Tummy Sleeping

[mamakims]

Can this ever be safe? None of my kids slept on their tummies, all were content on their backs but Sophie will fret and wake up after abotut 20 minutes on her back. She sleeps so well when on her tummy on my chest so I tried letting her nap in her bassinet on her tummy and she slept soundly for 2 hours straight.

I worry about SIDS but I am wondering can tummy sleeping ever be made safe?

[gabeyho]

fwiw, all mine have slept on their tummies. i say use your best judgement and keep fluffy things away from their face. balled up babies sleeping on their tummies are usually happy babies.

[AfricanQueen99]

Both kids made the flip to tummy around 1.5 weeks and I don't flip them back as I will do anything to encourage more sleep!

[Kidzaplenty]

All mine slept on their tummy. That is the only way they sleep when not in someone's arms. I have never worried about SIDS. I just keep an eye on them.

[Marylizah]

DS1 was a tummy sleeper from birth. I was SO paranoid and stressed: he slept in a side-carred crib, with the AngelCare monitor (it has an alarm that detects if/when baby stops breathing).

My mom thought I was totally overreacting and told me that all three of us slept on our tummies. I think if you minimize or eliminate the other risk factors (cig smoking in the house, formula feeding, loose bedding, etc) you don't have much to worry about.

[~Christina~]

My last two babies have been tummy sleepers.

[Sharlla]

All mine slept on theirs

[akat]

my older one totally slept on his tummy. I just never feared SIDS with him, he was so hearty. One theory about SIDS is that it's from mattress mold - so wrapping the mattress in plastic may help - I don't know if that theory is even still accepted, that's from 6 yrs ago.

With this one, he absolutely will not stay asleep flat on his back. Hell, I don't want to sleep flat on my back either. I don't feel comfortable putting him on his tummy quite yet since he really can't move his head much. So I've been putting him in various 'recliners' like the car seat, the swings, I put a blanket in the Boppy hole, or in my arms, etc. He sleeps much better like that. Or, on his side in bed - we nurse to sleep laying down and he just stays on his side, I'm right there.

[MEcatlady17]

FWIW the concern with tummy sleeping isn't just about suffocation/smothering. They are finding that tummy sleepers inhale more Carbon monoxide as they are rebreathing what they breath out (if that makes any sense) and the newest research is showing that some babies are predisposed to this being more of a problem due to seratonin levels in the brain..but there isn't any way to know if your baby has low seratonin levels. So while it may be a minimal risk, there is a risk there.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/...ids03_st_N.htm

DD sleeps really well in a swaddling sleep sack. She gets the cozy feeling but can still sleep well on her back or propped a bit on her side.

[sunshadow]

I never let my daughter sleep on her tummy, and she rarely slept... Now that I have two I do put my son down on his tummy during the day so I have more time to spend with my daughter since he sleeps much longer that way. I do try and alternate since I read it can be a problem if a back sleeper all of a sudden starts sleeping on his tummy. I also do not put him on his tummy at night since I can't watch him as well. Though he is usually on his side at night next to me.

[Tenk]

My 2 oldest slept on their tummies from day 1, my 2 DS's slept on their backs from day 1, but propped up because they had such bad reflux. I never worried about my girls either. But my girls slept WAY better than my boys, they slept thru the night by 4 & 6 weeks old and my boys didn't STTN until 4 months and 10 months. Now when they started turning on their own they immediately moved to tummy sleeping by choice. So DS 18m sleeps on his tummy now and has since he started moving more around 8-9 months and he sleeps GREAT now. I wonder if this new one should sleep on her tummy during the day to help her sleep more (and rest?!?!?)

[mamakims]

THanks for your opinions and experiences!

I think for right now I'm going to try to stick with back sleeping but if in the daytime she's super fussy and needs to sleep I'll try tummy sleeping but not at night.

I attended a funeral for a 7 week old baby that attended the daycare I worked at who died from SIDS (along with a funeral for a 3 y/o and another friend's 7 wk old died all during my pregnancy) so I'm ultra paranoid about SIDS and Sophie dying.

[Astraia]

Originally Posted by sunshadow

I never let my daughter sleep on her tummy, and she rarely slept... Now that I have two I do put my son down on his tummy during the day so I have more time to spend with my daughter since he sleeps much longer that way. I do try and alternate since I read it can be a problem if a back sleeper all of a sudden starts sleeping on his tummy. I also do not put him on his tummy at night since I can't watch him as well. Though he is usually on his side at night next to me.

This is us exactly. I never put my daughter on her tummy and we've had nothing but sleep problems. Now I have 2, I need one to go down and sleep without being held and he does fabulously on his tummy. I have him sleeping on his tummy in a bassinet in the kitchen during the day, and on his side or back beside me in bed at night.

[Astraia]

Originally Posted by MEcatlady17

FWIW the concern with tummy sleeping isn't just about suffocation/smothering. They are finding that tummy sleepers inhale more Carbon monoxide as they are rebreathing what they breath out (if that makes any sense) and the newest research is showing that some babies are predisposed to this being more of a problem due to seratonin levels in the brain..but there isn't any way to know if your baby has low seratonin levels. So while it may be a minimal risk, there is a risk there.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/...ids03_st_N.htm

DD sleeps really well in a swaddling sleep sack. She gets the cozy feeling but can still sleep well on her back or propped a bit on her side.

My GMIL gave me a cutout article from the local newspaper on this. It had a box on "Protect your baby from SIDS" and all the safe sleeping practices. #1 thing listed? NEVER sleep with your baby, the safest place for your baby is in a crib.

[akat]

Originally Posted by mamakims

THanks for your opinions and experiences!

I think for right now I'm going to try to stick with back sleeping but if in the daytime she's super fussy and needs to sleep I'll try tummy sleeping but not at night.

I attended a funeral for a 7 week old baby that attended the daycare I worked at who died from SIDS (along with a funeral for a 3 y/o and another friend's 7 wk old died all during my pregnancy) so I'm ultra paranoid about SIDS and Sophie dying.

Oh my gosh, that's horrible! I feel vulnerable and anxious enough and I've never known a baby who died, let alone 3 during my pregnancy. I'd be super paranoid too.

-----

As far as the increased carbon monoxide thing, if tummy sleeping increases it, I really wonder about babies encased in slings. I know I feel like I can't breathe well if I have my head under a blanket...

[Mawood]

My daughter likes to sleep on her tummy or her side as well while she wakes up if you lay her down on her back. I never heard about the risk of CarbonMonoxide when they are rebreathing their breath but it makes sense. I will try to put her down on her back more often. Maybe she will be able to get used to it. Since she is our first one she mostly sleeps on us or right next to us. We are wearing her a lot.

[caefi]

you should worry about SIDS and tummy sleeping. When she's sleeping on you it is different from sleeping on her tummy in the basinet b/c your breathing helps regulate hers. That deep sleep that she gets on her tummy is dangerous for her.

What you really need to ask yourself is, if something WERE to happen and she's sleeping on her tummy, how will you deal with the guilt of "what if"? Is it truly worth the risk to get her to sleep a little more, out of your arms?

For me, it's not. For an old friend it never will be again. Read her story: http://www.achristianhome.com/Good_Things/SIDS.htm

" In our house, we put our babies to sleep on their backs, because at one point in our parenting career, we did not, and when we went to get our little three-month-old son one morning when he overslept his feeding, we found him cold and stiff and not breathing, and my husband had to scream into the phone, "Send an ambulance! I think my son is dead!" "

[BMG580]

Nope, no tummy sleep here either unless it is on my chest. I know the odds of SIDS actually occurring is low, however, it does happen and I will take any preventative measures to protect my children. My baby doesn't like being flat on her back so I let her sleep in her bouncy seat right now. My son screamed incessantly on his back, even elevated, and that was our first big clue that he had reflux and once he was treated he slept much better.

[MEcatlady17]

Originally Posted by Astraia

My GMIL gave me a cutout article from the local newspaper on this. It had a box on "Protect your baby from SIDS" and all the safe sleeping practices. #1 thing listed? NEVER sleep with your baby, the safest place for your baby is in a crib.

ugh, so frustrating! Why can't the cosleeping info be more accurate out there. The media covers every death while cosleeping regardless of the circumstances (usually sleeping on a couch or with a medicated parent, etc). However, crib deaths are just called SIDS and not 'baby dies in crib'... My state is about to take an official stance against cosleeping that will affect the information I am supposed to offer at my job working with new parents,...it will be interesting seeing as how we bed share and while I am happy to educate on safe sleep habits I will not tell people not to cosleep period.

Originally Posted by akat

As far as the increased carbon monoxide thing, if tummy sleeping increases it, I really wonder about babies encased in slings. I know I feel like I can't breathe well if I have my head under a blanket...

My understanding is that babies regulate their breathing when they can hear and feel your breathing. As far as the re-breathing co2 thing, most sling companies do warn about good positioning and making sure baby's head isn't tucked chin to chest and that they have some ventilation rather than having fabric pressed against the face. When you look at a baby that is in a sling or wrap positioned well they have their noses pretty clear,...I do worry about some of the new one sized 'slings' big box store carry where babies are essentially in a sack at mom's waist level and not supported well. They have had some accidents and injuries related to falling out, http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07137.html. I've seen moms using these IRL where it made me very nervous for the baby's ability to breath as they looked like they were just stuck in a bag...

[mrsfrenchy]

We're cosleeping for the time being and I'm comfortable with DD sleeping on her tummy when she's right next to me or on my chest (because of reasons PP have mentioned, like the fact that my breathing helps to regulate hers).

But we're not really long-term cosleepers and I know that we'll eventually want DD to be in her own room. DH and I are night owls and if we have a LO in our room, I think we'd really mess up their sleep schedule once they become more 'aware' of the world. lol

Anyway, at what point would you guys be ok with tummy sleeping in a crib. I wouldn't be right now. But when she can roll over? When she's X months old? I'm not really sure.