Ask RESTONMOM - 5/14/08

Dear Restonmom,
"My son is six months old and is rolling over like a champ. The problem that comes with that is now he loves to sleep on his stomach, and only his stomach. His doctor told me not to let him do this because of SIDS, and that I'd have to be vigilant about it (but he also said, confusingly, that I didn't have to "police" his sleeping). So, I tried wedging a towel on the side he rolls by his legs and that works for a couple of hours, but by the morning, he's kicked it away and is on his stomach. So I called the Doc's office, and his nurse suggested a positioner/wedge-type device. I found several at Babies R Us, but every single one had a warning on it to discontinue use after 6 months of age, or when they learn to roll over. I bought one anyway, and tried to use it last night, but once again in the morning, he had kicked it away and was on his stomach (oh, his face is always turned to the side, though). The "What to Expect" book says that it's a fruitless, pointless fight to get them to sleep on their backs at this point if they prefer sleeping on their stomachs, but obviously my doctor thinks differently, and I honestly don't know what to do.  Any advice would be most appreciated." - Jenna

Dear Jenna,
  While I don't have any particular experience that would lend help to you, I do seem to remember reading something just like this somewhere.  And while I can't quite put my finger on it, the gist of it was simply to do the best you can and not worry.  It seems like you've explored every avenue and I don't think there is much else to be done.  While children are at risk for SIDS between one month and one year, the most deaths due to this occur between 2 and 4 months.  Since your son is beyond that age and is fairly mobile, I wouldn't stress about it too much.  At some point, my second daughter decided that sleeping on her stomach was preferable and that's how I found her every morning, unfortunately I don't remember much more than that.  I know that this kind of thing can be terribly frustrating, however, and I believe that your doctor's confusing messages might boil down to something like this " you don't need to be so obsessively worried about this that you hover over the crib all night, but definitely put him down to sleep on his back and roll him over when you do check on him or notice." It sounds like you have a strong, assertive, healthy kid on your hands and that is something to be grateful for.  - Restonmom

Comments

[Linda]

My son started sleeping on his stomach around 1 month. He wouldn't sleep any other way...AT ALL! I talked to my doctor at the time, even though it wasn't in this country. Her response was....if he's sleeping, that is good. To this very day (he's four) he still sleeps on his tummy.

[Anna]

Our 16 month old son loves to sleep on his stomach with his face smashed against the bumper pad. This terrified me for awhile but he’s a big boy and can move something out of his way if he can’t breathe. He’s always slept on his stomach since he’s been in his crib (we moved him from the porta-crib/cradle to a crib at four months) and he’s a wonderful sleeper…much better than our girls (who were and still are back/side sleepers). Our Pediatrician never had a problem with it as long as we checked on him during nap times when he was still little. Every baby like every adult has their favorite “sleep position” and I wouldn’t stress about it :)

[Beth]

When my now 16mos old son was born, he was a terrible sleeper! At five months, he started rolling over and sleeping on his stomach. His 30min sleep stretches at night (I'm not kidding! They were really that short!) morphed in to 3hr stretches, then 5hr stretches and longer! At first I was terrified that he was sleeping so long, but I needed the sleep myself and couldn't bring myself to keep putting him on his back if he had already rolled over. I ask my pediatrician about this at the 6mos appt, and he believes that once a baby can roll over, they are most likely developmentally able to wake up and turn their face away from anything blocking their breathing. He basically told me to enjoy the sleep that we're all finally getting. To this day, Aiden sleeps on his stomach all night. We don't even try to put him on his back anymore (though I would keep doing that for a younger baby at least up thru one year old). Hope that helps!

[Jenn]

My son did the rolling to tummy thing as well, and he liked to snuggle his bumper. I was really nervous about it since he had a touch of reflux, but he actually slept better on the tummy than on his back so we quit rolling him back over and bought a breathable bumper. He was happy and sleeping and so were we. Our pediatrician actually said once they can roll both ways you don't have to worry as much anymore. My son is now just about 21 months and sleeps in at least 20 different positions a night. He's a very active sleeper.

Oh if you're really worried about SIDS and breathing, get one of those monitors with the mattress pad that monitors breathing and alerts you if they take too long between breaths or stop breathing all together.

[Jenna]

Thanks so much for all the great comments. I think they've all really helped to put my mind at ease! I have a feeling that Liam's going to be an active sleeper as well - we found him this morning basically on his knees with his butt in the air! :)