Tummy sleeping

Heather Lee - posted on 06/02/2010

My son is 5 months old, and he has been sleeping on his belly since he was 3 weeks old. He wouldn't sleep long any other way. I slept on my stomach and I still do, it was an easy transition, and I will walk in to check on my son every now and then and he sleeps with his hands under his head circling his nose and mouth, I will turn his head and he fusses a bit, but he will keep his head turned! Sleeping on the back worried me and he wouldn't sleep on his side!

Krystal - posted on 06/02/2010

my son was ok on his back till he started rolling himself over. all I can say is keep their sleeping space clear and a fan on at all times!

Rachelle - posted on 05/25/2010

at 4 months old i wouldn't worry about how he's sleeping as long as he's comphy one thing i'm learning as a new mommy is no matter back side or tummy sleeping your still going to worry...Aloura is going to be 6 months old next week and i worry just as much weather she's on her tummy or back.



when i watched 19 kids and counting the baby in intensive care was on her belly so i would just go with what your gut tells you to do and hes getting close to rolling over so you really wont be able to stop him from sleeping how he wants to soon.. :'( its sad at the though of them growing up -- good luck

Rebecca - posted on 05/25/2010

My son has been sleeping on his Tummy since he was 3 days old.... He will not sleep on his Back or side... Don't be nervous, they just need to be comfortable.. :)

Hannah - posted on 05/24/2010

My son refuses to sleep on his back.. he loves to sleep on his side. He starts off sleeping on his side, but slumps forward.. He sleeps beside my bed on his own bed so i can keep a eye on him when i get up in the middle of the night. the risk of sids is the fact of babys that don't realize they are face down... as long as your baby doesn't sleep face down or do alot of head movement while she sleeps than it should be ok- my son refuses a pacifier... hes a independant kid..lol

Samantha - posted on 05/23/2010

My daughter has been sleeping on her tummy since hse was 1 month old. She would not sleep long on her back. My son is 16y/o and that's what you did. Regarding SIDS, they also came out with a study that babies that used pacifiers reduced their chances of SIDS. My son used and my daughter uses pacifiers. It is truly a comfort issue.

Jenna - posted on 05/04/2010

Years ago health visitors, gp etc all recommended baby sleeping on his/her tummy! All these GUILDLINES are just that! They chop & change their minds. There is no proof that sleeping on His/her tummy causes harm or cot death as some leaflets suggest. I recommend lettin your baby sleep any way they want, as long as they can't over heat ( i recommend a sleep pod) they are perfectly fine. If you put your baby on their back to sleep at night, how are you to know if he/she will roll onto there tummy anyway. Whats makes your baby happy sleeping makes a very happy mummy! x

Mohammed Izzadeen - posted on 05/04/2010

my son is 5months for this 18.he s sleeping on his back.his neck turns well.but not rolling im afraid pls let me know sthg about that?

Amber - posted on 05/03/2010

my 5 month old is rolling on her belly at night while sleeping it scares me but you really cant control it i think its ok just as long as nothing is by their face

Fallon - posted on 05/02/2010

my daughter was colic and the only way I could get her to sleep was on her tummy. now the only way she'll sleep (she's now 5 months) is on her tummy, but she rolls over when she wakes up. I'll probably get looked down on, but I prefer tummy. I'm more scared of them choking than SIDS, but I still check on her (as does my husband) all throughout the night.

Allison - posted on 05/02/2010

My little one was 4 months on the 19th and has been on her belly for a while now (through the night). It may sound terrible, but BOTH of my other girls did the same thing early on. She has really good head control and from the beginning slept terrible on her back. I try really hard not to stress about it. I have seen her choking on her spit up when on her back, so I am not convinced on that whole "back to sleep" thing anyway. Obviously keeping things out of the crib is a must, but in my experience, things have been fine. Once they roll over, they're going to be on their bellies anyway (at least mine all were)...

Angie - posted on 04/28/2010

Not until I started laying my son on his tummy did he start sleeping through the night! He was born premature at 28 weeks and only weighed 1lb 14oz so i was really nervous when he slept anyways. To ease my nerves we bought a movement monitor which we absolutely love its called babysense and its fantastic. You actually put it under the mattress and it senses all micro movements so its probably not a good idea to have the fan on. In the mornings I usually forget to turn it off and it alarms after 20 seconds of picking him up. It eases my nerves and lets me and baby sleep through the night!

Hillary - posted on 04/27/2010

I know it's frowned upon, but my son is four months too and he only sleeps on his tummy. He absolutely will not sleep on his back. We've never had any problems though and he sleeps fine all through the night. His neck is also really strong though and he turns his head from side to side all night so I don't worry too much about him, I know it's kinda scary at first but it's gotten a lot easier since he's a little older now..

Sara - posted on 04/27/2010

My son started having terrible reflux at 2 weeks, and we found he had none of that when sleeping on his tummy. However, I did notice him burrowing his face into the mattress and even found him face down a few times. I was worried about SIDS but also his comfort and compromised with side sleeping in a safety wedge. He sleeps well like that and has a bit less reflux grunting. At 4 months he can finally spend some time on his back without reflux, but usually finds comfort in his side or tummy. I never have let him sleep all night on his tummy, but naps for sure. Nice, long tummy naps! I am starting to take out the wedge during naps and let him find his own positions.

Rachelle - posted on 04/27/2010

the only time my daughter rolls over is when we put her on her back to sleep.... she'll roll over to her belly when we leave the room she's 4 1/2 months old and thats the only time she'll roll over

Natasha - posted on 04/26/2010

My daughter is 4 months and since she was two months she has been sleeping on the tummy, during the day and night and she sleeps very well almost all night. When i put her on her back she gets up every half an hour and is very cranky, so if tummy works for you by all means let him sleep that way.

Jenn - posted on 04/26/2010

I have a 4 year old from the time he could lift his head he slept on his tummy for the first 8 months i had him in the room with me because i had a brother who die of SIDs so i watched him like a hawk when he was sleeping now i have a 4 month old & she to sleeps on her tummy its the only way my kids will sleep so i make sure the bed is flat & my baby monitor has the cam in it so now i can watch her with out been in the room with her. She also rolls over mostly in her bed when she wakes up she plays in her bed rolls to her back & has a talk

Brooke - posted on 04/26/2010

they say you aren't supposed to have the baby in bed with you with blankets but that's the only way my daughter used to sleep. in the crook of my arm with blankets up to her armpits, so take what sleep you can get. and by 4 months the risk of sids is EXTREMELY low, let him sleep how he can. but maybe try to lay him on his back and try sleep training.

Sam - posted on 04/26/2010

Hey. My daughter is months old today has slept on her front since she was 3 weeks old. She cries really hard if i try to lay her on her back, so she sleeps on her tummy, and she has always slept all night and is really good with her naps during the day. Dont listen to what people say, you have to do what your child likes :) people say that a child will suffocate on their front because they sleep on their face, but my daughter never has done, she lifts her head and then puts it to the side when she lays it back down, they're not silly, they know what to do :) xx

Autumn - posted on 04/25/2010

I don't really have the problems of tummy sleeping but just be careful with the tummy sleeping since it is linked to SIDS.

Erin - posted on 04/25/2010

yes my son was 4 mos april 10th and he sleeps much better on his belly. i am also afraid an I dont let him sleep that way. sometimes he rolls over and i find him on his belly and i panic but so far hes been ok.

Sterling - posted on 04/25/2010

My doctor advised me to have my daughter sleep on her back until she was 4 months old. She sleeps on her back at night and sometimes on her side. If your baby has good head control then you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

Amanda - posted on 04/25/2010

Your friends are not correct. The head will not correct itself.. when your babies skull hardens it will stay flat! You need to change her positions! My babies skull was deforming from his sleep and I was advised by the health nurses to change his position of head!

Claire - posted on 04/25/2010

My daughter is 16 1/2 weeks and sleeps on her back. I have never put her on her front to sleep as I was advised that sleeping on her back would reduce the risk of SIDS and she has been fine sleeping on her back. She has developed a little bit of a flat head but I'm sure this will sort it's self out in time, many friends have reassured me on this. She sleeps through the night from around 19:00 to 06:30 and is very happy sleeping this way.

She hates tummy time but is getting better, for the brief time she stays on her belly she can lift her head up nearly 90 degrees which is right on target for the milestones.

My friends baby had bad reflux and she slept on her front from around 5 weeks.

My little girl was 4 months on Friday and in the last 2 days has rolled onto her belly for the first time, grabbed her toes and had her first swimming lesson where she was great in holding her head up when on her front.

I guess when she can roll from back to front and back again she will sleep how she is comfortable :)

Kerri-Anne - posted on 04/24/2010

The risk of sleeping on their tummy is just one factor thought to contribute to SIDs deaths. Sleeping on the tummy was once considered to be the best position. If your child will only sleep on his/her tummy just make sure other factors (ie soft mattress/ toys in cot) are eliminated, ensure adequate ventilation and check regularly. The monitor would be a good idea if you are worried

Amanda - posted on 04/24/2010

The monitor only goes off if she does not move for 20seconds.

Mindy - posted on 04/24/2010

I thought of buying one of those, but the truth is I was a really bad sleeper before I had her....now every sound or movement wakes me right up. She wiggles constantly when she sleeps. So that device would go of non stop. My daughter is so colicky that she hates to be on her stomache. When I give put her on her stomache for tummy time she protests after a minute or so.

Amanda - posted on 04/24/2010

i have tried him on his side, wont sleep. tummy it is.

if your worried about your baby going to her tummy i suggest investing in an angel care monitor that detects movement. takes the worry away and you can get some sleep!

Joanna - posted on 04/23/2010

i did with my first but i now have three and it still makes you a little nervous but i let her sleep on her tummy because she is just more comfortable and what makes her happy makes me happy i still check on her just not as much as i used too

Mindy - posted on 04/23/2010

see if he will sleep on his side....just like us adults we all have preferences. But adults don't die from sids as far as I know. My daughter like to sleep on her side, but I do worry she might rollover. One of the many reasons I guess I never sleep....lol

Kyla - posted on 04/23/2010

my daughter was 4 months monday the 19th and she still sleeps in her bassonet. she rolls like crazy i need to get her a crib asap!! i still refuse to give her sleep on tummy time!! im so worried about sids!! so tummy time for the day not at night not for me anyways!!!

Krystal - posted on 04/23/2010

when i lay my son down i put him on his back but he is always rolling over to his stomach to sleep... he sleeps just fine and i check on him every now and then to be sure

Stephanie - posted on 04/23/2010

to be honest, my daughter has slept on her tummy since about 4 weeks because she refused to sleep on her back! i know that sounds silly but she went 2 days straight with no more than 10 min naps because she would wake up as soon as we laid her on her back. so of course, i was going insane! so we decided to let rylee sleep on her tummy and it was scary for awhile but we finally were able to get some sleep - and i check like every 10 minutes the first week or so!

Christina - posted on 04/23/2010

My baby cant sleep any way but on her tummy so I have always put her on her tummy but she sleeps with me in my bed and my poor husband and I have no room because she rolls all over the place .If I try and put her on her back she will NOT go to sleep at all just cry because shes tired and cant sleep

Patty - posted on 04/23/2010

My daughter started rolling over just a few weeks ago. She is 4 1/2 months now. I lay her on ther back but she rolls over on her belly and falls asleep right away. She seems perfectly content so I don't reposition her. But I do keep checking on her b/c she lays perfectly still and will stay in the same position over night. So, it's obvious to me she is way more comfortable on her belly. Fine with me...I love that she sleeps through the night. :)

Elise - posted on 04/23/2010

My son wasnt sleeping well at all at 3 months. We were still up every 2-3 hours and he wasn't hungry, and his diaper wasn't dirty. He slept on his belly for a nap one day and took a solid 3 hour nap. That night i put him on his belly...he went to bed at 10:30pm and slept until 5:30am, I woke up at 4 to check on him bc i hadn't heard a noise and he was perfectly fine. I finally got sleep that was much needed, and he sleeps 6-7 1/2 hours every night now. Every so often he will wake up but that is because he is teething, and he usually goes back to sleep within 10 minutes. He's a much happier baby and I am a much happier mommy!

Andrea - posted on 04/22/2010

I tried to follow the whole SIDS advice and always put my baby 'back to sleep" but she woke up constantly for the first several weeks and neither one of us got decent sleep. She hated being swaddled too so the only way she felt calm and secure was to sleep on her tummy. The first time I tried it, she was supervised and slept for hours. I threw out all of the doctor's advise and decided that sleep is way more important and tummy to sleep is the only way to go. To rest at ease we purchased an Angel Care monitor that detects her breathing. You just put a pad under the mattress and if there is no breathing/movement for 20 seconds, an alarm goes off to alert you. I love it. It was a hundred dollars of peace. Well worth it to us.

Janice Amaloi - posted on 04/22/2010

My 4 month old baby boy slept on his tummy since he was just a month old. At first I was also worried abour SIDS, but my husband and I observed that he sleeps much better with that position. He sleeps lightly when he is on his back, is easily bothered with even a slight noise and just bolts from the blue. Now he is 4 months old, we still keep him sleeping on his tummy and havn't had a problem...

Nicki - posted on 04/22/2010

My daughter is the same way!! She turned 4 months on the 21st and since she was born she always slept better on her tummy. She takes naps in her pack and play in my living room so I can keep an eye on her while she sleeps but at night she sleeps with me. I am still too nervous to let her sleep on her tummy alone in her room even though I have the video monitor.

Amanda - posted on 04/22/2010

I sleep my baby on his tummy during the night. He has slept this way since he was a month old. He is fine sleeping this way. He hates being on his back.

To take the worry of him not breathing and not knowing, I have the angel care monitor that detects movement.

Malissa - posted on 04/22/2010

Yes yes yes. I have the same thing. My daughter sleeps her back at times but she fights much harder on her back. If she can wiggle those legs and arms she stays awake. So on her tummy she can't do that. Also, its good for her to get her burpies out and stuff too. I know they say that babies should be on thier backs but when my son was a baby they said on the stomach. Jazmyn sleeps on her stomach more than her back. I understand your nightly concerns. May I suggest swaddling on his back? Not too tight but enough to hold them in place. If they try to struggle it tires them out. Jazmyn is always fighting the sandman seems from 2mos old. Swaddling makes her loose the battle much faster. :)

Danielle - posted on 04/22/2010

my son will be 4 months on th 30th and he has reflex so we've had him sleeping on his tummy and in his swing to help his reflex. He also sits up with little support and can roll over but he gets stuck on his arm most of the time. He just recenly started to eat 6 oz bottles and we've have been lucky that he's only waking up once at night

Kristy - posted on 04/21/2010

My daughter is 18 weeks old. She has slept on her tummy since week 3 or 4. It works very well for us. She has slept through the night since she was 7 weeks old. She also learned how to hold her head up much faster because of it. I used to worry about her and check on her frequently, but so far she has been doing very well. I have done some research on SIDS, and tummy sleeping increases the risks only slightly. Current research is now showing that a high number of SIDS cases are in fact infants that had an undiagnosed metabolic disorder or they were infants that had low serotonin levels. I worry less about SIDS and tummy sleeping than I once did. If you worry about that, then try sleeping your little one on his side. I just know that my husband and I both work full time and we are loving sleeping through the night.

Wendy - posted on 04/21/2010

I have been blessed with a baby that will sleep in any position. Now that she tries to roll from her back to her tummy she drives herself around the crib and ends up on her side with her back arched. She can roll tummy to back but I don't put her on her tummy since I never had the need to change what works.

Valerie - posted on 04/21/2010

I have a book about a baby's first year, and it says that a baby will not choke on it's spit up. When your baby is sleeping on his/her back, they have a reflex that will automatically turn their head when they spit up.

Claudia - posted on 04/21/2010

Mya is sleeping on her tummy for the past two nights and she loves it.

Jill - posted on 04/21/2010

We have been having our son sleep on his tummy since around 2 months. Dr told us he could nap that way - so we tried, and he LOVED it. And if he is on his back now - he wakes himself up all the time....we are tummy sleepers now!

Sian - posted on 04/21/2010

I have been putting my son to sleep on his tummy since he was 7weeks old its the only way that we both get some sleep, he refuses to sleep on his back and screams till you turn him over he will then happily go off to sleep by himself, he has held his head up strongly since he was 4weeks old. my mum has raised 3 children (all slept on our tummies) and no problems, i find that my son will sleep longer aswell and his sleep is undisturbed if he sleeps on his tummy. he's your baby and im sure you no whats best for him :) x

Kellye - posted on 04/20/2010

I agree with sleeping on the tummy. my two oldest one did it and they slept through the night from the time they were a month old and on. they are now 4 and 2. now my 4month old is different right after she was born she was in the hospital with pneumonia so she had to sleep propped up on a pillow now she wont sleep anyother way. problem with that is she wakes up all through the night when she ends up sliding off the pillow she hates to lay flat on her back.

Caroline - posted on 04/20/2010

Both my boys are tummy sleepers, second one from birth... 1st one from 2.5months, when I realised that was why he didnt sleep properly!

If you are worried, as I am... buy a movement alarm, its a monitor that has a sensor pad under the mattress that tells you if baby stops moving, ie breathing!!! its a real treasure for worrysome mothers of tummy sleepers!

Angelcare is the brand I have used for both boys!



PS. boys granma told me that when her boys where babies, she was told it was really dangerous to put them on their back to sleep, as they could choke on vomit... tummy sleeping was the only safe option back then....