3 Month Old Rolling over at Night

Updated on November 07, 2010
J.H. asks from Houston, TX
6 answers

Hi moms - my 3 1/2 month old baby girl just started rolling over from her back to her tummy. During the day she's fine, but at night she does it and gets stuck and starts to scream and cry. And this happens several times a night. Before this week she was the best sleeper, and now this has thrown her way off. I'm sure this is common, but does anyone have any suggestions/ideas for how to deal with this? Will she just learn how to roll back over and then won't be so upset? Thanks!

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M.F.

answers from Phoenix on

She will eventually learn to either roll back over on her own or learn to be okay sleeping on her tummy. If you go in to roll her over when she crys, she won't learn to self-soothe and simply be okay however she's laying. She'll only learn that tummy=cry=Mommy to the rescue. You should still lay her down on her back, but if she's rolling over on her own, she's okay to stay sleeping on her stomach, so don't feel you have to roll her back over for safety.
PLEASE do not use any kind of prop or wedge or anything to keep her from rolling over at night. Since she is rolling over on her own, anything but a light blanket in her crib is a smothering hazard and shouldn't be in bed with her. Recently, sleep positioners were recalled due to smotherings and it was recommended that NO sleep positioners should be used in any way, shape or form in cribs.
Let your daughter figure this out on her own and it will be the safest and best solution to this very common problem at this age. Good luck!

4 moms found this helpful

J.B.

answers from Houston on

Well maybe it is the rolling over that is waking her and not that she is on her tummy and once she jars awake she can't settle back down. I saw that my son was a great roller at that age too and was very capable of lifting his head, so what I did was I would put him to sleep on his belly. I checked him often and then when he was good an asleep I would go and flip him to his back and he would just sleep that way all night bc he was deep asleep. Like I would put him down at 7:30ish and flip him at around 9. I talked to my pediatrician about it and he said he could not recommend that I put my baby on his stomach but that he knew that many moms did this in his practice. Once he could roll in both directions I just put him down on his belly with no worries. So maybe try starting her on her stomach to see if that helps. Best wishes, hope you get it all worked out soon and of course if you aren't comfortable with tummy sleep you can always just talk it over with her dr. Take care!!

2 moms found this helpful

L.A.

answers from Austin on

If she can roll over she is fine to begin laying her down on her tummy.
Will she sleep on her stomach at all? If so you can now start her on her stomach, she will probably sleep really well this way.

Our daughter was lifiting her head right away when she was born.. After only a few weeks she would roll to her stomach and the doc said as long as she could lift and turn her head or roll on her own, she was safe.. She slept so much better this way.

If you are concerned about it, you can call the Dr's office in the morning..

1 mom found this helpful
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M.P.

answers from Los Angeles on

I had this same issue with my daughter so I put a large rolled up beach towel underneath the sheet to act as a barrier when she tried to roll over at night. It worked for us.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.B.

answers from Evansville on

Be careful what you put in the crib with her! When my sons started rolling over at night I invested in this pillow that was made to keep a baby stable at night. It had a pillow/wedge on each side, and was flat in the middle. It prevented baby from rolling. You may get the same effect from dish towels rolled up and rubber banded but be careful what you place in the crib!

Does she roll over one way only? You could always put a small wedge on the side she normally rolls toward (face her away from her preferred side) and see if that prevents her from rolling. Eventually she'll get the hang of sleeping however she is most comfortable, but I'm always wary of letting a baby sleep on his/her stomach!

Hope this helps! Good luck!

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B.V.

answers from El Paso on

they have the thing where they can be on their back and sleep with the wedges around, but it's only until 3 months.. i was nervous after 3 months bec., she started to turn. she's fine..., and she cries if something is wrong.

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