Safe to Sleep on Belly?

I agree with the panel. ;) Once a child can roll onto their belly, you can't stop them from sleeping that way if they choose to. Also, The risk of SIDS drops to almost nothing after that point, so I wouldn't worry over it.

i was very worried about this too as a young mother i barely slept worrying something would happen to her even having nightmares sometimes and getting up to check constantly.i tried the wedge nothing worked, a asked some other mothers and read up as much as i could and found out that if your child holds their head well it shouldnt be a problem, most babies die from sids bc they cant move/ lift their head to breathe if they are in a bad position do get some more sleep :)

PS remember to keep things out of their cribs!!!!

My little girl is five months old too and from the start she would never sleep on her back. Now that she is rolling over if she turns herself on to her back she will cry til I get up and roll her back over to her stomach. I have never had any problems with her sleeping on her stomach.

My kids' doctors said that once they can roll over, they should be safe to sleep on their tummys because it means that they have good enough head and muscle control. Both my son and my daughter REFUSE to sleep on the backs, although now that my son is 19 months, he'll sleep on his back and if my daughter (who is only 2 months) rolls on her back which she does frequently, she'll sleep until something wakes her up, but she won't go to sleep if we lay her like that. If your baby will sleep on her tummy, then let her sleep, just make sure that there aren't blankets that can go over her face and make sure the sheet can't either. She should be fine.

I agree with the other posters, as long as she is rolling herself, let her go. Make sure there is nothing in her crib :)

Hi K.,
My daughter did the same thing. The first few nights, I was constantly checking on her and flipping her back over (even though we have a really cool monitor that detects the slightest movement like breathing. It's called Angel Sounds). I was happy that on the 3rd day, we had an appointment with her pediatrician. He said if she can roll over by herself, she is strong enough to sleep on her tummy and that I can't drive myself insane flipping her to her back every time she rolls over. Boy he was right. Just make sure there are no loose sheets or blankets in the crib with her. That is where you run into problems.

Good Luck!

Hello K.,
I totally understand your concerns!!!
My little girl started doing the same thing around 5 months. The first time my husband and I saw her like this when we checked on her before we went to bed we both freeked out! Ovbiously she was fine and has been moving to her stomach since. She is 10 months old now and I still move her to her back when I go in and check on her, but almost immediatly she rolls back over to her belly. I voiced my concern to a friend of the family who is a Nurse on the Materinity floor of a hospital, she told me as long as she is good at holding her head up she will be okay and it is normal for her to want to sleep on her belly. She also said not to have thick blankets and stuffed animals/toys in with her when she sleeps.
Good luck!
J.

My doctor told me that when they can roll themselves over that you don't really have to worry as much and there is nothing you can do about it. Both of my kids started at around the same age and still sleep on thier bellys. GOOD LUCK!

Check with your pediatrician, but mine always says that as soon as a child rolls over on their belly on their own in sleep, they're safe to sleep that way. My sons both slept on their bellies around 5/6 months.

I had this problem with my son as well, and don't think you have anything at all to worry about. The thing with SIDS that I have noticed, is that they pretty much claim SIDS when they can't find a reason for the death of a little one. Your little one is obviously strong enough to move on her own, which indicates that she will be able to move her head if she finds it difficult to breathe with it being in one spot. To stop worry of suffocation, you can just remove all toys and stuffed animals from her bed if you keep them in there.
S.

there nothing you can do to keep her on her back .let her go she will be safe the chances of sids are so low because she can move her head around to breath well hope i halped

once your baby rolls, you cant stop her from sleeping on her stomach. you will make youself crazy. just make sure that nothing is in her crib with her, no stuffed animals or blankets. your daughter will be just fine. I had to deal with it with my kids. like you said, she can lift her head, so she can get herself out of trouble. good luck.

My 27 weeker twins both had refux so they slept on the belly while in the NICU. They would not sleep on backs when we got home (6 weeks later) so thats how they slept. You little one will be fine. I would just make sure the crib is clear of blankies and toys.

My DD had reflux. The only way she would sleep for more then an hour or so was on her tummy. From day 1 (seriously day 1) she could lift her head. At about 6 weeks we let her start sleeping on her tummy. I know that goes against what doctors say, but like my doctor said, "sometimes you've got to do what you've got to do". We didn't use traditional bumpers (like many parents do). We found some mesh ones. So if by some chance she did move over to the bumpers, she could still breathe.

She's a happy healthy 2 year old right now ;) Oh and chances are, you slept on your stomach. Back in the day that was the norm.