sleeping baby lie, that it is more harmful to disturb their sleep than to let them sleep as they are. :) good luck! You sound like a good mom, you'll be okay!
C.
I would not be worried about him on his tummy, especially since he is rolling onto it himself. My 19 month old started sleeping on his tummy when he was about 8 weeks old. He slept so much better that way and woke less during the night. He could lift his head just fine. I think the SIDS reason for back sleeping is mostly because of suffocation and if your can is putting himself like that then I don't see a reason to be concerned.
well, pretty much you are not concerned with suffocating, but are concerned with SIDS, which in my mind are the same thing in this situation. the reason they want babies on their backs is to prevent them breathing exhaled air... usually caused by something being in front of their face, pooling exhaled air right there in front of their face.
sooooo.... as long as the crib is empty, and nothing gets in front of his face, he should be find sleeping on his tummy. hes strong enough to roll over on his own, that means he can lift and turn his head on his own when he needs to.
so he should be ok. sure, you can check on him once or twice during that time he is rolled over, but dont buy anything extra to keep him from rolling over, hes going to be fine. he wont have any trouble in a couple weeks, and its frustrating to spend money on something that hes only going to use for such a short time..
anyway
good luck!
K.,
I used a wedge when my babies were very little. When they were about 4 months old, they could chuck it right out of the crib, so it lost its effectiveness at that point. And it has never been proven to be effective in any testing anyway. My mother bought it so I used it. Really, the SIDS risk is primarily with babies under 4 months of age. After that, statistically the risk drops way down. But it’s not like the risk magically disappears on the 4 month birthday mark. It’s just a definitive timeframe that means your baby is more than likely beyond the age of risk.
Doctors recommended moms put new babies on their backs because moms in Asia (where SIDS is very uncommon) have always done it. With the switch in the US, it cut SIDS cases in half, but it didn't eliminate SIDS entirely. Doctors use SIDS to label an apparently healthy baby who has died for no apparent reason. In reality, there are probably several conditions that babies have that all get identified as "SIDS" because no one understands the real conditions well enough to identify it for what it is. If your child is rolling over and approaching the 4 month mark, it’s probably safe to say that he will be just fine.
The newest research says that some SIDS cases may be caused by a brain abnormality the baby is born with. SIDS cases are higher in teenage mothers, mothers with no prenatal care, smoking mothers, premature babies, and multiples. Even if your baby did roll over at an early age, the chance of SIDS is really, really small. About 0.1% of babies born each year die of SIDS, and that includes those at higher risk.
Good luck,
S.
All three of my children slept on their tummys from the git go. Since placing children on their backs for sleeping has SIDS stopped? NO. Same with years ago when you were told to put them on their sides. I firmly believe that if you have a firm mattress and tight fitting sheet with no fluffy pillows or blankets in the crib your child will be fine however they are comfortable sleeping. If like you said he has strength in his head and can lift it and move it he will be fine. Let him be comfortable and get the sleep you both need. My youngest child is now 4 years old. My children slept better and long at night when they were on there tummies.
S.
