Did you discourage your LO to sleep on the side?

[PGTB]

Lately DS (5.5 month) started to turn around and now prefers to turn to his right side to sleep. He used to fuss trying to turn to his side when put to sleep and would only fall asleep after he successfully turns to his right side. Nowadays, he has mastered this skill and it takes him a second to turn and then he is soundly asleep. I am afraid to move him, we had terrible sleep issues and still have some and I am very sleep deprived (chronically so). He also started a habit of grabbing the crib bumper and squeezing it between his arms like we adults use a hugging body pillow. Although it's cute how his little body is trying to use the bumper as a body pillow I am worried he would bury his face in it (he likes to chew on it too) and I always wait till he falls asleep and then move the bumper away.

Have you had similar issues with your LO preferring to not sleep on the back and turning around no matter what you do? Did you always try to move them, were you worried about suffocation risk? I read that at the point they are 6 months old, the SIDS risk goes down significantly enough to not worry about the back sleeping position as much as with the smaller baby. I am ok with him sleeping on his side, but I am not ok with him using a bumper as a hugging pillow. Should I remove the bumper? I am thinking of getting the breathable bumper type, but I am sure he would pull it anyway. If I remove the bumper he would grab onto the slats of the crib, he already grabs them sometimes when he hugs the bumper.. We have a mini-crib made of metal with tube thin slats, I am not sure what to do about the bumper situation.

[BabyBearsMom]

Have you had similar issues with your LO preferring to not sleep on the back and turning around no matter what you do? Did you always try to move them, were you worried about suffocation risk? I read that at the point they are 6 months old, the SIDS risk goes down significantly enough to not worry about the back sleeping position as much as with the smaller baby. I am ok with him sleeping on his side, but I am not ok with him using a bumper as a hugging pillow. Should I remove the bumper? I am thinking of getting the breathable bumper type, but I am sure he would pull it anyway. If I remove the bumper he would grab onto the slats of the crib, he already grabs them sometimes when he hugs the bumper.. We have a mini-crib made of metal with tube thin slats, I am not sure what to do about the bumper situation.


We never had a traditional bumper, just a breathable bumper, which works great. I always just found traditional bumpers to be a PITA when you change sheets. DD learned to flip over back to tummy when she was 3 months old and there was no stopping her. She would flip over in her sleep, I would move her back, she would flip over 3 minutes later. I asked my pediatrician and she said that if DD can flip on her own, then she is strong enough to just leave her on her stomach if she flips herself. At first, everytime I heard a sound (or not enough sound) I was running over to check on her, but now I am used to it and we are all pretty much over it. FWIW, I would have zero problem with my baby sleeping on her side, but I would remove the bumper.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

at 4.5 mo, my DS learned to roll over onto his tummy. from that day on, he ALWAYS slept on his stomach. Nothing I could do to stop him...i would put him down on his back but he would immediately flip. the first time he did it i rolled him over back on his back but he was back on his tummy in a few seconds. I think i flipped him over 3 or 4 times that night before I gave up. Indeed I was initially worried due to SIDS risk etc but after a few nights I got used to it. He seemed content on his tummy and I let him be. Plus as you say by 6mo or so the SIDS risk goes way down. At that point we let him sleep with a small stuffed animal which became his lovey. Even nowadays he sleeps with his face kinda buried in it. I figure he's ok though, as he is strong enough to roll over and move his neck etc.

[ScorpioMommy]

I'd just remove the bumper. If you have issues with him sticking his body parts in between the crib slats use a breathable one. You could even try introducing a small stuffed animal instead that he can hug.

Your little one is probably just fine. If it makes you feel better I lost sleep when my now 1 year old starting flipping over around 4 months but I soon figured out she was just fine and I would stop freaking out as long as her head was turned such to the side that I could see her nose was clear.