Tummy sleeping?

[Bethusila]

LO is  almost 3 months old, and has good control of her head and neck.  I  have been thinking more and more about putting her to sleep on her tummy at night, because she started to develop a slight flat spot on her head.  I noticed it right before her 2 mo appt, and the pediatrician confirmed it.  I have been completely obsessed with it since then, I carry her everywhere and give her tons of tummy time.  I feel like a terrible mother because of that flat spot, and as I go back to work on Monday, I know I won't be able to be as vigilant about it.

I already put her on her tummy for her naps, but it has to be on my chest or on her tummy time mat because her bassinet has an incline to it.  I would have to move her into the nursery and put her in her crib if she started tummy sleeping at night.  I know I'd be checking on her 100x's a night if I did that, but I feel like the benefits are worth it.  I know her pediatrician will never advocate tummy sleeping, so I wanted to see what some of your personal experiences were.

[Knitting Mama]

Wait, I am confused-- why would you have to move her to the nursery if she was going to sleep on her tummy?

[Bethusila]

Because the bassinet she has is inclined, and does not allow her to be on her tummy.  Also I am not comfortable with bed-sharing at this age.  I know that is very popular in this forum and I am in no way against the practice, but it is not a good fit for us.

[Chicky2]

Originally Posted by Cecilia's Mama 

Wait, I am confused-- why would you have to move her to the nursery if she was going to sleep on her tummy?

That's what I was going to ask.

All of my kids were tummy sleepers and all of them coslept.  My kids would NEVER sleep on their backs.
 

[Chicky2]

You posted at the same time I did.

Ok, so do you have a crib?  We used one as a sidecar by taking off one side and clamping the crib securely to our bed.

[gradstudentmommy]

Any chance your baby has torticollis and that is what is causing the flat spot? I noticed around 8 weeks that my baby was tilting his head the same way (to the left) in all the pictures. The pediatrician confirmed he has mild torticollis. I took him to a physical therapy and we've been doing exercises at home. In 2 weeks it was already better and at 4 1/2 months it was completely gone. So if the flat spot is off to one side, it could be that your baby is always laying her head the same way. Lots of babies sleep on their backs but don't develop flat spots, especially if you carry them a lot and do lots of tummy time while they're awake.

Just thought I'd mention it since if you catch it early, it's very easy to fix. It's just a matter of the muscles being tighter on one side of the neck.

[LittleBirdy]

If you do decide to tummy sleep, you can get a monitor that you put under the crib mattress that goes off if your baby stops breathing for more than 15 seconds.  Just putting it out there, my sister's kids were tummy sleepers so she bought one.

[PatioGardener]

I know that Public Health recommends that babies be in the same room as their Mama for at least the first 6 months of life. I would definitely not move baby away from me to sleep - much safer to sleep in the same room.

[jump mama jump!]

Can your baby roll over on her own? Mine started to at about that age and from then on refused to sleep on her back, but it was her own choice, rather than me making it for her. I don't know if I'd feel comfortable with putting her down on her tummy if I didn't know she could roll over or get up if she wanted to.

[caseykn]

Originally Posted by LittleBirdy 

If you do decide to tummy sleep, you can get a monitor that you put under the crib mattress that goes off if your baby stops breathing for more than 15 seconds.  Just putting it out there, my sister's kids were tummy sleepers so she bought one.

We had this monitor too as DD1 was a tummy sleeper pretty much from the beginning.  She slept on her back only at night when she was snuggled up next to me in bed so we were ok at night but we used this monitor in her crib or cosleeper when she napped and then at night when she was a little older and slept part of the night in her crib.  I think it's called Angel Care.  It worked really well and it made me feel much more comfortable with the tummy sleeping.  We only stopped using it when she became really mobile and would frequently roll/crawl off the sensor area and then the alarm would go off.  After a few nights of waking up in a panic we decided we were ok without it. 

[whozeyermamma]

DS has been a tummy sleeper all 7 mo - for the first few months he slept on the bed (No sheets) on his tummy and now he spends about half the night in his crib on his tummy or in our bed on tummy.

He also had great early head control. I dunno - you're right - no doc will ever tell you to tummy sleep and it is a risk factor for SIDS but ... I say you gotta go with your gut. My mom, a public health nurse told me, "I should be telling you to put him on his back but .... you slept on your tummy ..."

good luck with your decision. Oh and mine tummy slept even when I wasn't in the room with him.