That is it! After 3 months of trying everything, ds is just a belly sleeper!

Both of my babies slept on their bellies. The first one because there wasn't this huge "back to sleep" campaign back then. The second because, like yours, he wouldn't sleep any other way. We co-sleep and he naps in our bed on his belly by himself. I didn't allow him to sleep by himself on his belly until he was able to lift and turn his head but I think he was younger than 3 months. I read something in my ped's office last time I was there about how it's better for some babies to sleep on their bellies if they have a medical issue. One of those issues is GER or acid reflux. I never asked my ped about it because I didn't like the testing that is done to diagnos it but I suspect that my baby has this problem. Anyway, my point is that I've done it and my babies are now 13 years and 5 months. I know it's hard not to worry but try not to. Especially if you are sleeping with your baby, he should be fine.

My daughter was a stomach sleeper from 2 weeks. One day she fell asleep on my sister and I just laid her down the way I picked her up which was her stomach. Once I left the room, I realized what I did. My stepmom said that my stepbrother also slept on his stomach (side sleeping was recommended at that time) and my stepgrandmother had told my stepmom that she had laid all four of her kids on their stomach and no one died.

My daughter had to sleep on pillows because the matress was to hard for her, had a loose blanket around her, slept on her stomach and she didn't die of SIDS. My belief is that since they still are real sure of what actually causes SIDS, the medical community is just guessing. The "back to sleep" is just the latest fad in the medical community IMO. I know of someone who did everything that they were suppose to (according to the doctors) and their child still died of SIDS.

Don't worry too much about your child laying on his stomach to sleep. He will be fine.

Katie

So I typed this out and lost it!!

I was real avid about my baby not sleeping on his tummy when he was first born too. It just never was allowed. In return he never slept unless someone was holding him.
My mom watched him one day....And she happens to be the very loving mother of seven healthy children...anyway she watched him and when I got there he was sleeping on his tummy in his bassinet. I was LIVID! I couldn't believe she would be so stupid! Then she told me that he had already been sleeping for an hour...ALL BY HIMSELF!! The best I had ever gotten out of him was 20 mins.
That day was the day he started sleeping on his tummy!! haha!
I was still really uncomfortable about it so I went and bought one of those Angel Care Baby monitors....it tracks the baby's breathing and sets off an alarm if the baby stops breathing for ten seconds.
Once he was sleeping on that I was allot more comfortable with him sleeping on his stomach. Just gave me real peace of mind. He was getting his much needed uninterrupted sleep and I could get a few things done around the house!
They still don't know what causes SID's so who knows...down the road maybe they will be saying no back sleeping. It used to be tummy sleeping...then side and now it is back....so I would say it is like every other aspect of raising a child....do what works for you!

I did a paper for an epidemiology course in grad school on SIDS & back sleeping does protect infants from SIDS for a number of physiological reasons. It is not just a fad. None the less, even the experts usually acknowledge that babies do sleep more soundly on their tummies. My younger dd slept on her tummy by the time she was a few months old mostly b/c she would roll onto her tummy herself. Our pediatrician felt that, once they can roll themselves, the concern about SIDS goed down rather significantly. I bought her a "crib wedge" which was basically a wedge that goes under the mattress to elevate the head. When she was napping in her crib or sleeping there for a bit before coming to our bed, she at least had her head elevated while sleeping on her tummy.

I definately would not put anything on top of the mattress to elevate his head in his side sleeper, but am wondering if there might be a product that you could buy to elevate the head end of his side sleeper. Having his head raised is supposed to make belly sleeping a bit safer. How old is your son, also. Most SIDS cases happen btwn 1 and 6 months of age, if I remember correctly. Although there are rare instances of babies btwn 6 months - 1 yr old dying from SIDS, I wouldn't be too worried if he is over 6 months.

When DS1 was born it was recommended that babies sleep on their tummies to prevent choking if they vomited... flash forward to DD; slept happily on her back from birth in her foster home to present. Also slept 7 hours a night from 7 weeks and 10-12 hours a night from about 6 months. (she's 4 yo now)

Then came DS2. He was definitely a fourth trimester babe; had to be swaddled for more than 3 months if he was at all tired. The only way he would sleep unswaddled was on his tummy. We co-slept, bottle fed, and selectively vaxed (the last due to adoption agency requirements). He still has only had a 7 hour night less than 5 times; usually sleeps for about 3 hours at a time... blows some of the theories outa the water

Before SIDS was tagged sudden infant death syndrome, it was called crib death... my theory (not scientific in any way) is that putting babies in rooms far away from us led to an increase in unexplained infant deaths. Keep them close