How does your baby sleep?

[Jude's Mama]

Does your baby sleep on....

BACK
STOMACH
SIDE

[Jude's Mama]

OOOOOPPPPPSSSSS!!!!!!!!! As you can see I've never posted a poll before! My DS sleeps on his Tummy. I know that it's not a favorite choice! Just wondering what everyone else does!

[sparkeze]

All!

DS sleeps on all of these! He's all over the place during the night and he happens to fall asleep in any one of these positions!

[sevenkids]

Well, I had my babies in Jamaica, except for the last one, and we never heard of this "Back to Sleep" program, so all my babies slept on their bellies. In Jamaica, everyone co-sleeps and breastfeeds, putting a baby in a crib down the hall is unheard of! Incidently, SIDS is unheard of, too. Babies just don't die in their sleep in Jamaica. And, babies don't get rolled over on either. When my 4th baby was a few weeks old, I had to put her down to get her brother from causing some disaster in the kitchen, and when I came back, she was choking on her puke. (She was lying on her back)
When I had my youngest here in the US, my pediatrician told me to put him on his back to sleep to reduce the risk of SIDS. After a few weeks of side-lying with a towel propping up his back, I began to put him on his back to sleep. He woke up about every 15 minutes, startled. Forget it!
I had done my research, and since the AAP can't figure out what causes SIDS, despite evidence that shows SIDS is highest among formula fed babies that sleep alone, and in cultures where co-sleeping, breastfeeding, and belly sleeping were the traditional practice, SIDS was rare, if not unknown, I figured that I might as well stick to what I know, and put my little guy on his belly to sleep. (He was a greedy eater, too, so he was always gassy. Sleeping on his belly allowed him to fart freely!) At night, he slept on his side, pressed up against me.
Has anyone else noticed that you wake up just a few moments before baby does when you sleep with baby? Or, if baby needs anything you just know and wake up? I did.

[Quirky]

I've been co-sleeping with DS (my first) since day 1, and he's now 4.5 months old and startles himself awake a lot by flailing his arms around. In fact, it seems that he sleeps best physically on me....but I'm thinking about putting him down on his tummy in between us to see if he sleeps better. He's past the high-risk age for SIDS (and we have no other risk factors like smoking, formula, crib-sleeping), but I'm still a little chicken....

[Mollie]

Sevenkids, thank you for your post, that is really interesting! I agree that I ALWAYS wake up a minute or so before my kids do, even my son who is in his own room now. I always always always wake up if he is getting ready to have a nightmare, whatever.

Back to the post, both of my kids sleep flat on their backs, arms up over their heads. haha. so do I.

[rwikene]

My DD sleeps on her back, arms out (like a cross) or in the "fencing position" with one arm out and the other across her chest. She is 13mo old, I thought that was supposed to end when they were still quite young...whatever:

I like to sleep on my tummy, so she doesn't get to cuddle all night poor thing

[Piglet68]

DD mostly sleeps on her back now, arms above her head, lol. But sometimes she sleeps on her side. I've never seen her sleep on her tummy.

sevenkids, what a neat post! I always wake up when DD stirs, and I'm considered a deep sleeper (though very aware), but somehow I always know when she needs me. I love that about cosleeping!!

[lucina3]

When my angels were babies they all slept on their stomachs... it was the only way they would sleep.

[lilyka]

My babies, when not in my arms, sleep on thier sides or thier backs until they can roll over on thier own. I also swaddle them so starteling is not a problem. All of mine (except this last one -knock on wood) have been super pukers but I have never had a problem with them choking on it. Perhaps it was because they were so accustomed to it.

[Quirky]

Lilyka, how do you swaddle your babes and at what age do you stop? I know my DS (4.5 months) wakes himself up sometimes because he's flailing his arms around, but if I swaddle him in a burrito wrap he wriggles out of it pretty quickly. He can roll over back to front now; he's still working on front to back. I've been thinking about putting him down (between us) on his tummy, but if I could find a swaddling technique that worked I might do that instead. Any thoughts?

[Serena]

Mine is 16 months old now and sleeps every which way she pleases, but she spent almost all of her infancy sleeping on her tummy. I remember being totally desperate when she was a few weeks old; my mom was over, and I was explaining how dd would never sleep for more than a few minutes for a nap before she startled awake, and scarcely better at night. My mom suggested putting her on her stomach to sleep. I did, and the result: a three-hour nap.

I never went back.

I totally agree with Sevenkids; I think the danger is largely a function of infants sleeping far away from their mother, on brand-new, offgassing crib mattresses, and/or not being breastfed. dd does sleep in a crib now; but until she was almost a year she was first with us, then in a co-sleeper by my side. I was always totally aware of her well-being.

It just somehow innately makes more sense to me that babies would be more comfortable sleeping on their stomachs, than with their tiny soft spines stretched out flat and hard on their backs. But that's just me.

[Jude's Mama]

My old pediatrician ( we don't go to him anymore he wanted to my my DS at 1 month on Zantac! ) made my husband and I feel guilty about putting Jude on his stomach to sleep. Why does it seem doctors have onesided thinking? Don't they explore all options? Guess not !
But there is comfort in knowing we are not the only one's tummy sleeping!



Michelle

[Ilaria]

On his belly, since day 1. He NEVER could sleep on his back for long.

[Envision]

wow!!

Wow! I never knew that there would be so many who also had babies who slept on their tummies...
My ds slept on his tummy when he was first born...he had the craziest arms...I tried to wrap him so he could sleep on his back and he would get out and hit himself...
so finally I started letting him sleep on his stomach in the day when he slept and I could bring out his bassinette out to where I could watch him...
All the moms at my moms group thought I was crazy but there was no other way...his arms were sooooo crazy!!

Now at 15 mths he is all over the place..he flops around like a fish and I love when I go into his room and his little bum is sticking up in the air...love it

Oils

[Bearsmama]

Our 11 mo DS sleeps in all sorts of ways. He likes belly sleeping a lot, but really likes the back position, too.

He is a gymnast, and sometimes will flail around until he's found a spot ON TOP of me and falls asleep. Then, of course, I'm awake with a 20+lb child on my chest and can't sleep.

sevenkids-YES! I wake up a few minutes before DS all the time. We b'feed and co-sleep, too, and I guess we're just so in sync with each other.

[Julie]

My DD sleeps which every was she wants, usually on her tummy. I never tried the back to sleep stuff with her. My Son when he was a baby we tried the back to sleep bit, Thankfully my DH and I were living with my parents and My Mom one night (as DH and I were in our sleep deprived state, Looking down at our fussing son) Came into our room didnt say a work just cam and rolled DS over on to his tummy...Poof Out to sleep! At 3 1/2 he is still a strictly tummy only sleeper

[SLY]

My DS sleeps on his back, but falls asleep on his side, nursing. He has never slept on his stomach, and when he does roll over in his sleep, he wakes up with a confused look on his face. He just cant seem to get cozy on his tummy. I have put him down that way, but to no avail- he flips over. Before he could roll, he'd try to lift his head, and get frustrated. He never fell asleep on his tummy, but sleeps like a log on his side and back. And I mean he SLEEPS! He goes down at about 730 or so, and we wake upat 730 or 8. (We sleep together, and he does nurse off and on through the night, but I generally sleep through that). btw, Happy New Year, everybody!

[angela&avery]

my ds as an infant always slept on his side, i rolled up two receiving blankets and put one behind him and one in front of him i was worried about suffocation (on stomach) and choking on spitup(on is back) so that is why he sideslept, also swaddled...., also put a pillow under him in his bassinet next to my bed cuz the mattress was so hard!! we 1/2 coslept and half used the bassinet right next to me, we didnt always sleep as well in the same bed, and ds liked the room to roll once he could... at that point he just went down on his back and rolled as he pleased, he sleeps on his back, side and stomach now..

[Solange]

when he was a baby on his back/side and now at 32 months sprawled out in the form of a jumping jack pose or on his side....