Sleep Position Worries

[himom]

Josh learned to roll over (back to tummy) about a month ago and now he does it constantly. At first it was cute because he’s forgotten how to roll back to his back so whenever he gets tired of his tummy he has to call us to come and flip him.

Now, though, it’s scary! He won’t sleep on his back anymore and as soon as he starts to drift off he’ll roll to his side. I was a bit worried about this but I was dealing with it. However, things have gotten worse. Now he flips to his side and eventually ends up flat on his face. (When I say flat, I really mean flat. His little nose is squished.) He’s such a sound sleeper he just sleeps right through having his face buried in the mattress. This is freaking me out! Do other babies do this?

Sometimes he sleeps with his hands under his face and breathes through his fingers. This seems scary to me too.

DH and I are constantly getting up to check on him and turn his head. It makes us feel better to see that his face is free but it irritates Josh to have us messing with his head while he’s sleeping. None of us are getting much sleep!

Please, can anyone reassure me or provide advice? DH wants to get sleep positioners but I think Josh might already be too big for them. He's 16 pounds and very strong. TIA!

Jodi
Mommy to Joshua
Feburary 2003

[August Mom]

We had a similar situation, although DS didn't press his face into the mattress and generally started crying during the night when he was stuck on his tummy and couldn't roll to his back. Since DS would cry, we would go and turn him onto his back. We weren't getting much sleep either. We did try the sleep positioner again and it helped somewhat, although at times, when he really rolled, he could roll right over the positioner. We had the Head 'n Back to Sleep Positioner with the tubular side supports. I don't know if it would be more difficult to roll over a wedge or not. Just hang in there and keep turning Josh onto his back or at least turning his head. It was a very happy day when DS could roll from his tummy to his back consistently. Then we didn't worry about him being on his stomach in his crib because we knew he could turn himself over. Good luck.

[dogmom]

Your question had be curious so I did some research. Although I did find one study that talked about the importance of not putting your child to sleep on his/her belly before 4 months, they extended out their assumption to one whole year which doesn't make much sense to me. Actually, although the rate of SIDS have dropped dramatically after the "back to sleep" campaign, I was interested to find out there actually hasn't been a study to confirm the results. I guess the numbers are so big it is obvious?

Some authorities say once a baby can roll on his/her own not to worry about positions. The way I approached it was the SIDS rate peaks between 2-4 months. After 4 months was when my DS reliable could turn himself. That's when I transferred him out of my room to the crib and stopped repositioning him. I guess if I had other risks factors (smoker in the house, not breast feeding, having a child <1 year before the previous, low birth weight, drug use, siblings with SIDS) I would have been more concerned. The other thing to remember is not all SIDS deaths are related to sleep position. Many people thing some babies are dying form inborn metabolism errors or other congenital defects that we don't have tests for. All SIDS means is they don't know what causes it. I'm not sure if any of this helps, but it sounds like your guy is at very low risk.

[himom]

Thanks to you both! I always feel better when I know others have had the same problems and have pulled through. I guess I'll have to just keep turning Josh. I'm also going to try very hard to be logical and not become overly frightened at his new independence.

It's my fault, really. I hate sleeping on my back too! I spent my entire pregnancy lying on my side, so Josh is probably just reverting to the position he learned in utero. *sigh* He inherited the stubborness me, too. ;)

Jodi
Mommy to Joshua
Feburary 2003

[ddmarsh]

Jodi - I'm right there with you on this worry, I know you saw my earlier post about Lily's turning over. I think Joshua is about the same age as Lily and I think as someone else said once they have the strength to turn over then they should be okay. I would talk to your ped about using a positioner because I would think once they are moving around so much it could be a threat to have that in the crib, although that's just my guess.

I wonder if it's a coincidence but just the same time that Lily started turning over - first to the side and now stomach - she also started sleeping all night. How about Joshua, does he still get up?

I sure hope he starts to change is position a bit so that you are able to get some rest :).

Debbie
Mommy to 3 DS's, 1 DD

[himom]

I guess he's just not comfortable on his back, because he has indeed been sleeping much better since he started rolling to his side. Except, of course, when his paranoid Mommy flips him over and wakes him up!

Jodi
Mommy to Joshua
Feburary 2003

[flagger]

I just started reading the Weissbluth book and in the section about SIDS and back sleeping he addresses that at your son's age it really is better to let them sleep in what position he ends up instead of constantly waking him up to turn him.

"...On the other hand, going to your child to roll him back can become a game for the infant by five months of age....no going to your baby allows him to learn to roll back alone, learn to sleep in the new position, or learn to remember the next night not to roll in the first place."

FWIW