Rolling in her cot ...

[Beach Mama]

Now that she's rolling - how do I stop her!!!?????

I'm finding her rolling in her cot after her nap, or like today - before her nap as she won't sleep.
She does it with her sleeping bag on and just now I tried wrapping her (which we stopped at 8 weeks) in a light sheet and she managed to get it off and get her leg caught between one of the gaps in her cot and the wall. It wasn't stuck because the gap is wide- but she's not that mobile yet that she knows how to get out. She's so tired but keeps rolling over then cracking it because she's on her tummy.

What can I do, if anything, to prevent her getting hurt or ending up under covers etc???

[Erin_25]

Charlie rolls all about in the cot, he's never in the same spot! He seems to sleep much better on his side & loves for some reason to put his legs up on the cot bars. I wouldn't try & stop it, it's going to happen anyway & if she can roll & has good head control then it shouldn't be a prob. I too was worried about the covers so I've taken everything out except his wrap that he cuddles & pop him in a sleeping bag. Since doing this & letting him roll into his comfortable position we now have a bubs that sleeps through the night & not waking every couple hours....YAY.

Ooooh I've been meaning to mention how much I love that quote you have in your Signature. I have since quoted it to DH & my Mothers group.....so true!

[Emma1979]

oh that was my favorite stage, when she would roll onto her tummy but couldn't roll back - there was only so long she could hold her head up fighting sleep before she would give in and lay down and fall asleep!! relax and enjoy :-)

you can't stop them moving about and personally i don't think its right too, they will eventually find their own way of sleeping, and they have to get used to bumps from the cot bars, its inevitable..... i've got lots of little bunny rugs against the sides of the cot and the bumpers up so she doesn't bump her head too often, my girl is going on 8 months though so is probably a bit stronger and better with navigating and moving blankets etc..... there is no 'smother issue'.

[Shellbelle]

Hey Tan!

Angus has been doing the same for a few weeks now. I have just taken all top sheets, toys etc out of the cot and let him roll to his hearts content!! He usually ends up sideways or upside down!! When he is really tired I just go in, put his dummy in and he will usually go to sleep on his own. At night I wait till he is asleep, then tuck a sheet over the top of him quite firm so he cant kick it off. Good Luck!!!

[Charlyfrog]

So glad I found this thread as my little girl has also learnt to roll onto her tummy but can't roll back and then gets severely frustrated I am slightly exasperated myself as she has gone from being a very good day time sleeper to not sleeping much at all due to her new found mobility

She has just gone 5 months and only rolls one way which then leaves her arm dangling down between the cot and the wall. I have tried wrapping again, putting her down with more room to roll to avoid arm entrapment but her naps have been all but lost for the past couple of days. Her head control is good but still a bit wobbly so I am a little paranoid about her sleeping face down. It doesn't matter how many times we go in and flip the little rascal back, it is almost an immediate flip in return from her when we leave the room..........................*sigh*

Tanstar - have you had much luck? Have you found anything that works to ensure sleep for your little one??

[LuluHB]

My Izzy is doing that too Tan - she now sleeps 90% of the time on her tummy and a lot of the time her head is wedged up against the bars of the cot. If I try and roll her off her tummy and back onto her back she really spits it. She slept 13 hours straight the other night so if it works that well for her, it definitely works for me!! I was worried at first about her being on her tummy, but she has such strong head control that she can move it side to side so I'm not worried about her face planting into the mattress now. I have stopped using blankets though because I found her one day twisted round in the cot with her head under the blankets. She's in a sleeping bag at night (still manages to move around a lot) and just clothes during the day because its starting to get warm here.

Maybe its the break you need to get your Izzy back into that beautiful all night sleep?

[lilima]

Hi,
I think they all go through this stage. My DS did the same thing when he was younger. He still is in the cot and moves all around. He now mainly sleeps on his tummy, and I have him in a sleeping bag, so that he can never uncover himself. It really only lasts a couple of weeks, and then they learn to roll both ways and get themselves comfy.

[Taia's Mum]

I have the same problem! Taia's been doing it for months now! I just roll up a baby blanket and put it next to her! I sleep her on her side now and put the wedge next to her tummy - so she can roll to her back but not her tummy!
Goodluck

[Liviam]

Now that our gorgeous ones are getting so mobile they can sleep where they are comfortable and can roll around to play and get comfy. I don't think there is much you can do about this one though Tan. Like Lulu said this might be what she needs to sleep for big blocks again.

[MumofLewis]

I use a safe and sound anti roll pillow which is like 2 sponge sausage shapes which he lies in between. So I know he can't roll at all during the night. I love it.

[Beach Mama]

I just had a look at one online and judging by the pic its seems like she would still haul herself either on top of it or around it. She refuses to stay on her back so I would be worried that it would just distress her even more. She wiggles all over the place and quite often ends up with her feet where her head is meant to be and I figure that if she is strong enough to lift her head up and roll all over the place like she does then she will be fine. Maybe I should have started using one when she was a little bub and she would be used to it now!

[RhiChiChi]

My DD does the same. Sometimes she cracks it b/c her legs are stuck between the cot bars and she can't work out how to wiggle them out. If DD is comfie on her tummy, I just leave her b/c she is strong enough to lift her head up and turn it from side to side, so I don't worry too much about SIDS now. My DD only rolls to the one side, she hasn't worked out she can roll to either side yet, so the other thing I try to do is I place her closer to the side of the cot that she doesn't roll to, to try to stop her getting stuck in btw the cot bars on the side she rolls to IYKWIM....

[nicolelh]

I agree with julia's advice on where to place them.

the only things I found that worked for the 2 weeks of hell that we went through with the identical issue was breastfeeding her almost to sleep them putting her down straight away (we reversed our routine from feed/play/sleep to feed/sleep/play for just these 2 weeks) OR (and this worked better) was just to keep her up for quite a long time after a feed until she was just about falling asleep in our arms, then put her down.

after 2 weeks she was still rolling and getting stuck but had learned to like being on her tummy, once I realised this it was easy as I'd put her down on her tummy and then pat her back until she was relaxed - she stopped rolling then - until she woke up!

now we just have her putting her bum in teh air and pushing along on her head! until she hits the end of her cot!

sids from sleeping on their tummy is not really a risk once they can roll and hold their heads up- but wrapping a mobile baby is a bit risky and bumpers are a risk as it's not just a suffocation issue but also the fact that the bumper restricts air flow into the cot and this is associated with an increased risk of sids.

don't forget lots of tummy time when she's awake adn toys just out of reach to give her incentive to learn how to roll back. they get much happier when they can roll back too.