tummy sleeping

i know that it is said that it is highly unsafe for a baby to sleep on their tummy so i have been sleeping my 4 week old on her back. however, she is really unsetled, restless, wakes herself up with her arms and legs moving all around. she falls asleep in my arms and i put her down, 1 minute later she is awake. i have got into the habit of letting her sleep on her tummy on my chest overnight, which i knowi shouldnt, but she sleeps well there and if she stirs i just pat her back and she will settle (plus i dont hav to get up to do so. last night though i decided to put her on the bed next to me (so i could get more comfortable) and put her tummy down. she slept soundly for 3 hours!!! i really want to keep sleeping her this way, but am scared of the risks!! does anyone else tummy sleep their babies?

My mum always said tummy's were great because we didn't get the wind and we slept soundly!! Saying this, of course SIDS recommends no tummies. What I would suggest if it really works for you, is getting a breathing monitor (we have one, I love it) and it sensors if bub stops breathing. And as long as there's no other risk factors, and you watch bub, it should be ok.
Mind you i don't want to give advice that goes against recommendations, so let me put it this way...that is what I would do! xoxoo

We couldn't get Matilda to sleep any other way. Yes it is a SIDS risk, and Yes it isn't recommended. but...

We slept Jenna on her side since she was very little. We used one of those roll things. If we put her on her back, she would swallow all her spews, and I didn't think that was too nice.
Everytime she slept on her tummy, she slept for AGES! She absolutely loved it.
So - as the others say..... its a risk, but if there are no other risk factors present, I wouldn't feel toooo bad about it!
The first night we put Jenna on her side, I checked her about 10times through thenight! I was so worried about her.
BTW - they also end up with nicer shaped heads ;) Not uneven. :)

Tis a tricky one, for sure.

I must admit, it wasn't an issue for me because I use a hammock, which keeps them on their backs, but a friend of mine had twins who both ended up as tummy sleepers from as young as 3 weeks........they were prem and slept on their tummies in the special care nursery and when they eventually came home, my GF tried to get them to sleep on their backs, to no avail............

All other risks aside, as the others have said, to my mind, if it helps them sleep.................

But investing in one of those angel care movement monitors may be a good idea......for peace of mind if nothing else?

I have been having similar thoughts re: my 7 week old. She sleeps for hours on my chest but wakes easily/doesn't settle on her back in the bassinet. The other day I put her on her tummy and she slept for 3 hours! At night she sleeps in my bed on her side as this is the position she breastfeeds in and we inevitably fall asleep while feeding in the night. But I really want her to sleep in the bassinet during the day and for the first part of the night.

I have been swaddling her and putting her down asleep/very sleepy in her bassinet with white noise cd playing; and rocking the bassinet if she needs me to. Over the weeks I have seen an improvement - from 5 minutes being the longest she'd last before crying to 2 hours of sleep this morning with no resettling. All with no crying, as I pick her up if she cries more than a small grizzle. The important key has been responding quickly to her tiredness cues, and keeping myself as calm as possible. The hitch is that I never know if I'll have success as I did this morning or if it won't work for her. There is a strong temptation to put her on her tummy and have a greater chance of her going sleep and staying asleep.

Still thinking about it ...

Cheryl

I struggled for months with Maddy not wanting to sleep on her back...she was waking every hour to two hours for the first four months or so. At four months she started to roll and I moved her to her own cot in her own room (from being in the bassinette beside our bed).

I noticed when I came in to check on her that she often rolled onto her belly; but the moment you tried to roll her onto her back she'd wake up & cry. So I started to putting her down during the day for naps on her belly...I went from having a baby who NEVER slept during the day to a baby that slept up to 3 hours at a time.

I was so nervous about it, but then realised that if that's what it took for my girl to be comfortable than I just had to make sure the rest of the elements around her were safe. I make sure she has no toys in the cot, no bumpers, no loose clothing & that all of her sheets & blankets are tightly tucked into the sides of the mattress. We're not smokers so the other risk elements for SIDS aren't really a factor; plus she has great head control - always has had since birth really.

As for co-sleeping; this is really what led to me deciding to put her on her belly in her own cot. When she comes to bed with us because she's upset/sick or just won't sleep in her own cot; I lay one of our pillows parrallel to my body and lie her on this on her side so she's at the right level to booby-feed during the night. I keep my arm underneath her too and we stay like that all night. It's amazing how your body instinctively adjusts to having a baby in the bed with you...I used to roll & thrash around alot pre-baby. *L*

Babies sleep better on their tummies if unwrapped because they cannot wake themselves up by their startle reflex (as on their fronts their arms can't move in the direction of the reflex). If you wrap a baby firmly this will have the same effect and they will not wake themselves up with their arms. Was your baby wrapped firmly in the hospital? Did they sleep okay then? Some babies will still prefer their tummies, but I think most will sleep well on their backs if wrapped.

thanks for your suggestions. my baby did like to be wrapped for the first few days but now she seems to move and wiggle alot and struggles with getting her arms and legs free from the swaddling that this wakes her up also. i dont have any other SIDS risk factors, i got her a grobag, dont smoke etc. the only thing i can think of that might be a risk is that she has a small 3mm VSD (hole in the septum of her heart) which the doctors arent very worried about. do you think this could be an added risk factor?

Hollo, my son, Charlie, has a tiny hole in his heart too (about 2mm) and our specialist indicated that it ISN"T an issue in relation to SIDS. Might be worth checking with your paed, but as far as I am aware, it doesn't increase the SIDS risk........

Indah also always slept on her tummy & now she goes into her cot & stands up, refuses to let us lay her down... But happily goes in there & later she is all twisted etc, but she sleeps from 8pm til about 6-7am!
I still check on her, but I dont actually do anything just look, laugh at her way of sleeping & then sneak out!

Hmmm, I sleep with Oscar on my belly and have been since about week 6ish - I get great sleep, Oscar sleeps very well between feeds (and doesn't wake as easily as if he's on his own in the bassinette, the case during the day) and I feel well rested in the morning. He, too, sleeps longer during the day if I leave him on his belly in my bed (pillows moved away, head to side) and it's the only chance I get to have a shower when DP isn't home!
I don't worry about what I 'shouldn't' do, because I do what keeps Oscar happy and me happy at the same time.
He is 13 weeks old and I don't plan to kick him out of our bed any time soon. When he's a bit bigger I'll get him back on the bed and off my chest, but for now it's just lovely, and the tummy sleeping in the morning aids my showering habits!

its good to know that other mums are experienceing similar things to me and my baby. i would just hate it if someting bad happend to her from lying on her tummy and then i would only have myself to blame, knowing all the warnings etc. what is the risk on SIDS when on tummy anyway? is it incase they smother their faces on the bed or something else?