4 Month Old Flipping over While Sleeping

I asked the dr. about this however my daughter can flip back so we let her now on her tummy though I am not thrilled about the idea. At first I would use the positioner so that she could not flip or maybe even let her side sleep but they shouldn't sleep on their tummys yet if they can't flip. I do know people who let them b/c they sleep better but as mom I would sleep better knowing the risks of SIDS is reduced. Good luck!

Do you have one of those back positioner things for her? I had my son using one of those until recently (he's 10 months now). He didn't learn to get on his stomache with that thing until he was about 8 months. Now he's a pro at flipping so I let him sleep however he wants... but at 4 months I probably would freak too. :) Good luck... let me know if you need any more information or anything.

My daughter also prefers her tummy. I get the whole back to sleep thing but if your baby has a strong neck and prefers the tummy, I would just let her sleep that way and make sure she is laying on one of her cheeks/side of her face. Of course, I would also buy an Angel Care MOnitor! That's what we do. They are great.

The advice on tummy time is correct! Unfortunately with my daughter the only time she liked to be on her tummy was when she was sleeping. She would go in her bassinette and crib on her back and flip over right before she would fall asleep, she would rarely fuss though to be turned back over. We always swaddled her from her chest down- actually she is almost 2 and we still do this or she refuses to sleep! I really think that helped with the comfort thing and stopped the fussing before it started!

I was very panicky over her sleeping on her tummy since the "back to sleep" stuff. I asked our Ped. if we should do the sleep positioner and she recommended we do not since they can wiggle down and put their faces in them and also causes them to get overheated. I have seen "breathable" ones since then though. The best thing we had was an Angel Care baby monitor though so that gave me plenty of comfort and has actually saved her! When she began the turning over she would suck her thumb and cover one nostril and the other was put into the matress (firm one) She did not wake herself back up when she would plug up her airways (she was 6 weeks premature though- so maybe that is why?!?!) and would just stop breathing. She was eventually put on an Apnea Monitor because of this. The Angel Care monitor detects movement in the crib- including breathing!!!!!!!! I can not praise this monitor enough as it saved her that time and also several times recently when her body temp drops ( to 91/93 degrees)because of anaphylactic shock and she barely breaths and turns blue in the middle of the night. You can get these used at Once Upon a Child for ALOT less than at Babies R Us or other stores. There is also a battery back up on this incase of power outages and it is great for traveling also!

Good luck in teaching her to flip back over. My daughter never did learn this until she was about 9 months old or so for while she was sleeping although she would do it during the day anytime we did the tummy time from about 6 months on or so. I hope you find some relief so you can get yourself some rest also!!!!

Many blessings to you and yours!

I am a mother of a 2 month old who has been sleeping on her stomach since she was 2 weeks old in her crib. I know, shame on me. When my peds M.D. asked, I told her the truth. She said "Well, I can't say anything, I had 3 children and back then we were told to lay them on their stomach." One day when I laid her down for a nap, on tummy, I came back in later and she was on her back. I couldn't believe it. My advice to you may be to let her fuss till she can do it on her own. By the way, they say its harder to go from back to stomach when turning so coodles to her for learning that first.

I also have a 4 month old who is starting to flip over. It doesn't bother me when she's asleep on her stomach or side. I'm aware of the AAP recommendations but since she's old enough to flip over, I figure she's in the clear with any issues such as SIDS. Just be sure to keep an eye on her and check to make sure she's ok. She'll be ok and I'm sure.

First I have to ask...do you ever put her on the floor with a play gym etc...? The reason I ask is if you lay her on the floor on her stomach a few times a day, naturally you want her to look up at you which will raise her head which will in turn strengthen the whole core of her body. That will strengthen her in no time therefore if she does flip on to her stomach at night time then she will be strong enough to flip back over. If she takes naps during the day just do some observation. But first start her on the "strength training". Even if she gets aggravated by being on her stomach that's ok...expect that, but it will work. Good luck and let me know how it goes!

K.

My son is the same age as your daughter and also loves to roll onto his stomach and sleep that way. My other 2 kids did the same thing, but it seems to me that this baby does it more often and started at a younger age than the others did. Like your daughter, my son doesn't yet know how to flip from his stomach to his back, but I think that's very normal for this age. My approach with all 3 kids has been not to flip them from their stomachs to their backs when they want to change positions since I believe it doesn't help them learn to do so on their own. Unfortunately, as you well know, you have to put up with the fussing until they fall back asleep. Fortunately, my son is very consolable with a pacifier.

So, to answer your question, "Any tips for teaching her to flip from stomach to back faster?" - my advice would be not to flip your daughter back since this might be delaying her development of learning to flip back on her own. Of course, there have been times when my kids have gotten so "cranked up" from the fussing and from trying to flip from their stomachs to their backs that I have done it for them, but in general I try not to. Good luck, and just know that they eventually do grow out of this stage!

Hi A.,

My Pediatrician told me that when they flip themselves over they are developmentally ready to sleep on their stomach. Ask your pediatrician and see what they say.

Hope it helps,

S.

All I can say is do lots and lots of tummy-time!

My son loved to sleep on his tummy.. We let him... MY older son is 16.. We were told them TUMMY TO SLEEP.. I was like well ya.. what if the spit up.. and choke.. I have a freind who passed out he was a diabetic.. he puked and well.. he is dead.. so Ya.. TUMMY IS the way I always put my kids to sleep then and now.. Josh is 2 1/2 when I was told Put him to sleep on the back.. I was like what!!!! that is wrong.. every few years they do a new study that shows back is right or tummy is right.. Heck.. the kids know.. and they will be just fine!! that is how I see it!!!

I was told the wedges are bad.. but yet again.. new study in a few years will tell you they are ok.. or bad.. goodness!!!!

I've let all 5 of my children sleep on their stomachs once they flip...At first I was concerned yet they always turned their heads to the side and were on a firm mattress. Also, I considered the pacifier a barrier until they spit it out even though not all my children used a pacifier. I put my last two (twins) on their stomachs at 4 months. It helped get through the night (me and them). I am no strong advocate either way and I understand this is a big no-no for the back to bed movement out there--so, use your best judgment on what to do and go from there!

You can do some exercises on the floor during the day to help show her how to flip back over. Just gently roll her, gradually allowing her to do the work. I am not sure if she will flip back on her own at night though? Good luck

Once my son discovered he could flip himself over, he preferred this position for sleeping. I always laid him down on his back & in the morning I'd find him on his tummy. Sometimes he would fuss during the night, but I would leave him alone. If I would flip him over, he'd flip right back over again. He'll eventually learn how to flip himself back over in time. I wouldn't keep flipping him over. Some babies prefer sleeping on their tummies no matter how many times you put them down to sleep on their backs. The nice thing too when they sleep on their bellies, it seems like they sleep a little longer too.

If she's flipping onto her stomach and she can lift her head I think it's okay. My son did this too. Once He learned how to flip over I just let him sleep however he wanted and he's fine. There was a short period of time where he'd cry and I'd flip him over every time but that got old fast (I think he may have just figured out that it would get me to come back). Once I started to just leave him be he learned how to sleep in a new position and he learned to roll back pretty quickly. I would just check on him for a while to give me peace of mind. Now he can roll any way he wants but he most often prefers to sleep on his tummy.

I don't have any real tips besides lots of tummy time! I think it's more unusual for babies to flip from back to stomach first, so she should figure out tummy to back pretty quickly. My kids always just started leaning while pushing up on their hands from tummy time, and soon they had flipped over to their backs. I think you're right to worry about her a little until she can flip from tummy to back by herself. Don't stress about it too much (you still need sleep!), but trust your gut! She'll learn it soon enough - just hang in there!

Oh, what a fun stage! Your whole life is about to change as soon as your little angel starts moving. My suggestion is to give her some extra tummy time during the day to build up her arm muscles. Usually babies flip from tummy to back first, so she is probably just needing a little more practice. I would lie on the floor with her several times a day and show her how to use her arms to roll. She'll get it, don't worry. I hope you get some sleep soon!

A.

I have a belly sleeper and was worried as well. Mine did it from the time he came out of the womb. First thing when they put him in the bassinet in the delivery room to get him cleaned up, he rolled over to his stomach! I did purchase one of those sleep positioners that kept him from rolling and used it for a few months, but once I spoke with the Dr about it we took the positioner out and let him roll over if he wanted. The Dr said that as long as he did a good job holding his head up that it was fine if he rolled himself over on his belly. Just be sure to not put anything else in the crib with your baby -- no blankets, toys or pillows. You're supposed to do without crib bumpers as well, but I didn't do that because mine little guy was such a mover and shaker that he would have had bumps and bruises if I removed that too. I guess my situation might be different than yours because I don't know what kind of neck strength your baby has, but my son never really had any problems holding his head up - he never really had a wobbly head at all and that is what makes the difference. I would let your baby sleep the way she is most comfortable -- you'll worry and wake up occasionally to check and see if she's okay but that's part of being a mother! My son is now 17 months old and is in a big boy bed now and I still keep a monitor on him and get up to check that he is breathing often! Good luck.

This same thing happened with our first daughter. We eventually used the baby wedge to try to keep her from rolling over. It didn't really work. Unfortunately the only thing that worked was her getting used to sleeping on her belly - which she ended up loving! Our second and third adjusted much quicker to the belly. You'll just have to wait it out!

I know everything says, "back to sleep". However, my daughter never slept on her back or not for very long. She would turn herself to her side when we were still in the hospital as a newborn. There are those stabilizer type things you could use to keep her on her back I suppose. I never used them, I just did a lot of checking on her at night. It all worked out in the end, she's 5 now. Whatever you do, it will work out.

If she can get to her tummy I would think she's fine sleeping on her tummy. No need to freak out. My kids loved sleeping on their tummies! I did have that same problem. My kids were big flippers, so stuggled real hard to get flipped back the way they liked. I remember a few sleepless nights going in and flipping them back. I don't also remember it lasting long before they could flip back the other way or just stopped it altogether! For now I'd just go in and flip until she can do it herself. Work on rolling over during the day to help her build those muscles and skills. Good luck!

My son did this when he was 4 mos old. He's now 7 mos. It drove me nuts and also freaked me out too when it first happened cuz I'd hear him cry and I'd look at the monitor and see that he had flipped on his tummy and he was stuck (I felt so bad). There were several nights in a row where I would have to come in and flip him on his back. And at the time, he got plenty of tummy time. I think he was just surprised and perhaps scared when he'd do it in the middle of the night. Eventually he stopped crying about it and he sleeps on his tummy all the time (and his side) and I'm not worried about it because he's totally fine on his tummy and knows how to lift himself up. I don't have advice on how to teach her to flip back on her back but I can tell you from my experience that my son got used to it and it's no longer a problem. Thank God cuz I was so annoyed having to get out of bed just to flip him over.

My pediatrician told me that as soon as they can flip over then it is up to them how they want to sleep. I found that an odd thing to say, but I realized that it was true. As soon as my son could flip, it didn't matter what position I put him in, he'd wake up in the position that he favored. He's almost three and he still changes position umpteen times a night. I agree with the other moms who are recommending tummy time. She'll manage to flip back soon, I am sure!