So I lay my baby on her tummy to sleep, do you?

[mkmama]

I say "bleh" to the worries about laying babies on their tummies. My LO doesn't care if she's on her back, side or tummy, but she does love to sleep on her tummy. I'm just not concerned. In fact, the back is what scares me as she spits up and whatnot.

So who else "lets" their LOs sleep on their stomach? I tell ya, she always sleeps longer that way! Of course I check on her, but she moves her head really well already. 3 weeks old and if she's laying on my chest she lifts her head all the way up to look at me!

and OT, she did a real, full, interactive smile at me today. i love love love being a mama!

[ChristyH]

Yup, Lizzie loves to sleep on her tummy and its one way for me to get her to sleep longer. She startles herself when she's on her back and hates to be swaddled so tummy it is. She sleeps on a very firm mattress that is sidecarred to my bed so she's right there. All of my kids slept on their tummies!

[ishereal]

My LO sleeps on his stomach. Sleeping on his back startles him also, he sleeps on his side at night GOTA LOVE SIDE-LYING NURSING!!!!!!!

[Grivas]

I was doing this because it makes such a big difference in sleep quality for LO, and I thought I was being lazy and irresponsible. thanks so much for this thread! Makes me feel better.

[KariM]

Meghan nearly always sleeps on her tummy (at nighttime that is)!

The girl started rolling over onto her tummy and liked staying there when she was around 2 weeks old.

[melanyh]

yep. soren is on his tummy -- never been another way.

w/ds1 we TRIED the back, but he wouldn't sleep. turned him over and wham -- much better.

i used to have OMT done on ds1 and that doc said that although she was required to abide by the 'back to sleep' campaign, there were much more incidences of neck & back troubles as a result and of scoliosis. she couldn't tell me to sleep on the tummy -- but i got what she was saying, that it wasn't SO bad. tummy sleeping is but one of the risk factors for SIDS.

[Ironica]

Mostly DS2 sleeps on his side. I did put him on his tummy on the Boppy on my lap today to burp him, and he fell asleep that way for about 45 mins ;-) but I haven't deliberately tried to put him down to sleep on his tummy.

Most babies do sleep more soundly that way, and the speculation is that that's why it raises SIDS risk... they're less likely to rouse when they get low on oxygen. :-/

[rubyeta]

My baby sleeps sooo much better on his tummy. I never leave him alone when he is on his tummy though. I feel really uneasy sleeping him like that, but i think it is all of the horror stories of SIDS that scare the heck out of me- that is what my nightmares are made of. I also read somewhere that the "Back To Sleep" campaign came out at the same time that the DTP vaccine switched to DTaP. (live pertussis switched to acellular or "dead" pertussis) Some people believe there is a link to SIDS with this vaccine. I wish i could relax when he was contentedly sleeping.

[Mary-Beth]

No, my baby sleeps on his back or on his side. Side is most common sense we nurse that way. I'm not going to lecture anyone because I don't really know the facts on what is truly safer. I just feel more comfortable based on the info. on SIDS with keeping him off his tummy unless he's laying on my chest. We all have to do what we feel comfortable with. My baby doesn't seem to spit up so I don't have that factor to consider either.

[bigeyes]

I always felt like the worst mom for letting my ds sleep on his tummy. But he absolutely would not sleep on his back or side.
Granted, he was on his tummy on top of me, but still...

[Incubator]

at night DD sleeps on her side or back, usually swaddled while nursing. If I put her down on the bouncy chair by our bed I tuck a blanket under one side so she's semi-side-sleeping, cause she sleeps better that way.
Naps during the day are either in the bouncy chair, or tummy down on a firm pillow on the floor, cause it keeps her upright as if she's sleeping on my chest. My biggest worry is DS tripping over her, not sleeping on her tummy.
For that matter, DS used to take naps at my moms house tummy town on a huge floorpillow. He was a bit older though.

[BensMom]

I've tried putting her down on her tummy during teh day during a long awake stretch just to see if it would give me a break. But it didnt work. She sleeps great on her back though, much better than my other two. At night she is mainly on her side after she comes in bed with me, due to nursing. Before she comes in wiith me, she in in a bouncy seat. Hoping to transition her to teh Amby any day now.

[mama_ani]

My LO will ONLY sleep on her tummy, if she's on her side or back she flails about. I tried swaddling her to see if it would help but then she just screams.
I wake up many times a night to see if she's breathing... she sleeps through the night... I have yet to!

[pixiepunk]

when Elowyn is sleeping at night, next to me in the bed, she normally sleeps on her side snuggled up next to me, or else rolls onto her back. she seems fine that way and sleeps like a champ. during the day i don't put her down for naps, she just sleeps on me in a baby carrier or in arms if i'm taking a break.

she loves to sleep on her belly on her daddy's chest, though.

i think if you cosleep there's no problem whatsoever with laying baby on the belly to sleep. i'd be worried if baby was across the room or in another room that way, though.

[A_Random_Phrase]

As far as I know the reason doctors started saying babies shouldn't lay on their stomachs was because the drugged babies (drugs from their mothers during the birth) were too spaced out to turn their heads to breathe. As far as my experience goes, a baby with no drugs in the system can turn his/her head almost from birth (or maybe from birth).

[krizzanne]

Originally Posted by A_Random_Phrase

As far as I know the reason doctors started saying babies shouldn't lay on their stomachs was because the drugged babies (drugs from their mothers during the birth) were too spaced out to turn their heads to breathe. As far as my experience goes, a baby with no drugs in the system can turn his/her head almost from birth (or maybe from birth).

hmmmm interesting

I have let all of mine sleep on their tummies, too (and on back and side).

I wonder how much of the dropping sids rate since the 'back to sleep' compaign has to do with compliance, then?!

[xekomaya]

As someone with central apnea, I would never let my baby sleep alone on his tummy. He won't sleep alone on his back though for more than 10 minutes without waking himself up, so he sleeps on his tummy on my chest now, and I feel very comfortable that my breathing will regulate his if he has any problems.

I am kinda getting tired of being drooled on though

[Organicavocado]

K won't sleep on his belly. He thinks its "tummy time", wakes up, and wants to look around. He will only sleep on his belly if he's on you, and even then.. it depends. He sleeps on his side always.

[rmzbm]

Originally Posted by mkmama

I say "bleh" to the worries about laying babies on their tummies.

So do I. Most babes prefer tummy sleeping.

[SarahGuinn]

I am not in your DDC.

I had two babies that slept better on their bellies but the worries of losing them, well, they slept on their bellies on my chest so we both slept better. This is such a short period of time and anything I could do to ensure that I woke up to see them smiling was something I did. Not always so happily, sometimes surly and tired.