Over the last 6-8 weeks we've noticed our DD has a tendancy to prefer sleeping on her belly. From Week 2 and during the first few weeks at home she was very unsettled at night so I resorted to co-sleeping with her on my belly which she loves and would instantly go to sleep with.
Now DD is almost 10 weeks and she still seems to prefer being on her belly than on her back. She does get bad belly pains which has her in tears for hours but when she is unsettled or not self settling herself in her cot, if we bring her out and put her on her belly on a big thick pillow she'll sleep happily for hours and not wake but in her cot on her side or back she wakes regularly and cries. I've also found on her belly she doesnt want her dummy which is another bonus.
Obviously with all the SIDS talk and constant reminding of how babies must sleep on their back I'm wondering what I should do. DD is asleep now and woke after an hour of me putting her down, I rolled her onto her belly and off to sleep she went almost instantly. I have a monitor in her cot which is going but I'm not sure if i can just start to leave her to sleep on her belly if that is what she wants. She can easily move her face from left to right and holds her head up really well. She has no blankets near her face and has her arms wrapped but near her face so that aren't down and she can push up onto them.
Has anyone had a bubba that just wanted to sleep on their belly as a preference?? A friend of mine has two children and both slept on their side/belly from early on. She just had her 3rd and same thing has happened, bubba doesn't like sleeping on her back. I feel better having the monitor on her (but all it really does is tell you if there IS a problem, doesn't prevent a problem) but at the same time still worry about it but I want her to be comfortable and happy.
Love to hear from people whose babies did the same thing...
Hi Belinda, my little one always prefers to sleep on her belly but I have the angel care movement monitor on her bed for her day sleeps (she co-sleeps at night with us), makes me feel at ease she has it on when she's on her belly. She hates being on her back, funny how they are all different.
Hi Belinda.
Can you get a angel care monitor? They have lots on ebay. My boy is a tummy sleeper but he was 6 months before he started. He sleeps so much better on his tummy.
DS1 was a tummy sleeper from about 4 months of age (once he could roll over on his own. He was very determined to sleep on his back LOL!). DS2 is just over 2 months and prefers to sleep on his side ATM.
As the other ladies have suggested, get the Angelcare monitor for peace of mind but if thats have bubs wants to sleep, then let her IMO. Just be very careful about all other risk factors for SIDS (i.e. firm mattress, no toys etc in cot, sleeping down the end of the cot etc) which from the sounds of it you are already doing.
you are so lucky you worked out the belly thing early on.... it took me until my girl could actually roll onto her belly herself at 4 months to go to sleep... she was THE WORST sleeper and i can't help thinking had i not been so ridiculously scared, i would have tried to sleep her on her belly and maybe could have avoided some seriously difficult months that have taken a long time to get over... (she also would go to sleep instantly on her belly on my chest).
at 4 months when i asked my MCH nurse about her sleeping on her tummy, she said incredulously that you let them sleep however the hec they want to sleep, that the sids guidelines are exactly that, only guidelines... and at the end of the day you have to follow your baby's lead and do whatever works.... i wish someone had of enlightened me on that alot earlier...
i know the sids guidelines are helpful and meant to be in the best interests of the child, but i really think someone needs to demystify the whole tummy sleeping thing.... at the end of the day there is nothing wrong with it, ESPECIALLY in this day and age when you can use a mattress monitor thingimajig...
anyways, i think if your bub sleeps best on her tummy then that is the way she needs to sleep... i wouldn't even bother trying to settle her on her back... if you are concerned just get one of those monitor thingies....
Both my girls sleep on their tummies as do I. Now both of my DD's boys do the same. The youngest has from nearly the start as it was the only way he settled. As long as their is nothing near her face when she wriggles you need to do what you feel comfortable with. All I know is that when I am comfortable I sleep alot better and I'm sure its the same with babies/children.
Sorry to hijack your thread, but, I have a question regarding this matter as well.
My DS is a back sleeper but we have had a lot of trouble recently with his sleeping (2 hourly waking) after reading the lovely ladies replies here I am thinking maybe I should attempt getting him to sleep on his tummy. At the moment I am trying to get him to sleep without being wrapped so I have him in a gro-bag (sleeping bag), do you think he would be able to sleep on his tummy in a gro-bag??
Maybe try it for day sleeps Marlene, and see if you can see any potential problems? To be honest, at 5 months, I wouldn't be worried - he should be strong enough to get himself out of any difficulty.
Si, would wake hourly to 2 hourly from a very young age, maybe 3 -4 weeks, when on his back, but would sleep much better, either through or with only one feed when on his tummy. Considering he seemed exceptionally strong (pushing up onto arms at about 2 weeks), by a very early age I was sleeping him on his tummy.
He was a really windy baby too, and I think the tummy sleeping may have helped there with pressure or something...who knows. All I know, is that at 8 weeks he was sleeping through on his tummy, but if I tried him on his back we were right back where we started with an unsettled baby. Was a no-brainer for us (after checking that every other SIDS recommendation was followed).
Like I said for Marlene, try a tummy sleep during the day, and watch what happens - if bub gets into any trouble, can they push themselves out? Is there anything that can tangle on them? Is the mattress nice and firm so there's no face smooshing into the mattress?
Thanks everyone for the replies. I feel alot better about it now. I have the angelcare monitor and have used it from birth. Our hospital actually told us not to get them as they give a false sense of security and people tend to become relaxed even when they go off. Each time it has gone off (3 times now cause DD holds her breathe or the plates weren't in the right position) I've run like mad to her side and given her a good poke to get her moving. I mainly got it for the temperature reading in her room as we have a fireplace but I like having the little bit of reassurance.
DD has slept on her tummy today and happy with it. Tonight she has gone down on her side but before her feed she was on her belly. I'm going to see how she goes but feeling a little more relaxed about it.
We have a smoke free home, no stuffed toys in her cot, firm mattress and fitted sheet. Only thing she does do is sometimes works her arms free of her wrap and pulls the wrap on her head, but I am using muslin wraps now which are very thin so doesn't create too much of a suffication problem. Would have been early on when she was being wrapped in a blanket due to the cold.
Ah, if she's on her tummy, keep her arms out of the wrap - she'll need them for tummy sleeping to push herself out of danger. Just wrap her under her arms. That's what my MCHN told me (off the record, after she made sure I knew the SIDS recommendations, since that's what they have to advise).
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but I have the angel care movement monitor on her bed for her day sleeps (she co-sleeps at night with us), makes me feel at ease she has it on when she's on her belly. She hates being on her back, funny how they are all different.
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