Sleeping on stomach??

I've been sleeping my 9 week old son on his stomach since he was about 4 weeks old. He can lift his head 45 degrees on his arms, and even moves his head from left to right while he's sleeping. Of course because of all the latest info on SIDS and sleeping on the back, I'm getting paranoid....but he just sleeps so well on his belly (he even sleeps all night from 8:30pm-6am).

Should I be worried as I haven't had problems yet? Does anyone else sleep their babies on their stomachs?

THANKS.
1st time paranoid mom

I just attended a child and infant safety class today, and found out some more about SIDS and back-sleeping.

The risk of SIDS actually increases up to about 6 months of age, then drops off sharply but remains a risk to 12 months. So, you may not have had problems yet, but you are hardly out of the woods at 9 weeks. Placing a baby to sleep on his/her back reduces the chance of SIDS by 47%.

By putting the baby to sleep on his/her back from the beginning, you are also teaching the baby to sleep in that position, even after the baby can roll over. Since you have been tummy sleeping your DS for a while, it may take a little effort to get him to adjust to back sleeping again, but to me, the huge reduction in risk would be well worth it.

If you still aren't convinced, you may want to do some more research on your own or talk to your pediatrician about this - I think that everyone is advising back-sleeping now - there doesn't seem to be much debate about it anymore.

Lori
due 10/12 w/ #1

my son - now a year old - has slept on his stomach from the beginning... he could never sleep on his back - there are other factors that contribute to sids - smoking in the house and air ventilation are two key elements... also make sure that there aren't any other items in the crib and that you have a firm mattress and the sheet is attached well - you may even want to skip the bumpers for now.

HTH