Tummy Sleeping Infant

J., coming on here late, but just want to tell you that my younger son just could not seem to settle on his back or side. I talked to the ped about it, because he seemed so miserable. He told me to try putting him on his tummy. He said that if I was careful not to put anything in the crib with him, be careful about his blanket, etc, that the odds of him dying from SIDS were very low.

What a difference it made! When I lay him down on his stomach, he went out like a light. That was it. He's 16 years old now and still is a stomach sleeper!

Dawn

Updated

J., coming on here late, but just want to tell you that my younger son just could not seem to settle on his back or side. I talked to the ped about it, because he seemed so miserable. He told me to try putting him on his tummy. He said that if I was careful not to put anything in the crib with him, be careful about his blanket, etc, that the odds of him dying from SIDS were very low.

What a difference it made! When I lay him down on his stomach, he went out like a light. That was it. He's 16 years old now and still is a stomach sleeper!

Dawn

Sids was somewhat higher when my daughter was born, but most of the risk factors were not yet known. If you and your baby are not in a high-risk group, your little guy will probably be fine. No guarantees, of course, but there are none with back-sleeping babies, either, who can also die of SIDS or aspiration of spit-up.

The latest thinking on sleep safety is that nothing (including crib bumpers) should block access to fresh air, and running a fan near the crib (but not directly on the infant) promotes a safe exchange of gasses and prevents build-up of dangerous CO2 near the baby's face.

I've heard from a couple of people in the medical community that the trend of back-sleeping may change in the future, because babies do usually sleep better on their tummies, and quality sleep is important. Now that so much is understood about risk factors, some doctors apparently are advising healthy babies to be allowed to tummy-sleep, if that's the only way they'll sleep. But do your own research, and do what feels most right to you.

Congratulations on your new son!

The funny thing about a question like this is how many moms are on this site who lost a baby to SIDS? Of course everyone on here will have babies that made it through just fine. To be honest, as tired as I got, I never put my babies to sleep on their tummies. I couldn't live with myself if something happened.

I completely understand. Our daughter slept through the night on her tummy at 6 weeks. Until then, I only let her sleep on her tummy during the day when I was right next to her cradle.

They are not positive what causes SIDS. There are lots of ideas and until they are positive there are strong suggestions about having infants not sleep on their tummies.

The moment our daughter was born, they laid her on my tummy and asked what her name was and I said her name out loud, she lifted and turned her head towards me! I am sure it was just a newborn fluke.. But it freaked us all out.

Later our daughter was able to lift and turn her head at about 4 weeks.

She could roll onto her tummy on her own at 8 weeks. I Asked our pedi if it was ok to let her sleep on her tummy, because she just seemed to do so well with it.

He said yes, she would be just fine..

I guess what you would have to do is speak wit your doctor and then decide if in your mommy hear and brain, do you feel your infant is safe on his tummy. I know I did..

I have 8 grown kids and all but one slept on the stomach and that was because he cried when on his tummy. He liked to throw his arms back and sleep on his back unlike most babies who like to be cuddled more. They all slept on tummy from birth on and no issues. I never even heard of SIDS back then and every put babies on stomachs. Of course we had big cribs with plenty of air flow and yet we put blankets in with them, crib railing was farther apart, etc. I think the thing is to check your baby fairly often but I would put mine on the tummy if I did it over today. I think they even have now said SIDS is not from that in the end. Can't remember what they attribute it to now though. Look it up and see if you want. Anyhow, you are so right that a baby will sleep better and longer on the tummy and they feel more secure. I think they need less swaddling too. I did wrap mine in little thin blankets and tucked the hands in in the very first few weeks and after that no swaddling. If you decide against it at night at least let him sleep like that in the daytime. We seldom saw flat heads in the back, sides, etc. like there are now with this back only sleeping. No helmets and all that was needed. Turn his head from side to side when you put him down, one time one way and next nap the other way to keep his head well 'rounded'. I baby sat my one grandson and he slept on tummy and he's now 7 so that was closer this day in age. :-) We have another new grandchild due in December and can't wait to see her but I feel sure her mommy will do the same.
P.S.
Found the link on SIDS new cause.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/2022613/brain_researc...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110331191524...

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/126281/new_sids_...

Have you heard of the Baby Sense Movement Monitors? It's a SIDS monitor which will ring if the baby stops breathing or stops moving (chest movement) for over 10 or 15 seconds. We used it for both our kids. Great investment and gives you peace of mind. We got it for $100 at Bed Bath and Beyond. But babysrus has them for $129. Hope this helps. :)

I had to do a lot of research on SIDS in college. It is not something I would risk. While the rates may be down now, that is because people are more cautious and aware and taking preventive measures. The fact is that it still happens. SIDS deaths can not always be prevented, but if keeping my baby on his/her back for another several months may help prevent it, then that is what I am going to do. Tummy time is still important during play and supervised mat time, but I would not do it for sleep. Older babies may still flip even if you do put the baby on it's back to sleep, but not at 6 days... I wouldn't even feel comfortable doing it at 6 months.

All three of my girls slept on their tummy from the get go. They are all just fine. My girls always slept better on their tummy. My Dr told me to put them however they slept best.

When my son was a baby (he's 20 now), the rule was to have them sleep on their tummies...to avoid possible choking on spit up or vomit. He did great. My daughter would only sleep a few hours at a time until we put her on her belly. Did wonderful. Also, I found both my kids had great neck control and strong cores. They sate well early. My sister laid my nephew on his back to sleep, he later hated to be on this stomach. He didn't have have good neck control, had trouble sitting, and crawled late.

Hi J.,
My first son could turn himself on his side at 3 weeks (in the swaddle), and that's how we let him sleep (with our ped's permission). I thought it was dumb to wake my baby up to put him back on his back.

But, that does not mean that SIDS is not very real. I *did* talk to my pediatrician about it, because I know HE has the training and knowledge to know how much of a risk my baby really is, or not, based on his individual medical history.

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I let Isaac sleep on his tummy. I figured we were doing enough things to lower the risk (breastfeeding, no smoking, sleeping close t o mom, safe bedding) to offset the increased risk of tummy sleeping.

Not to mention the benefits of more sleep for baby AND mom. There have GOT to be increased safety risks associated with the impact of sleep deprivation on mommy judgement

The sleep on back/tummy issue constantly goes back and forth. My belief is let them sleep however they are most comfortable.

Hi J.,

I let my third sleep on his tummy during the day when I could watch him and check on him frequently. At night he was swaddled. If he sleeps better on his tummy...let him :)

My son always preferred to sleep on his tummy. He still does. I usually let him sleep on his tummy during naps because he was in his pack 'n play in the same room. At night, he let me lay him on his side. This worked great because if his pacifier fell out, he would wake up. So we laid him on his side and put his face right up next to the front of the crib. One of the slats on the crib would hold in his pacifier all night.

I co-sleep and I allow my infant to tummy sleep all the time, it actually helps with burping in the middle of the night. He nurses, then fusses, so I put him on his tummy - he burps and goes to sleep.