Putting baby to sleep on tummy

Clive_Woody

Our little one is now almost 11 months, she never really liked sleeping on her back, but she was as happy as anything on her side. We started off swaddling her as she was not impressed with sheets and blankets. She now sleeps in Grow-bags, which as far as I am concerned are one of the greatest inventions known to man. She wriggles around in the night and often we find her crammed up one corner of her cot pressed against the bars, but with grow-bags you have none of the worries about this feet to foot thing.

In the early days we tried rolling her onto her back when she was asleep, but she would wake up and go loopy until we put her back on her side.

pavlovs_dog

i somehow managed to miss the announcement so just wanted to say a massive


congratulations


to all the becles family xxx

scooper

personally i wouldnt and didnt let my baby sleep on tummys,i wouldnt be able to sleep,even less than you do with a newborn.
there is warnings out there for a reason,because of a increase in cot death i would be too scared.
i know it would be hard to stick with it,but eventually they would get used to sleeping on there backs,and you wouldnt feel dubious of weather its safe,it has proven had a dramatic decrease in cot death.
sorry if i have offended anyone,just think its not worth the risk!

Elle00

I thought hard about this when my son was born and also noted he slept much better on his tummy; but I wonder if this is half the problem? If they go into a deep, restful sleep with the mattress under their nose then it's obviously going to be much more likely to cause cot death, especially in the early weeks before they learn to breath out of their mouths (hence why snuffly newborns can't feed properly!).

I don't want to worry anyone but it's important I'm honest about something so serious. When you sleep them on their backs, there's no chance of them smothering themselves plus they often jerk themselves awake every so often so it's obvious that this is the safest position for them to sleep in and has saved hundreds of baby's lives since the advice came into practice.

I second the posters recommending the Angelcare monitor as this is what I ended up using. No sleeping on the belly till you get one though! With this monitor, although there is still the same risk that your baby could stop breathing - you would be immediately alerted to the situation and able to sort your baby out. My monitor only went off a few times while I used it (I used it up until 6m) and for all I know, it could have been he rolled off the pad or it could have been he really did stop breathing and the monitor alerted us to save him in time.

If you can't afford a pricey under mattress sensor, then maybe you should consider swaddling your DD and laying her on her front but at an angle so her airways are clear off the mattress?

I know it's hard but you have to look for a good balance here. Yes you do need your sleep, all new Mums do, but do try to strike a balance between convenience and safety. You'd never forgive yourself if anything happened.

Finally, congratulations on your new addition!!! Here's hoping you're both happy and healthy

izoomzoom

Hi Becles

((((((hugs))))))

When my boys were babies, I used to let them sleep on their tummies or sides. I had a mattress type that had air vents in it (holes) so I wasn't concerned about them smothering.

If they slept on their sides, I would also have a little baby pillow tucked at the back, to stop them rolling onto their back.

I appreciate guidelines, but you have to do what you feel is right. What did you do with your boys when they were babies ?

Also my main concern about sleeping on their back is that they can choke. That is less likely when they are on their sides or tummies.

Hope you find something that works for you and baby.

Eels100

I think all the advice given so far is great and as a first time mum-to-be it's interesting reading, but I'm a little uncomfortable about the suggestion that we need to 'strike a balance between convenience and safety'. For a mum recovering from a difficult pregnancy with other young children and a new baby to care for, sleep is far from a mere convenience - indeed it's vital so that everyone who needs to be cared for gets that care, including mum! Surely this balance has to be between minimising baby's distress, allowing mum some essential rest and safety?

In my opinion (and as a complete baby-novice!) I think guidelines are just that and it's up to each person to find their comfort zone. Indeed, cot death is a diagnosis of exclusion and post-mortem evidence of suffocation is rarely found in these cases. Without dismissing valid research I think any parent with reasonable intelligence can make their own decision based on the evidence and experience available.

I think in this situation there are lots of ways (many have been suggested) to compromise without taking unnecessary risks.

winnie81

Eels100 wrote: »

I think all the advice given so far is great and as a first time mum-to-be it's interesting reading, but I'm a little uncomfortable about the suggestion that we need to 'strike a balance between convenience and safety'. For a mum recovering from a difficult pregnancy with other young children and a new baby to care for, sleep is far from a mere convenience - indeed it's vital so that everyone who needs to be cared for gets that care, including mum! Surely this balance has to be between minimising baby's distress, allowing mum some essential rest and safety?

In my opinion (and as a complete baby-novice!) I think guidelines are just that and it's up to each person to find their comfort zone. Indeed, cot death is a diagnosis of exclusion and post-mortem evidence of suffocation is rarely found in these cases. Without dismissing valid research I think any parent with reasonable intelligence can make their own decision based on the evidence and experience available.

I think in this situation there are lots of ways (many have been suggested) to compromise without taking unnecessary risks.

Exactly what I wanted to say but couldn't find the words in my earlier post :T

jozshi

We've been having the exact same dilemna with our little one (7 weeks on Friday), so I'm interested to see people's thoughts. We started letting him sleep on his front during the day, as we were keeping an eye on him, but like you Becles, we were terrified to try it at night. However...about 2 weeks ago we succumbed, so now he goes down on his front at night too The very first night we did so, This Morning were doing an item on Cot death the very next day, so I felt even more terrible. The item did say that there were 3 main bits of advice in avoiding cotdeath - 1 being to put baby on their backs, 2 being not to smoke or let others smoke around the baby and 3 being to have baby in your room for the first 6 months. As we are non-smokers and have one of those 'bedside cot' things, I at least reassure myself that we're doing 2 out of the 3 things. I still haven't dared tell the health visitor though, for fear of him being taken away instantly!
In terms of sleep, it means he's settled for 3 maybe 4 hours, rather than 3 or 4 minutes! He's been diagnosed with reflux too, so I wonder whether that's a factor? I totally agree with Eels though, you can only do what feels right for you.

taggiesgirl

Hiya,
Just wanted to say that i tried everything with my little one to get her to sleep i think everything seems worse when you have no sleep!!:eek:

A few things i tried 'womb bear' (is cuddly bear that plays womb sounds) very comforting for baby. she used to sleep straight away with this playing.
A monitor that has a 'ticking'(to resemble mothers heart beat) this reasured my little one and still does shes 9months now.

just a couple of ideas!

I personally wouldnt put my baby on their frount (ive had 3 ) but then i know what works for one doesnt always work for another.



best of luck and hang in their it does get better!!:A

Spendless

I didn't even realise you'd had her so congratulations first. The number of cot deaths in the UK fell after the 'back to sleep' campaign by a lot. IIRC about 70% since 1991. My eldest did start to roll over on to his stomach to sleep at night around 16 weeks, I spent the first night waking and flipping him back, but I couldn't continue like that.

I wondered about colic too, as mine when they had it were more comfortable being 'upright' (eg in car seat). I think rolling up towels to put on either side to stop baby flipping over was suggested to me too.