Newborn sleeps SO well! (On tummy ONLY!) What to do?

[Dot-to-Dot]

It is quite clear (at 2 weeks old) that my baby is only willing to sleep on her tummy.  She takes great naps and sleeps peacefully during the night waking for a couple feedings when on her tummy.  Of course, I don't sleep because I am so worried she's going to stop breathing.  (I totally understand the apnea part of SIDS and though we have no other risk factors, I can't escape the risk factor that her neurological system is immature and may not wake herself up).

Even my pediatrician says that it's normal for all mammals to sleep on their bellies.  It's natural.  With my dd1, we were just plain miserable for 6 months until the doctor hinted that he thought it was fine for her to sleep on her tummy.  (I don't think he could outright say it without some major liability).  Anyway, that very night I let her sleep on her belly and never looked back.  She never rolled over (just strangely skipped that milestone), otherwise I'd have used that as a reason to let her sleep however she wants. 

Do I need to wait for this baby to be able to roll over to her belly before I stop freaking out over this.  I AM TIRED!  I want us all to get some good sleep. I'm not expecting anything out of the ordinary for a newborn...I just want her to sleep for longer than 5 minutes while on her back OR I want to eliminate my worries about her sleeping on her tummy. 

Should I just slog through the months of sleeplessness until she rolls to her tummy on her own?  Or should I put her there and let her sleep blissfully?

[Amanda_Reyasmom]

If she can lift her head and turn it I'd put her on her belly!   My girlie's a belly sleeper too. 

[Dot-to-Dot]

She can definitely lift her head and turn...but according to my research SIDS is related to the normal sleep apnea that is normal in babies due to their immature neurological system that forgets to wake them up...in which case head control wouldn't matter. 

[macy]

I was going to paraphrase something I'd read a few months ago but then I decided to just link you to it. It's very informative.

http://www.sids.org/nfeaturedques.htm

If she won't sleep on her back, have you tried a swing or bouncy seat instead, or ruled out reflux?

I hope you are able to get some sleep. If you are really exhausted maybe someone else to take over for a few hours so you can nap.

[ZakareyasMama]

DS was exactly the same. Have you tried him on his side with a wedge or something? They also sell some monitors that go off if the baby stops breathing. I have a friend who has one. They are $$$ but how much is your sleep worth? 

Now that he's older he will sleep on his back at night and on the tummy with supervision for naps. I'm next to him at night with my hand on his belly. If he happens to sleep on his back when I'm not ready to lie down, I'll put a thickish piece of fabric across his chest. This helps with the startle reflex. 

I hope you can get some sleep soon!!

[Bokonon]

Originally Posted by ZakareyasMama 

They also sell some monitors that go off if the baby stops breathing. I have a friend who has one. They are $$$ but how much is your sleep worth? 

In SIDS cases, a baby is unable to be resuscitated, so a motion sensor monitor would alert you to a problem, but realistically you wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

[Dot-to-Dot]

I have tried the swing and even an automatic bouncing bouncy seat (which is awesome by the way, but she won't sleep in it overnight, probably because she doesn't want to be in that same position all night long).  I don't have any reason to believe she has reflux.  Even "silent reflux".  She doesn't just cry all night or grimace or anything.  She spits up usually after eating especially if she didn't burp, but not enough to alarm me.  She basically just grunts and grunts and flails her arms and gets more and more agitated until, well, yeah, then she'll cry because she's irritated, but not because of digestive issues I don't think.

I have been thinking about that special Angel Care monitor...yeah pricey...but you make a good point about the value of sleep.  I've often thought about putting my small bean baggish neck pillow across her arms until she falls asleep...like how some kids with sensory issues prefer to have something dense laid on top of them to help them feel settled and organized.  In fact I think I did try that with dd2 2 years ago.  I don't think it worked but maybe I'll try that with this little one.  I have a feeling she'll just awake as soon as I gently remove it.

*sigh*...maybe it's time to start saving for that special monitor.

[macy]

Dumb question but are you swaddling her?

[Dot-to-Dot]

Yep, we swaddle.  She fights it.  We hang in there and do the S's (Ssh'ing, swaying, something to suck on, etc).  She eventually will succumb to the swaddle and even fall asleep after some time (takes awhile though).  I lay her down asleep and swaddled on her back and ALWAYS she wakes up about 20 minute later and is VERY upset to be restricted.  The whole process takes a couple hours and then it's often time to eat again and change her diaper.  It doesn't seem worth the effort.  But at two weeks we haven't given up on the swaddling just yet.

[Dot-to-Dot]

Well, I decided to buy a BabeSafe mattress wrap for the co sleeper and crib.  I see that some people on MDC really think the Sprott guy (who claims that mattress wrapping prevents SIDS 100%) is just trying to make a profit off the fears of parents...but the whole toxic nerve gas theory sure makes a lot of sense to me.  The wrap won't give me total peace of mind, but I figure if I end up increasing her risk of SIDS by placing her on her stomach that I should at least do all I can to reduce her risk in other ways to combat it.

In my efforts to force her to sleep on her back, I am effectively keeping her awake all night (and then of course she naps happily in my arms all day)...and I am actually CAUSING her to have her days and nights mixed up.

[Skippy918]

My DD is 6 weeks old and I've been letting her nap on her tummy.  I put the co-sleeper in the living room and I check on her frequently.  At night, she sleeps in the swing with white noise.  I'm probably going to try the swaddle in the crib at night to see how she does.  I had tried the swaddle early on, but she kept getting mad and would cry.  Not sure if the crying was due to her movement being restricted or that she was trying to get out but couldn't.

In SIDS cases, a baby is unable to be resuscitated, so a motion sensor monitor would alert you to a problem, but realistically you wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Why couldn't the baby be resuscitated?

[Bokonon]

Originally Posted by Skippy918 

My DD is 6 weeks old and I've been letting her nap on her tummy.  I put the co-sleeper in the living room and I check on her frequently.  At night, she sleeps in the swing with white noise.  I'm probably going to try the swaddle in the crib at night to see how she does.  I had tried the swaddle early on, but she kept getting mad and would cry.  Not sure if the crying was due to her movement being restricted or that she was trying to get out but couldn't.

Why couldn't the baby be resuscitated?

Because of something that happens in their brains...I don't remember exactly, and don't have time right now to find the link, but it's different from suffocation.

[Dot-to-Dot]

I think it might have something to do with the pressure on the brain stem...that pressue is what allows such a deep and blissful sleep...but it's also the problem as far as hindering the infant's neurological system to rouse or be revived.  Also, once you discover that they aren't breathing, it's likely too late to revive them I would assume.  Unless you are staring at them the entire time they are sleeping and you jiggle them awake the milisecond they stop breathing, then you are likely popping in and out of the room doing things and if you discover the baby a few minutes after they have sleep apnea I would think that would be too late.

[QuestionGal]

i vote for sleep on belly and add the idea of an Angel Care Monitor to give you peace of mind. 

or  try swaddling and see if that works.

http://www.angelcare-monitor.com/United-States/en/products

[macy]

The SIDS websites say not to use those monitors because they don't go off in time. I guess if you are going to do it anyway with the assumption that if something goes wrong you can resuscitate in time, then I'd at least be sure to know infant CPR well. 

[aHikaru]

AE has slept on her belly since day one, we co slept in the same bed for the first six months and are still co sleeping in the same room, she is now 2yrs 4mths.

[Alenushka]

My the time you catch on that your baby is not breathing it is too late. Brain does not survive wihout oxygen for very long.  While we all shoudl know CPR because sometime it saves people.....it does not have high sucess rates.

The risk of tummy sleeping is simply too high

http://sids.org/nfeaturedques.htm

Yes, there babies who slept on their tummies and did not die just like there people who drove drunk without seatbelts and are still alive.

[JBaxter]

Forum crasher.   I have 4 boys.  19,16 7 and 2.   the first 3 would ONLY sleep in their tummies.   I mean more that 20 minutes sleep.   After 3 weeks I was SO sleep deprived I gave up and put them in the bassinet on their tummy.  Firm mattress no toys etc.  They were all big strong babies who could lift their heads well.  WE needed sleep I was getting crazy ( and depressed) by getting up ever 30 minutes round the clock.  By the time ds3 was born and doing the same thing I just put him down and didnt worry.   DS4 very different child he would only sleep on the side under my arm for the first 12 months.

There are many risk factors for SIDS.  Smoking in the home drug use, birth weight etc.  I wasnt worried.

[Dot-to-Dot]

Originally Posted by Alenushka 

The risk of tummy sleeping is simply too high

http://sids.org/nfeaturedques.htm

Yes, there babies who slept on their tummies and did not die just like there people who drove drunk without seatbelts and are still alive.

Yeah, I came across that in my search a few days ago.  But for every site that something like this, there is another site that says something like, "99.9%" of babies placed on their stomach wake up just fine.  That's not an exact quote but it's from Dr. Sears.

I simply can't figure out if SIDS is rare or not!  And even then, you don't know if the statistic is based on a population of tummy sleepers or back sleepers.  I simply don't feel convinced of either point of view yet.  Still pretty torn.

[yaboobarb]

All three of my babies slept on their bellies and sides. All of my mom's 4 babies slept on their bellies or sides. Seeing all of the babies with flat backs of their heads made me feel something was wrong with ALWAYS back to sleep.

I felt comfortable following my instincts when I read all of the data about breathing and heart rates synchronizing with co sleeping it made me feel better.

When I realized that I would awake about 10-20 seconds before my baby did, I realized that we were REALLY connected, I felt even better. Experiencing my milk letting down when my baby was crying in the house with dad, and I was outdoors ( not within ear shot- but somehow connected) helped reinforce that *I* was truly connected to my baby and *I* had something within me that was deeper than "thinking"- it was called "knowing."

SIDS was called "Crib Death," way before it was called SIDS...

What I suggest is that you read/ research everything you can about the mother/ baby connection, then follow YOUR instincts.
You will know what the best thing is for your baby.

As a culture , we are taught to trust and follow "authorities" or "experts," but as a mother doing those things will make you feel in constant disharmony with your instincts.

Check out my blog post about.

Knowing that You Know...
http://birthpower.blogspot.com/2008/04/knowing-that-you-know.html

And Finding Your Yes!
http://birthpower.blogspot.com/2008/04/more-on-no-finding-your-yes.html

 

Barbara