Sleeping dilemma

[scowgirl]

My 3 1/2 month old has been rolling from back to front, in one direction only, for the past several weeks. She can't yet roll from front to back. We have been putting her to sleep swaddled since she was born, but she's a very long baby and we are starting to have trouble with her breaking free of the SwaddleMe sleepers that we use. Two nights ago the main velcro piece in the middle came undone, which freed her legs up a little and she managed to roll over onto her tummy with her arms still secured. Luckily I was awake and re-secured the swaddler and flipped her back over (she sleeps in a travel crib next to our bed), but needless to say this was pretty scary. I can envision a time when she will be breaking out of the swaddler all the time. Right now, if we can get her swaddled securely, it's still enough to persuade her to stay on her back; but I can also see that she might be working toward the ability to roll over while fully swaddled.

I am trying to figure out a safe sleeping situation for her. If we didn't swaddle her, she would flip over incessantly. She doesn't really like spending a lot of time on her tummy yet, but seems to feel "compelled" to roll every time she's on her back. She's also not great at lying on her tummy... she CAN turn her head to the side, but most often seems to press her face straight down and fuss and struggle when she gets tired of holding her head up during tummy time. All of the web searches I'm done say things like "it's fine if she has good head control and can roll both directions" (no to both counts) or "just flip her back over" (seriously, this would be every 5 minutes all night... no one in the house including her would get a moment's sleep). It seems like sleep positioners (not that I really know what those are anyway) are dangerous.

Last night we tried belting her into her Fisher-Price Rock 'n Play Sleeper. She has napped in this before, but has never really slept in it all night except on maybe 2 or 3 occasions. She slept quite well, but I also have in the back of my head that you really aren't supposed to use this thing anymore once they can roll over. I still think it's safer than the alternative, but again it's probably a limited-time-only kind of solution.

Co-sleeping is out... our mattress has a pillow top, and I weigh about 250 pounds, so it seems like it would not be recommended for our situation. Plus the rolling over would be even more dangerous if she were in our bed. Anyway, she's right beside us as it is, so I'm not sure I would hear her any better than I already do.

Can anyone help me figure out what to do here? 

[Blt178]

I would probably stop swaddling if she is rolling this much.  There's much better odds that she will get stronger if she has her arms free to help move herself around.  If her arms are bound, I could see it being harder for her to turn herself to the side so her face isn't mashed into the mattress.  

I kept using the swaddle as a 'sleep sack' of sorts after my little ones were too mobile to secure their arms.  I just velcroed it snug under their armpits.  This way they always have a cover on and don't get cold, arms are still free and everyone is happy!

I too remember going through this with my first and it is so alarming to see them on their front when there is so much info on "THEY MUST SLEEP ON THEIR BACKS!" and the advice of return them back to their backs seemed impossible - how would you sleep then?  What they are really saying is just that when you are up to nurse them etc, then just flip them back onto their backs when you are done.  You needn't hover and keep returning her to her back every time she flips.

It wasn't until recently that the whole 'back to sleep' campaign began... just because it is best to have them on their backs doesn't mean she will perish if you allow her to sleep on her front.  If she prefers it, you might get more sleep overall and THAT is good for everyone. :)

Good luck!

[scowgirl]

Thanks! That is all great advice and information. I really appreciate it.

I'm just nervous for now because she seems uncomfortable on her tummy and tends to press her face into the play mat. But, I'm hoping she'll get over that soon and start turning her head more reliably. I guess this is likely to be a pretty short phase in the grand scheme of things. Thanks again.

[skycheattraffic]

I may be wrong but I thought being on their tummy is ok once they can turn into that position. My DD was the exact same way. She started breaking out of swaddles in the hospital (!) and by two weeks of age it was futile to even try. Granted I didn't use Velcro swaddlers but I thought restraining her would be less safe than letting her move and roll. What I was told by healthcare professionals is that my responsibility in the "back to sleep" arena is to always place her on her back when I'm putting her down. If she is strong enough to roll then she is strong enough to breathe while on her tummy or kick up a fuss if she's in trouble.

I second pp when she advised you to free baby's arms and roll with it, so to speak :-). Babies always perfect new skills at night (much to our dismay) and after a few nights she will probably be a happy tummy sleeper. My DD is 19 months old and I still put her down on her back and 99% of the time she's on her belly before I leave the room.