Son Is Rolling Around - What to Do?

Hi C.,
Do you respond right away when he cries or do you wait to see if he rolls back over or stops crying? I am a HUGE fan of Dr. Marc Weissbluth and he says that if a baby goes right back to sleep after being rolled back over it may not be a problem, but it CAN become a problem and he suggests leaving a baby to figure it out on their own.I would try letting him fuss for a few minutes to see if he goes back to sleep. I never went in to roll my daughter back over and she only fussed once or twice. She really preferred sleeping on her tummy. I spent alot of time during the day teaching her how to roll from tummy to back and back to tummy so she could figure it out at night. I also have a video monitor so I don't have to go in to see what's up. It has been a life saver and you can get them at Target. Anyone who says they are a waste of money has never used one! I NEVER have to go in to check on my daughter and know EXACTLY when she falls asleep and wakes up. :)
Sincerely,
L.

What we did is play with our daughter during the day to get her to roll to her tummy and then to her back. This is very common for babies to do. They start off on their backs and then wake up on their tummies and are not sure what happened. I've also read that when they learn a new "trick" they begin to practice it at night and wake up more because they are excited to practice. From my experience, there is no consistency on how long a baby will continue to sleep all night.

Oh my goodness, I just wanted to tell you, that my son also was doing the same thing at about 3.5-5 months old. I was having to get up almost every 1 hr to turn him over! So frustrating and exhausting! But now he is 5 months old and 1 week had he has realized he can roll back and it has gotten so much better. Just hang in there! Also sometimes I put him on his side (the one he doesn't roll to his tummy on) and roll up a big blanket to put behind him so he stays on his side longer. Or I was putting him down on his tummy since he would end up there anyways. Just try different things but it will just take some time and it will pass! Good luck!

C.,

I had the same issue- try putting the stroller in the kitchen/bedroom and keep it in semi-upright position. Strap him in and let him sleep there!

It worked wonders for us.

Molly

Hi C.,
For a completely different reason (severe reflux), our son slept strapped into his infant seat (which was on the floor in his room, not in the car!). I was concerned that he would hate it, but he was absolutely fine and never seemed upset in the slightest. He is five years-old now and shows no signs of issues from sleeping in his car seat for a few months. I agree w/ others about helping your son learn to roll back onto his back, but if you're really concerned, perhaps this solution will work for you. If you try it, please be sure to have the infant seat on the floor (or rug). It needs to be on a solid surface and cannot be higher up where it could fall. Also, the additional time in the car seat will flatten your son's head a bit. Our son was born very early, and his soft little head got a bit warped on his way out (described as "very elongated" by the doc -- gee, thanks!). For us, this flattening was an added benefit, but for most it prolly wouldn't be. Best to you.
K.

At several times in your infant's life, he will go through developmental sleep changes as he learns to control his body, is aware of his own sleeping and waking patterns, and is able to wake up and fall asleep at will (somewhat). THere is no stopping him from rolling over, and he is at a perfectly appropriate age for this rolling around his crib - look at it as a a positive developmental change! He is too big for sleep positioners, swaddling, or anything like that now, so toss THOSE ideas out the window.
Remove everything "soft" from his crib - take the bumpers off, any blankets and stuffed animals out so that he can roll at will and you don't have to worry about the risk of suffocation. Most, if not all, babies learn to roll from back to tummy, and it may be a few weeks until he learns to flip back over again (though I wouldn't anticipate it taking very long for him to get both directions of rolling mastered pretty quickly). Don't worry, this does NOT mean your sleep training has gone out the window - when he cries, just go in and flip him back onto his back (with everything soft removed from the crib, you might even want to see if he prefers sleeping on his tummy and put him down that way). Since it is summer, there is no need for blankets either, so this is actually a good time for him to master those rolling skills without getting tangled in any linens. It may take a week or so of you going in and soothing him back to sleep when he rolls over, but this is NORMAL and appropriate behavior for his age, and learning to roll from back to front and vice versa in the crib is a GOOD thing. His sleeping habits will see a big change now, and again when he starts pulling himself to standing position (when he learns to stand at the railing of his crib, he will also cry until he learns how to sit himself back down!). Take it in stride - his sleeping habits will return to normal soon.