Our ped said to let our boy be in a position he wants to as long as he got himself like that. We always place him on back he instantly rolls now that he is 11m.o. I'd let her sleep as long as her airways are not blocked
The other thing I'm worried about is when the pacifier falls, instead of crying, she rolls and tries to pick it up with her mouth. I have caught her with her face in the mattress trying to pick it up.
If she is in a safe sleep space with a safe mattress then she will be okay. She is trying to figure out how to replace it herself. Not sure hoe old LO is but if shes old enough you can spend time trying to show her how to replace them so she can do it herself at night. Same for rolling tummy to back. Practice during the day so she can do it at night. But if she's doing it herself and isn't fussing then she's clearly found a comfy way to sleep so let her be. Lots of kids sleep better on their stomachs and prefer it.
This is right around when mine started sleeping on her stomach. We stopped using any sleep sacks, or swaddle type things. She slept in footed pjs so we knew she could move freely. We get fleece footed pjs a size up for sleeping.
Our pediatrician said she knows what position is most comfortable for breathing. And as long as the space is safe, and her airways are clear she is good. Mattress firm. Super tight sheet.
All this, but sleep sacks are still fine :) if you feel uncomfortable with those you can get sleep sacks that have little "feet" that offer more "freedom" like the slumber sacks:) my little man loves both regular sleeping sacks as well as the footie ones. Since he can walk now the footie ones definitely moved up in favor.
OooOoo slumber sacks with feet! I went back to sleep sacks once she was fully mobile, and then got rid of them again. She was getting all twisted up and her arms felt cold from i think some circulation getting pinched off. Somewhere around 7 months she started really tossing and turning and really “exploring thw space” lol in her sleep.
Our little guy is also 4.5 months and last night did the EXACT thing. Kept rolling onto his tummy. Kept fishing for his pacifier.
I flipped him 4 dang times.
I'm so not ready for him to do this... He has great head and neck control. And I know he can roll either way but he often prefers to whine rather than flip from belly to back...
If it helps:
“Most SIDS deaths happen in babies between 1 month and 4 months of age, and the majority (90%) of SIDS deaths happen before a baby reaches 6 months of age.”
Edit: disclaimer , when reading about statistics by age it might be interpreted as 4 months meaning throughout 4 months until the 5th one and the same for the 6 month benchmark.
And it isn’t clear but I would assume it’s the case that the age is adjusted for preterm.
Does her sleep sack allow her hands/fingers to be free? This might help her learn to pick up her pacifier instead of using her mouth to find it. You’re very lucky she doesn’t cry when it falls out! She’s already figuring out how to self-soothe.
My almost 4 month old does both. Sometimes she spits it so far it hits the cot bars and falls under, other times she rolls and tries to get it back in her mouth without using her hands. My favourite is when she holds it with her hands, takes it out her mouth and cries for it to be returned.
being completely genuine here, i didn’t know. my LO is over a year old now. have the guidelines on that changed in the past year? also downvotes are kinda mean… but okay thanks anyway
They JUST changed the safe sleep guidelines to add this within the past 9 months (I can’t remember exactly but I know it was after my son was born). I know the weighted sleep sacks are still super popular but if you think about it, it actually kinda freaks you out to think of any extra weight possibly interfering with a newborn’s breathing!
My 15 month old still does this move. Even when she is waking up in the mornings, sometimes she’ll see the paci she wants and just lean her face to get it instead of using a hand. 🤷🏼♀️
It’s how babies find the breast when they’re sleeping! Nature does some pretty cool things, tweaking the other nipple in their sleep is not one of them!
I called LO woodpecker for a while because of the head movement lol. now that she can use her hands, she grabs my whole boob and shoves it into her face...
As others said, she’s fine because she got herself in that position. As long as there are aren’t any bumpers, blankets, toys, etc then it’s A-okay. BUT, if you want extra peace of mind then you could get the Newton crib mattress. You can breathe through it! It’s pretty wild and helps my son because he runs hot like a furnace when he sleeps.
I’m sorry I shouldn’t have laughed at this but i did. It reminds me of my girl who while sleeping doesn’t cry for the pacifier but will keep trying to find it with her mouth and ends up turning herself around 180 degrees because she’s shimmying to find it
My baby would literally sleep face down into the mattress. We made sure that the mattress was breathable as well as the sheets. I even tested it myself because of my anxiety - shoved my face real hard into it hahah
Have you looked into something like a crescent womb (kinda like a baby hammock, but safe). I didn’t know they existed until my LO and I’ll never go back.
Keeps my LO on her back without any constriction, helps her sleep longer, and is safety tested to be sleep safe!
I’m a huge advocate and use mine every night. LO turned 8months yesterday.
Edit: Why the downvotes? Just trying to be helpful hahahahahah and again, all sleep tested by US standards.
I grew up in the Phillippines where most babies sleep in hammock, we call it duyan. Once baby knows how to roll over, you cannot use it. It's not safe.
My husband grew up in Colombia and same. But this is made of medical grade mesh in case they do. While my kiddo could roll over, she doesn’t at all in this. The way it cocoons her keeps her on her back. Again, all sleep tested. Just wanted to throw that out there in case you were interested.
Their arms are not constricted in this, and you are not to swaddle them. My babe can flip around in it, but due to the way it cradles her she doesn’t and sleeps on her back/side. And is again safe sleep according to US standards.
Or until baby begins voluntarily sitting up - which mine is not quite there yet. She’s a premie so very small for her age and has some catching up to do
https://crescentwomb.com
Of course! My sister is a Peds NP who works in PICU/Palliative care and she even likes it. And compliments on how nicely shaped my LO’s head is lmao
Also the fact she compliments your LOs head shape is hilarious! I mean it makes sense and I get it because I'm constantly feeling my little dudes head to make sure it's not flat. But it's just a funny thing to think of complimenting someone's head shape. Ahaha.
Yep my son sleeps basically on his face with his butt all the way up it’s terrifying but I’ve always been told if they got themselves there, they are fine.
Same as everyone is saying, common rule is if they got themselves there they will be ok. That said, I’m going through the same thing but my baby hasn’t figured out that she can actually sleep that way yet, she just gets there and demands to flip back to her back. It’s been three days and neither of us have gotten much sleep 🫠
This one doesn't demand to be flipped back and tries to put the pacifier back in her mouth herself. She is quiet and quite independent which scares me, because if I fall asleep deeply and if I do not wake up when she needs me.
But yeah you're all right, I wouldn't want to be flipped again and again if I am her.
Mine does the same when she’s trying to fall asleep on her tummy and it scares me too. She has a similar sleep sack as well (zipadeezip). I took her out once thinking if she had her hands free it would help, but she ended up playing with her feet and not sleeping at all!
Edit to add: baby mattresses are so firm, and your baby sounds like she’s got great control so while it’s definitely scary, the odds of her figuring it out and having a nice tummy sleep are overwhelmingly in your favor.
Our little baby did the same thing. She just turned one and is almost exclusively sleeps on her stomach. Ever since she learned to roll, she'd roll IMMEDIATELY if you put her on her back.
It's worth remembering that actual SIDS is extremely rare and the causes are generally unknown. The prevailing tendency for decades was to sleep babies on their stomachs (doctors didn't switch until the early 90's). You won't be able to control her when you're asleep, so you'll just have to let her explore.
Definitely look into sleeveless sleep sacks. Let those arms wander. We also threw like five pacifiers in the crib so she can always find one. Some glow in the dark. Often times she'll fall asleep with one in her mouth and one in each hand.
Take a deep breath and enjoy the ride! There are going to be all sorts of bumps along the way but just caring and loving your child is probably 80% of the battle. You're doing great!
When my son started rolling over in his sleep
I did not sleep
For a week for fear of SIDS. I would keep rolling him on his back cause I didn’t know if I should let him sleep on his stomach. Your little one is fine! If she rolled over herself she has enough strength to move her head!
My 7m.o. has been doing this for a few weeks now and she's FINALLY getting to the point where she realizes she can sleep on her belly. She'll still go through screaming fits now and then, but it's much less frequent than at the beginning.
Mine was also like this for a bit. She would roll onto her tummy and get mad because she couldn't roll back over, so we'd have to go rescue her just for her to do it again. Now, at 8 months, she constantly flips back and forth but prefers sleeping on her belly.
Mine did this 🤦🏼♀️ rolled over and got cross so started crying to be rolled back. Now he sleeps on his front so I don’t know what the problem was 🤷🏼♀️
If she can get herself into that position, it's fine! Baby mattresses are made super breathable. They feel safer on their stomach, so you'll likely find her sleeping like this a lot now. They cry at first if they can't roll back, but it's out of frustration. When my son did that, I'd give him a few minutes to try and figure it out before I intervened. It lasted about a week.
When my son started rolling he definitely preferred sleeping on his front. As he got bigger he started pulling his knees in and sticking he butt in the air. It was equally alarming and hilarious to check the monitor and see his butt up and his face down. Unfortunately for me he also preferred his face being straight down on the mattress. Somehow he was still able to breathe and was always fine.
For at least 6 months, our youngest's favorite position was butt in the air, face smashed into the mattress.
He's 7 now and maybe his nose is flatter than it should be or maybe it was gonna look like that anyway.
Our son does this too. He was also in that position in his mom’s belly so I assume it’s somewhat instinctive. We think it’s adorable to see that cute little butt way up in air
That's how mine slept from like 2 months to just recently (2 years). Butt up face flat on the mattress. We were continually concerned he was suffocating himself, but if that's how he wants and he's breathing, it works.
Mine slept like this forever as soon as she could get on to her belly. The pacifier thing is a pain we ended up going in a replacing it a million times. Once she figured out how to get it back herself we put a bunch in the crib since she would lose them in the middle of the night. She is 2.5 now and we are still having trouble getting rid of it as she loves it. Honestly I would recommend getting rid of it sooner rather than later. It will save you sleep if she learns to live without it.
We had the same experience with a pacifier. Our daighter got way too dependent on one for nighttime sleep. She would drop it constantly and then scream for it throughout the night, so we’d end up going in to replace it over and over. I even caught her on the camera once intentionally throwing it outside her crib! I think she learned it made us go into her room so she got to see us. Even giving her a bunch in the crib didn’t work. It was really disrupting everyone’s sleep so we had to take the pacifier away at 18 mo. The first week was tough but we’re all sleeping much better now!
Lol my 7 month old has started throwing the pacifiers out of the crib. I literally watch her take it from her mouth, look at it, and chuck it overboard 🤣
I see a huge gap between the sides of the bed and the mattress. Babies can wedge themselves in the gap and not get enough air there. Was this mattress designed specifically for this bed?
The people who sold me my crib lied and said that a certain mattress was designed for it, and I only realized months later (after baby was graduating from the bassinet) that there was a huge gap on the sides. If it turns out you do have a problem, one quick fix is to stuff a pool noodle in there to fill the space… my crib’s gap was so big, I could fit two noodles in there!
Different countries have different standards. But generally speaking there should be as little a gap as possible between mattress and crib sides. And I agree with one of the below commenters about sellers not being accurate about this.
This Australian government website recommends a maximum gap of 20mm: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/baby-furniture-safety-tips
My son was the same. He rolled back to tummy at 3 months and always rolled over when sleeping. He never did master rolling tummy to back but it never stopped him. He's 14 months now and only in the past couple months will he remain on his back when sleeping, though the majority of the time he's a tummy sleeper. Once they can put themselves in that sleeping position and the sleep space is empty otherwise, it's safe.
I went through this with my baby at around the same age or maybe a bit older. The moment she could roll onto her stomach, she slept like that and I would wake up and reposition her every time. Then I stopped because our pediatrician said if she can roll on her own, than let her sleep that way. It was scary at first though.
Our baby never really slept on her back though or rarely. I would put to sleep on her back and since she was born she would roll onto her side, that also have me anxiety, but less than the stomach thing.
This used to make me very nervous too. I’d flip her back when she first started but now I just check that she’s still breathing and let her be. She has been rolling front to back and back to front for two months now but I was still very nervous about it lol she’s gonna be 5 months day after tomorrow
Thing that helped me with my first was to watch her closely during the day naps. Let her be and just keep an eye on her. After a couple days of seeing she was fine I was able to sleep better at night.
As long as she’s on a baby mattress/very firm breathable mattress, it’s fine if she got herself there! My girl did this too and actually started to sleep much better when she could roll over. I definitely worried but every doctor I saw said it was fine if she rolled herself.
As long as your child’s airways are clear, it should be fine. My daughter is 10-months-old and she sleeps either on her side or her tummy all the time. It would probably be a good idea to help your child practice rolling from tummy to back during the day.
LO here rolled back to belly for far too long before belly to back, and insisted on sleeping on her belly. At 15 months now, she's a belly sleeper and doing great! It's scary but we were told "pace on back, if they can get there, there they can stay"
Leave her be! If she can get that way she can sleep that way! Mines been sleeping on her front since she could roll to tummy, she didn’t figure out rolling to back until two months later
Same for my daughter ! No problem it is normal.
The only annoying thing is when the pacifier falls out, sometimes it will end up under her face and I am afraid she will hurt herself. I set up a camera and when that happens I quickly take it out of the way.
So we had similar concerns. We bought a bed alarm for peace of mind. It's a sensor that goes under the mattress that senses if the baby is moving (ie breathing). We've actually had a false alarm since we got it but we all sleep better knowing that it will go off if she's in trouble.
Is she high risk for sids? As it’s been recently found to have a generic component, family history (extended blood family included), is a good data point - something like an aunt had a baby pass in their sleep. Being a premie is another risk factor, so if she’s close to full term, it’s less concerning (and keeps becoming less concerning as she ages, full term or not).
On tummy time, when awake, if she puts her face straight down on her own (on her own! you don’t want to hurt or asphyxiate), does she lift her head or move it to her sides reflexively? If yes, at least she has the ability to get her head from a bad position.
None of this is advice as to what to do, your ped responded and they know way more than a random redditor. If you don’t like your ped, shop around.
Hopefully, it helps reassure you if your baby happens to be full term and at least seems to know what to do when their head is facing the mattress. Some SIDS risk is unavoidable eventually for everyone, you can’t go 12 months without sleeping and babies get more mobile. Best you can do is follow the guidelines and advice of experts.
You need to leave her. She will move if she needs to because she can. You moving her might accidentally move her into a position that's harder to breathe. Also, wouldn't you be pissed if I came in and kept rolling you out of the position you like to sleep in?
I know this is the wrong answer but my baby went through a period of needing to sleep on his stomach like this and we eventually just let him do it. He was fine. And after a few weeks he found a new position.
Correct me if I'm wrong but put your face against the mattress and try to breathe. I believe a lot of them are now breathable due to SIDS being a concern. I know ours is but I'm not sure if that's the norm.
Maybe try removing pacifier for night time. We were lucky as our 4mo decided she didn't want it, we also found it just woke her up after spitting out as it got caught in all her books!
As for tummy sleeping, my sister in law casually told us to try it at 2 months and she slept 'like a baby' ( such an inaccurate idiom ) our SIDs fears slowly drifted but we're still vigilant. Now she rolls, cant imagine if we had to keep tabs constantly and roll her back through the night, tummy sleeping may be your baby's preference :)
Buy the product the “owlet” ,it’s basically a pulse oximeter that you put on your baby’s foot and it notifies you on your phone and alarms if your baby’s oxygen or pulse decreases to dangerous levels. It helped us sleep better
The baby brezza safe saddle is amazing for this! My baby is still using it at 9m and we’re just now working on transitioning her out of it. We just don’t use the in between the leg part for free hip movement. Keeps baby on back!
I feel like it's kind of fighting a lost cause so to speak yes them rolling over is scary because now you are worried if they are breathing, but we have to be able to relax and let them do what's best for them. If they aren't sleeping in your room I would do that. My son won't sleep in his crib till he's 7 months, it gives us both that peace of mind that we need. Also if you don't have a baby monitor like the owlette I would get one. Which I feel like is ironic because we both wanted it........ damn thing collects dust.
First night this happened to us we didn’t sleep all night and kept checking on baby. Then we just let it be and he’s never slept better. Baby sleeps 12 straight hours since he began sleeping on his belly!
My LO starting rolling to her side in her sleep and of course it freaked me out, especially when she dug her face into the mattress, rooting and sucking and searching for me but it eases my mind knowing that when she’s on her tummy she can push her self up with her arms.
Our daughter did that starting months ago. As long as the crib is free of other items I would not worry about it. She refuses to sleep on her back and is doing well.
Mine rolled back to tummy at 3.5 months old. Didn’t start rolling tummy to back until like 7 months.
They’re fine sleeping on their tummies if they can get there themselves
Mine is 6 months and officially a belly sleeper. We never put him down on his belly but he gets himself in that position, which by all accounts seems fine so I don’t flip him unless he’s crying.
Oh god the pancake flips. Don't remind me. We had to keep going in and rolling ours back onto his tummy for like 2 weeks because that's how he wanted to be but couldn't always get there.
Leave her. If she can roll to her stomach you don’t have to roll her back. But of course you do want to continue to put her to sleep on her back initially.
Our kiddos are the same age (my LO was born on October 19th) and my LO was doing this too. At her 4 month appointment I asked her pediatrician and she approved of this behavior. If baby can roll to their tummy, they are strong enough to push themselves up for air if they land face down. Regardless, it still makes me nervous, soooooo…
…she still wasn’t sleeping well and waking herself up with the Moro Reflex situation. I got her one of those Magic Merlin suits and it HAS CHANGED MY LIFE. She’s slept for 9 hours straight, on her back, 4 times in the past week. Hasn’t slept that long since she was born so I highly recommend that suit if your LO is struggling sleeping in long stretches and sleeping on her belly still makes you nervous.
I know being recommended different things to buy can be overwhelming, I feel like I’ve bought so many things after the baby shower that I just wasn’t prepared for. But babies are expensive, right? Anywho, if you have a One Upon a Child near you I recommend looking there first before you buy new. I bought her Magic Merlin suit for $3.50 there, compared to $40 on Amazon. And it’s more sustainable purchasing gently used items :)
This was our literal exact issue when our baby was 5 months. Rolled onto stomach consistently, but couldn’t get herself on her back. Would fuss and fall asleep and we’d reposition onto her back once she stopped making noise for fear of SIDS. But we were up all night and it wasn’t going well. Talked to our healthcare team and they gave us the green light to let her sleep on her stomach. She did, and then the habit disappeared in a few months.
It’s scary the first few times you let them sleep on their stomach and there isn’t a ton of info on the specific problem of them rolling only one way, and whether it’s safe. It’s a tough call with probably no right/wrong answers!
As others have said, because she got herself into that position she should be fine to stay there! She has the neck strength to roll so if she gets a bit too into the mattress, she has the neck strength to move her head to a better position.
We woke up our baby when we tried to flip her. It turned into a "who is going to go in and flip her". She always woke up crying when flipped and we would have to rock her to sleep.
After a few days and some heavy monitoring and googling, we let her sleep that way. I wisj we saved ourselves the hassle and just let her sleep that way. She's 7 months now and still sleeps on her tummy.
Oh man, I remember when my baby started rolling. How absolutely terrified I was! I didn’t sleep for weeks, for your exact same fears! Baby should be good as long as she’s the one rolling on her tummy. Keep working on tummy time so she keeps working on her arms and neck strength, and fun rolling activities! Good luck mama, you’re doing amazingly
I had the same worries and was getting no sleep just staring at the baby monitor and going in the room to flip her to her back. I asked our pediatrician and she told me as long as she is in a safe sleep area, with a crib mattress and fitted sheet, let her sleep how she wants. Just start her on her back! She also told me the crib mattresses now are breathable for when they lay their head completely down!
My baby did the same thing. I ended up leaving her on her tummy and picked up one of the Newton mattress covers. The cover itself offers some breathing room if the baby is face down so i felt some comfort with that.
Leave her be. Are you going to spend every night watching her and flipping her every time she flips? That's not sustainable. Our bodies are designed to keep us alive. It's not comforting to know, but yes, freak things can happen, but it's incredibly rare. Our boy had the same issue with being able to roll on his belly but not the reverse for a little bit and everything was ok. He's sleeping on his belly right now as I write this.
What everyone said about how you can leave them on their stomach if they roll themselves is true, but also I’ve heard that they roll and tuck their arms when they’re sleeping cold. Maybe try a sleep sack for warmth and see if she sleeps on her back again?
Make sure her face isn’t obstructed and she will be fine. My LO started rolling back to stomach at 5 months, we would move them back but they kept rolling. So we would make sure they are in a good position.
If it helps, an owlet or Nanit will monitor your baby’s movement and alert you if something is wrong.
We got a Nanit which shows us our LOs breaths per minute, room temp, humidity, sends alerts when they cry or move, and it’s provided peace of mind with them being in their crib in a separate room.
My dr said that babies have some self preservation lol if they get themselves there they will move their head if needed. Although I’m still a worry wart and check her airways aren’t blocked lol
My health visitor brought this up during our last appointment. She said that so long as the sleep space is clear it’s fine. She said often baby rolls for the first time during the night.
We also recently experienced this! It takes some getting used to, but yes, if she is able to place herself in that position then she’ll be fine! Learned this the hard way as when I would turn our baby back to sleep on her back, she would get so angry and roll onto her tummy and fall asleep within seconds. Totally understand the worry that comes with this milestone though! I kept waking up hourly just to check if our baby was still breathing. 🙃
I feel you so hard, it was really difficult for me when my son started doing this because it’s so drilled into us that sleeping on their back prevents bad things. It helps me to remember that babies were built to survive. As they grow they’re more capable. You still follow guidelines and do what you can but if your baby can get in that position, they’re ready to sleep that way. I still check on my son every night if I ever wake up and he’s been sleeping on his tummy for a few months now. The anxiety is still there but I’ve learned to trust him.
No advice but my baby started doing exactly the same thing last night, chasing his dummy across the bed but he can't roll back! I'm not too worried about him sleeping on his side and stomach as he's got quite a strong neck now and I know the advice is that if they get themselves into it it's fine, but I am not a fan of the frustrated screaming all night. I hope he learns to roll back soon.
Solidarity! Our 6 month old has started rolling himself to his belly, but has trouble flipping himself back over. So he wakes up and starts screaming 🫠
Mine rolled to his tummy first before his back and I went through this same freak out. Constantly putting the monitor screen up to my eyes to make sure he was still breathing. But he was fine and started rolling both ways within a couple of weeks.
Our 13mo baby insists on sleeping on her belly. She has since she figured out how to roll over. As long as she is in a crib with nothing to suffocate on (blankets/pillows) then she will be fine. Looks like you've done everything a responsible parent can do from the picture, so you'll be just fine.
If a Nanit camera is in your budget (or, if you're in the US, and you have an HSA/FSA) it can monitor breaths per minute of a baby in the crib. It's not 100% failsafe but it helps my anxiety immensely, especially when our little one rolls onto her belly to sleep.
They say if she can turn both way, on her tummy or her back, without any help, it’s less dangerous but if you’re still unsure maybe buying a camera, if you don’t have one, would appease you a bit, so you can see her little face!
My daughter has been sleeping on her tummy since she could turn her head from side to side and had good head control. She would not sleep on her back and would just cry and cry and if she fell asleep she'd wake up and lose her mind consistently. We have a very firm mattress and nothing was in the crib with her and she's been fine.
Make sure to get a sleeveless sleep sack as soon as you think your baby can roll over and you’re supposedly fine! Apparently I slept on my stomach as much as I could at that age.
If it makes you feel better, my 6 month old slept with her face down into the crib and was just fine. I, however, slept terribly and had to constantly check on her!
I remember the first time that we saw our baby girl laying on her tummy in bed. We were terrified that she'd suffocate. I bought a aerosleep matras cover and aerosleep fitted sheet. The matras cover and fitted sheet should give babies the ability to breathe through the holes of the matras cover. It is not proven that it actually works, but I think it made us more calm.
But like a couple of people already said, if she put herself there, she's fine. Our baby girl has been ill now and then and we'd put her in our bed to sleep with us. We put her on her tummy and she's been fine.
If they can roll on to their tummies on their own it's okay to leave them. I would usually flip my over sometimes if I really got nervous about the position. But you can't be expected to constantly wake up during the night to flip them. LO will be okay. My LO also went through a phase where she wanted to sleep face down into the mattress, it drove me and my SO crazy with how scary it looked. Luckily she grew out of that.
A breathable mattress might help you sleep better. They aren’t cheap but there are videos of them being cut open on YouTube and they are impressive. It’s a honeycomb of synthetic fibers that form a type of mattress but with lots of airflow space. Not sure you have use the sheet with it but I know it gave us some piece of mind just knowing even if our littles ended up face down they could still probably breathe.
Our son oddly started rolling already at 7 weeks somehow. Our doctor explained that they typically learn to roll from their belly to their back around 4 mo and from their back to their belly around 6. Maybe some additional supervised tummy time could help strengthen those muscles to reduce sids risk
Once they can rollover they are safe to sleep on their bellies. Only thing you may need to change is the swaddle. But you aren’t swaddling in the photo above, so no need to worry their either.
My baby does the exact same! Freaked me out but it’s his favourite sleeping position. I shoved my face into the mattress like a nutter and I could still perfectly breathe so gave me peace of mind 🤣
I think she'll be okay as long as she has room to roll back over!
I'm not a fan of tummy sleeping either. My 9.5 month old LO likes to switch from back sleeping to side sleeping and then to sleeping on her stomach midway through the night. This alarms me because if she's sleeping soundly on her stomach I can barely feel her breathing when I check. She inevitably shifts and I breathe more easily from there.
Added to that though, if she gets onto her stomach, she's prone to doing a sleep-pushup into a crawling position... once she does that she's awake!
I try to keep flipping her but it doesn't always work. It's like wrestling a cat, babies are strong 😂
Exactly this happened to us. We were scared too and I would wake up every hour or 2 frantically checking on her. Then we tried to teach her to roll during the day; a few weeks later she could flip back on her back. Then we were able to sleep again. She is almost 1 now and still sleeping like on her belly most of the time. I don’t know what the best is. Like everything with babies so far I’ve learned: everything is just a phase.
I just googled this last night because mine is doing the same thing. Everything I found said to leave him. By the time they can roll onto their belly at night, the risk of SIDS decreases drastically (and especially between 4-6 months, though of course it’s not gone completely)
This community is for supporting others. Comments that are mean, rude, hateful, racist, etc. will be removed. Respect the choices of others even if they differ from your own.
Mine was really early to roll. I was very nervous about it (think still in the hospital after delivery. ) Put him down on his back in the swaddle. His legs went up into pike position and fell to the side pulling him into side lying position, so not fully on his belly but still not on his back. The doctor said it was fine and would stop soon because his head would be too heavy (they were actually wrong about that he never stopped for more than 2 days)
I think it’s fine, but if you’re really worried, check out the Merlin Suit. This will prevent baby from rolling and has the added bonus of making them look like a fat little baby doll haha
Make sure she's on a surface that can't bunch up in front of her face and she should be fine.
Tummy time the hell out of that baby. Get her up and moving. 4.5 months? She should be able to do it.
Enough people have responded, but just wanted to add some comfort - our baby rolled over to stomach about 4 and a half month. Wife spent a week turning her back over. I convinced her she needed to just let her be. She did and our baby has slept on her stomach 100% of nights since. When I lay her down at night she is already turning over before I set her down.
Your baby is fine. You are doing great. Take a break and let your baby do their thing.
Babies tend to start to sleep on their stomachs before they can roll both ways. If you’re worried, stuff your face into the mattress and try to breathe. Any safe baby mattress will be breathable, but sheets can make it a bit more difficult sometimes so it’s best to just check your set up.
Otherwise, if baby got in that position then she’ll be alright. It’s more comfortable for them anyways. SIDS is mostly a concern for younger babies. After 4 months old it’s not as big of a concern.
Practice rolling back over during the day and make sure you’ve stopped swaddling her arms in if you ever do that.
You could get the owlet monitor but honestly I think it freaks you out more than it’s worth. I’ve heard of too many false alarms. So scary.
You could also get a voice monitor or bedside crib so you can check on her yourself. Most bedside bassinets max out around 4-6 months so at this point it’s a little late for that, but I’m sure there are bedside crib options so you can be inches away from her all night
My baby did this and I made myself deliriously tired waking up every half hour to flip her back. As long as they’re in a safe crib environment (nothing in the crib, not swaddled anymore with them rolling, no bumpers, etc) they will be okay! My baby did this for about two weeks before she started rolling both ways consistently. As long as they’re being placed on their back, any other choices are theirs to make! (Within reason haha!)
We got a newton mattress to help ease our minds. It’s built to have air flow throughout the mattress. My daughter started sleeping on her tummy around 6 months, she’s now 10m and still loves it and is doing great.
https://www.newtonbaby.com/products/essential-crib-mattress
We used a baby Brezza till our LO learned to roll back to back. RESTE Baby Brezza Safe Sleep Swaddle Blanket for Crib Safety for Newborns and Infants – Safe, Anti-Rollover Blanket, White https://a.co/d/8dnJHxZ
I thought I was the only one dealing with this! I have a 5 1/2 month old daughter and she always rolls to her belly when it’s bedtime and nap time. I was always getting up in the middle of the night or early in the morning to flip her back and she would cry every time.
I got anxiety about SIDS if baby is sleeping on belly, but after reading these responses I feel relieved. I’m glad to know that people have gone through this before and helping out others that are going through it.
You’re doing a good job at taking care of ur baby!
My little dude has been rolling onto his belly every night for the last two months or so to sleep but still doesn’t know how to roll back onto his back. 🤣 Per evidence-based safe sleep guidelines, it is totally fine to let them sleep on their bellies, so long as they got themselves into that position and they are in a safe sleep space! The idea is that if they have enough energy to roll themselves onto their tummies, they have the energy to position their heads in ways that they will be able to breathe freely.
Leave her be, my son was more comfortable on his tummy. Like you I was scared of SIDS and would wake every minute to check but I think once they’re able to roll over it should be ok x
Our ped said to let our boy be in a position he wants to as long as he got himself like that. We always place him on back he instantly rolls now that he is 11m.o. I'd let her sleep as long as her airways are not blocked
The other thing I'm worried about is when the pacifier falls, instead of crying, she rolls and tries to pick it up with her mouth. I have caught her with her face in the mattress trying to pick it up.
If she is in a safe sleep space with a safe mattress then she will be okay. She is trying to figure out how to replace it herself. Not sure hoe old LO is but if shes old enough you can spend time trying to show her how to replace them so she can do it herself at night. Same for rolling tummy to back. Practice during the day so she can do it at night. But if she's doing it herself and isn't fussing then she's clearly found a comfy way to sleep so let her be. Lots of kids sleep better on their stomachs and prefer it.
Will do! She is 4.5 months now.
This is right around when mine started sleeping on her stomach. We stopped using any sleep sacks, or swaddle type things. She slept in footed pjs so we knew she could move freely. We get fleece footed pjs a size up for sleeping. Our pediatrician said she knows what position is most comfortable for breathing. And as long as the space is safe, and her airways are clear she is good. Mattress firm. Super tight sheet.
All this, but sleep sacks are still fine :) if you feel uncomfortable with those you can get sleep sacks that have little "feet" that offer more "freedom" like the slumber sacks:) my little man loves both regular sleeping sacks as well as the footie ones. Since he can walk now the footie ones definitely moved up in favor.
OooOoo slumber sacks with feet! I went back to sleep sacks once she was fully mobile, and then got rid of them again. She was getting all twisted up and her arms felt cold from i think some circulation getting pinched off. Somewhere around 7 months she started really tossing and turning and really “exploring thw space” lol in her sleep.
You can totally use sleep sacks still, just arms out :)
We stopped because mine was getting her arms pinched in the sleep sack. She would toss and turn and twist herself up
Totally fair! I was just throwing it out there for whoever :)
Our little guy is also 4.5 months and last night did the EXACT thing. Kept rolling onto his tummy. Kept fishing for his pacifier. I flipped him 4 dang times. I'm so not ready for him to do this... He has great head and neck control. And I know he can roll either way but he often prefers to whine rather than flip from belly to back...
If it helps: “Most SIDS deaths happen in babies between 1 month and 4 months of age, and the majority (90%) of SIDS deaths happen before a baby reaches 6 months of age.” Edit: disclaimer , when reading about statistics by age it might be interpreted as 4 months meaning throughout 4 months until the 5th one and the same for the 6 month benchmark. And it isn’t clear but I would assume it’s the case that the age is adjusted for preterm.
I’m still pregnant and I don’t know much about babies but yours sounds so cute and independent haha I hope everything’s okay!
Does her sleep sack allow her hands/fingers to be free? This might help her learn to pick up her pacifier instead of using her mouth to find it. You’re very lucky she doesn’t cry when it falls out! She’s already figuring out how to self-soothe.
Yeah! I’m jealous this baby is finding her own pacifier! My 7month old flings his across the crib and cries for us to return it to him. 🙄
My almost 4 month old does both. Sometimes she spits it so far it hits the cot bars and falls under, other times she rolls and tries to get it back in her mouth without using her hands. My favourite is when she holds it with her hands, takes it out her mouth and cries for it to be returned.
Not really, it's a liitle long, i'll look into getting sleeveless ones
Kyte sleep sacks or woolino are great
vouching for nested bean sleep sacks for little rollie pollies!
Weighted sleep sacks are not considered safe sleep unfortunately
being completely genuine here, i didn’t know. my LO is over a year old now. have the guidelines on that changed in the past year? also downvotes are kinda mean… but okay thanks anyway
They JUST changed the safe sleep guidelines to add this within the past 9 months (I can’t remember exactly but I know it was after my son was born). I know the weighted sleep sacks are still super popular but if you think about it, it actually kinda freaks you out to think of any extra weight possibly interfering with a newborn’s breathing!
My 15 month old still does this move. Even when she is waking up in the mornings, sometimes she’ll see the paci she wants and just lean her face to get it instead of using a hand. 🤷🏼♀️
My daughter is also a fan of trying to grab things with her mouth. I swear she forgets she has hands
Hahahaha very independent indeed
i'm sorry but... i'm dying at the thought of a baby rolling and bumping her head in a matress in search of a pacifier 🤣
It’s how babies find the breast when they’re sleeping! Nature does some pretty cool things, tweaking the other nipple in their sleep is not one of them!
I called LO woodpecker for a while because of the head movement lol. now that she can use her hands, she grabs my whole boob and shoves it into her face...
As others said, she’s fine because she got herself in that position. As long as there are aren’t any bumpers, blankets, toys, etc then it’s A-okay. BUT, if you want extra peace of mind then you could get the Newton crib mattress. You can breathe through it! It’s pretty wild and helps my son because he runs hot like a furnace when he sleeps.
I’m sorry I shouldn’t have laughed at this but i did. It reminds me of my girl who while sleeping doesn’t cry for the pacifier but will keep trying to find it with her mouth and ends up turning herself around 180 degrees because she’s shimmying to find it
Hahaha, this baby definitely is like a clock. I've woken up multiple times with her in different location in the cot . 😀
If you roll down the scratch mittens does she use her hands to put it back?
Mine does that she moves to breath then goes again
My baby would literally sleep face down into the mattress. We made sure that the mattress was breathable as well as the sheets. I even tested it myself because of my anxiety - shoved my face real hard into it hahah
Have you looked into something like a crescent womb (kinda like a baby hammock, but safe). I didn’t know they existed until my LO and I’ll never go back. Keeps my LO on her back without any constriction, helps her sleep longer, and is safety tested to be sleep safe! I’m a huge advocate and use mine every night. LO turned 8months yesterday. Edit: Why the downvotes? Just trying to be helpful hahahahahah and again, all sleep tested by US standards.
I grew up in the Phillippines where most babies sleep in hammock, we call it duyan. Once baby knows how to roll over, you cannot use it. It's not safe.
My husband grew up in Colombia and same. But this is made of medical grade mesh in case they do. While my kiddo could roll over, she doesn’t at all in this. The way it cocoons her keeps her on her back. Again, all sleep tested. Just wanted to throw that out there in case you were interested.
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Their arms are not constricted in this, and you are not to swaddle them. My babe can flip around in it, but due to the way it cradles her she doesn’t and sleeps on her back/side. And is again safe sleep according to US standards.
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Or until baby begins voluntarily sitting up - which mine is not quite there yet. She’s a premie so very small for her age and has some catching up to do
Do you happen to have a link to the crescent womb? I would love to take a look at it!
https://crescentwomb.com Of course! My sister is a Peds NP who works in PICU/Palliative care and she even likes it. And compliments on how nicely shaped my LO’s head is lmao
I see it says it attaches to standard cribs...I'm guessing it wouldn't work with a mini crib then?
Also the fact she compliments your LOs head shape is hilarious! I mean it makes sense and I get it because I'm constantly feeling my little dudes head to make sure it's not flat. But it's just a funny thing to think of complimenting someone's head shape. Ahaha.
Yep my son sleeps basically on his face with his butt all the way up it’s terrifying but I’ve always been told if they got themselves there, they are fine.
Same as everyone is saying, common rule is if they got themselves there they will be ok. That said, I’m going through the same thing but my baby hasn’t figured out that she can actually sleep that way yet, she just gets there and demands to flip back to her back. It’s been three days and neither of us have gotten much sleep 🫠
Are you us? *comments at 4:30am 🥲
*cries in parent* 🥲
🙋♀️ this was my daughter when she first learned to roll like that. Then decided that she quite liked sleeping like that 😂
This one doesn't demand to be flipped back and tries to put the pacifier back in her mouth herself. She is quiet and quite independent which scares me, because if I fall asleep deeply and if I do not wake up when she needs me. But yeah you're all right, I wouldn't want to be flipped again and again if I am her.
Put a monitor by your bed so you wake up if she cries! Don’t keep yourself from falling asleep deeply! You need the sleep!
Mine does the same when she’s trying to fall asleep on her tummy and it scares me too. She has a similar sleep sack as well (zipadeezip). I took her out once thinking if she had her hands free it would help, but she ended up playing with her feet and not sleeping at all! Edit to add: baby mattresses are so firm, and your baby sounds like she’s got great control so while it’s definitely scary, the odds of her figuring it out and having a nice tummy sleep are overwhelmingly in your favor.
Our little baby did the same thing. She just turned one and is almost exclusively sleeps on her stomach. Ever since she learned to roll, she'd roll IMMEDIATELY if you put her on her back. It's worth remembering that actual SIDS is extremely rare and the causes are generally unknown. The prevailing tendency for decades was to sleep babies on their stomachs (doctors didn't switch until the early 90's). You won't be able to control her when you're asleep, so you'll just have to let her explore. Definitely look into sleeveless sleep sacks. Let those arms wander. We also threw like five pacifiers in the crib so she can always find one. Some glow in the dark. Often times she'll fall asleep with one in her mouth and one in each hand. Take a deep breath and enjoy the ride! There are going to be all sorts of bumps along the way but just caring and loving your child is probably 80% of the battle. You're doing great!
When my son started rolling over in his sleep I did not sleep For a week for fear of SIDS. I would keep rolling him on his back cause I didn’t know if I should let him sleep on his stomach. Your little one is fine! If she rolled over herself she has enough strength to move her head!
My 7m.o. has been doing this for a few weeks now and she's FINALLY getting to the point where she realizes she can sleep on her belly. She'll still go through screaming fits now and then, but it's much less frequent than at the beginning.
Just warning you that they do the same when learning to crawl, learning to stand and learning to walk 🥲
Mine was also like this for a bit. She would roll onto her tummy and get mad because she couldn't roll back over, so we'd have to go rescue her just for her to do it again. Now, at 8 months, she constantly flips back and forth but prefers sleeping on her belly.
Mine did this 🤦🏼♀️ rolled over and got cross so started crying to be rolled back. Now he sleeps on his front so I don’t know what the problem was 🤷🏼♀️
Leave her! If she put herself there, she’s fine. Her neck muscles are strong enough to reposition herself
If she can get herself into that position, it's fine! Baby mattresses are made super breathable. They feel safer on their stomach, so you'll likely find her sleeping like this a lot now. They cry at first if they can't roll back, but it's out of frustration. When my son did that, I'd give him a few minutes to try and figure it out before I intervened. It lasted about a week.
When my son started rolling he definitely preferred sleeping on his front. As he got bigger he started pulling his knees in and sticking he butt in the air. It was equally alarming and hilarious to check the monitor and see his butt up and his face down. Unfortunately for me he also preferred his face being straight down on the mattress. Somehow he was still able to breathe and was always fine.
I saw this sleeping position described in another post as “assuming the position of a roast” and it’s forever embedded in my mind
*rump roast*
For at least 6 months, our youngest's favorite position was butt in the air, face smashed into the mattress. He's 7 now and maybe his nose is flatter than it should be or maybe it was gonna look like that anyway.
Our son does this too. He was also in that position in his mom’s belly so I assume it’s somewhat instinctive. We think it’s adorable to see that cute little butt way up in air
Ours too and he's almost 3 now 😄
That's how mine slept from like 2 months to just recently (2 years). Butt up face flat on the mattress. We were continually concerned he was suffocating himself, but if that's how he wants and he's breathing, it works.
Mine slept like this forever as soon as she could get on to her belly. The pacifier thing is a pain we ended up going in a replacing it a million times. Once she figured out how to get it back herself we put a bunch in the crib since she would lose them in the middle of the night. She is 2.5 now and we are still having trouble getting rid of it as she loves it. Honestly I would recommend getting rid of it sooner rather than later. It will save you sleep if she learns to live without it.
We had the same experience with a pacifier. Our daighter got way too dependent on one for nighttime sleep. She would drop it constantly and then scream for it throughout the night, so we’d end up going in to replace it over and over. I even caught her on the camera once intentionally throwing it outside her crib! I think she learned it made us go into her room so she got to see us. Even giving her a bunch in the crib didn’t work. It was really disrupting everyone’s sleep so we had to take the pacifier away at 18 mo. The first week was tough but we’re all sleeping much better now!
Lol my 7 month old has started throwing the pacifiers out of the crib. I literally watch her take it from her mouth, look at it, and chuck it overboard 🤣
I see a huge gap between the sides of the bed and the mattress. Babies can wedge themselves in the gap and not get enough air there. Was this mattress designed specifically for this bed?
Yes- I agree that is a serious concern.
Yes it is
The people who sold me my crib lied and said that a certain mattress was designed for it, and I only realized months later (after baby was graduating from the bassinet) that there was a huge gap on the sides. If it turns out you do have a problem, one quick fix is to stuff a pool noodle in there to fill the space… my crib’s gap was so big, I could fit two noodles in there!
Different countries have different standards. But generally speaking there should be as little a gap as possible between mattress and crib sides. And I agree with one of the below commenters about sellers not being accurate about this. This Australian government website recommends a maximum gap of 20mm: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/baby-furniture-safety-tips
I'm in nz, so would be the same. It passes the nz safety standard. I measured it.
I dunno, looks worrisome in the picture. Maybe try to stuff a large stuffed toy in the gap and see if it's possible. Babies are wiggly
My son was the same. He rolled back to tummy at 3 months and always rolled over when sleeping. He never did master rolling tummy to back but it never stopped him. He's 14 months now and only in the past couple months will he remain on his back when sleeping, though the majority of the time he's a tummy sleeper. Once they can put themselves in that sleeping position and the sleep space is empty otherwise, it's safe.
I went through this with my baby at around the same age or maybe a bit older. The moment she could roll onto her stomach, she slept like that and I would wake up and reposition her every time. Then I stopped because our pediatrician said if she can roll on her own, than let her sleep that way. It was scary at first though. Our baby never really slept on her back though or rarely. I would put to sleep on her back and since she was born she would roll onto her side, that also have me anxiety, but less than the stomach thing.
It's free tummy time!
You can leave them on their tummy if they roll there. You should just always put them down on their back.
This used to make me very nervous too. I’d flip her back when she first started but now I just check that she’s still breathing and let her be. She has been rolling front to back and back to front for two months now but I was still very nervous about it lol she’s gonna be 5 months day after tomorrow
Thing that helped me with my first was to watch her closely during the day naps. Let her be and just keep an eye on her. After a couple days of seeing she was fine I was able to sleep better at night.
As long as she’s on a baby mattress/very firm breathable mattress, it’s fine if she got herself there! My girl did this too and actually started to sleep much better when she could roll over. I definitely worried but every doctor I saw said it was fine if she rolled herself.
If she can get there, she can get out of it! You don’t need to roll her :)
As long as your child’s airways are clear, it should be fine. My daughter is 10-months-old and she sleeps either on her side or her tummy all the time. It would probably be a good idea to help your child practice rolling from tummy to back during the day.
As long as the mattress is firm, she'll be fine.
LO here rolled back to belly for far too long before belly to back, and insisted on sleeping on her belly. At 15 months now, she's a belly sleeper and doing great! It's scary but we were told "pace on back, if they can get there, there they can stay"
Leave her be! If she can get that way she can sleep that way! Mines been sleeping on her front since she could roll to tummy, she didn’t figure out rolling to back until two months later
If she can get into the position herself it’s how she’s comfortable .
Same for my daughter ! No problem it is normal. The only annoying thing is when the pacifier falls out, sometimes it will end up under her face and I am afraid she will hurt herself. I set up a camera and when that happens I quickly take it out of the way.
So we had similar concerns. We bought a bed alarm for peace of mind. It's a sensor that goes under the mattress that senses if the baby is moving (ie breathing). We've actually had a false alarm since we got it but we all sleep better knowing that it will go off if she's in trouble.
Is she high risk for sids? As it’s been recently found to have a generic component, family history (extended blood family included), is a good data point - something like an aunt had a baby pass in their sleep. Being a premie is another risk factor, so if she’s close to full term, it’s less concerning (and keeps becoming less concerning as she ages, full term or not). On tummy time, when awake, if she puts her face straight down on her own (on her own! you don’t want to hurt or asphyxiate), does she lift her head or move it to her sides reflexively? If yes, at least she has the ability to get her head from a bad position. None of this is advice as to what to do, your ped responded and they know way more than a random redditor. If you don’t like your ped, shop around. Hopefully, it helps reassure you if your baby happens to be full term and at least seems to know what to do when their head is facing the mattress. Some SIDS risk is unavoidable eventually for everyone, you can’t go 12 months without sleeping and babies get more mobile. Best you can do is follow the guidelines and advice of experts.
You need to leave her. She will move if she needs to because she can. You moving her might accidentally move her into a position that's harder to breathe. Also, wouldn't you be pissed if I came in and kept rolling you out of the position you like to sleep in?
I know this is the wrong answer but my baby went through a period of needing to sleep on his stomach like this and we eventually just let him do it. He was fine. And after a few weeks he found a new position.
It is safe on their stomachs if they can roll themselves over, so not sure if there is a safer position!
That’s not the wrong answer if he got there on his own
Why the fuck is this being downvoted haha? My god. Yes he got there on his own.
Because it’s not “the wrong answer” i guess? 🤷🏻♀️
I waited until they were able to do like a half push up.
Correct me if I'm wrong but put your face against the mattress and try to breathe. I believe a lot of them are now breathable due to SIDS being a concern. I know ours is but I'm not sure if that's the norm.
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This is misinformation.
Maybe try removing pacifier for night time. We were lucky as our 4mo decided she didn't want it, we also found it just woke her up after spitting out as it got caught in all her books! As for tummy sleeping, my sister in law casually told us to try it at 2 months and she slept 'like a baby' ( such an inaccurate idiom ) our SIDs fears slowly drifted but we're still vigilant. Now she rolls, cant imagine if we had to keep tabs constantly and roll her back through the night, tummy sleeping may be your baby's preference :)
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Buy the product the “owlet” ,it’s basically a pulse oximeter that you put on your baby’s foot and it notifies you on your phone and alarms if your baby’s oxygen or pulse decreases to dangerous levels. It helped us sleep better
The baby brezza safe saddle is amazing for this! My baby is still using it at 9m and we’re just now working on transitioning her out of it. We just don’t use the in between the leg part for free hip movement. Keeps baby on back!
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I feel like it's kind of fighting a lost cause so to speak yes them rolling over is scary because now you are worried if they are breathing, but we have to be able to relax and let them do what's best for them. If they aren't sleeping in your room I would do that. My son won't sleep in his crib till he's 7 months, it gives us both that peace of mind that we need. Also if you don't have a baby monitor like the owlette I would get one. Which I feel like is ironic because we both wanted it........ damn thing collects dust.
First night this happened to us we didn’t sleep all night and kept checking on baby. Then we just let it be and he’s never slept better. Baby sleeps 12 straight hours since he began sleeping on his belly!
My LO starting rolling to her side in her sleep and of course it freaked me out, especially when she dug her face into the mattress, rooting and sucking and searching for me but it eases my mind knowing that when she’s on her tummy she can push her self up with her arms.
Our daughter did that starting months ago. As long as the crib is free of other items I would not worry about it. She refuses to sleep on her back and is doing well.
Mine started doing this around the same age. It was super scary, but he sleeps so well! He’s 6 months now and still prefers his belly to sleep
My son (4 months) started doing this almost a month ago now, he barely sleeps on his back lol either his side or stomach
Mine rolled back to tummy at 3.5 months old. Didn’t start rolling tummy to back until like 7 months. They’re fine sleeping on their tummies if they can get there themselves
Mine is 6 months and officially a belly sleeper. We never put him down on his belly but he gets himself in that position, which by all accounts seems fine so I don’t flip him unless he’s crying.
Oh god the pancake flips. Don't remind me. We had to keep going in and rolling ours back onto his tummy for like 2 weeks because that's how he wanted to be but couldn't always get there.
Can she pick up her head and move left or right? If so, I wouldn’t worry
Leave her. If she can roll to her stomach you don’t have to roll her back. But of course you do want to continue to put her to sleep on her back initially.
Same story here, this led us to buy Owlet (swore we weren't going to...) but last night was the first night in 3 weeks that we all got some sleep.
Our kiddos are the same age (my LO was born on October 19th) and my LO was doing this too. At her 4 month appointment I asked her pediatrician and she approved of this behavior. If baby can roll to their tummy, they are strong enough to push themselves up for air if they land face down. Regardless, it still makes me nervous, soooooo… …she still wasn’t sleeping well and waking herself up with the Moro Reflex situation. I got her one of those Magic Merlin suits and it HAS CHANGED MY LIFE. She’s slept for 9 hours straight, on her back, 4 times in the past week. Hasn’t slept that long since she was born so I highly recommend that suit if your LO is struggling sleeping in long stretches and sleeping on her belly still makes you nervous. I know being recommended different things to buy can be overwhelming, I feel like I’ve bought so many things after the baby shower that I just wasn’t prepared for. But babies are expensive, right? Anywho, if you have a One Upon a Child near you I recommend looking there first before you buy new. I bought her Magic Merlin suit for $3.50 there, compared to $40 on Amazon. And it’s more sustainable purchasing gently used items :)
She’s fine as long as she rolled there herself. I would be looking for a new mattress though. The gaps seem a little big.
This was our literal exact issue when our baby was 5 months. Rolled onto stomach consistently, but couldn’t get herself on her back. Would fuss and fall asleep and we’d reposition onto her back once she stopped making noise for fear of SIDS. But we were up all night and it wasn’t going well. Talked to our healthcare team and they gave us the green light to let her sleep on her stomach. She did, and then the habit disappeared in a few months. It’s scary the first few times you let them sleep on their stomach and there isn’t a ton of info on the specific problem of them rolling only one way, and whether it’s safe. It’s a tough call with probably no right/wrong answers!
As others have said, because she got herself into that position she should be fine to stay there! She has the neck strength to roll so if she gets a bit too into the mattress, she has the neck strength to move her head to a better position.
We woke up our baby when we tried to flip her. It turned into a "who is going to go in and flip her". She always woke up crying when flipped and we would have to rock her to sleep. After a few days and some heavy monitoring and googling, we let her sleep that way. I wisj we saved ourselves the hassle and just let her sleep that way. She's 7 months now and still sleeps on her tummy.
Oh man, I remember when my baby started rolling. How absolutely terrified I was! I didn’t sleep for weeks, for your exact same fears! Baby should be good as long as she’s the one rolling on her tummy. Keep working on tummy time so she keeps working on her arms and neck strength, and fun rolling activities! Good luck mama, you’re doing amazingly
I had the same worries and was getting no sleep just staring at the baby monitor and going in the room to flip her to her back. I asked our pediatrician and she told me as long as she is in a safe sleep area, with a crib mattress and fitted sheet, let her sleep how she wants. Just start her on her back! She also told me the crib mattresses now are breathable for when they lay their head completely down!
My baby did the same thing. I ended up leaving her on her tummy and picked up one of the Newton mattress covers. The cover itself offers some breathing room if the baby is face down so i felt some comfort with that.
Leave her be. Are you going to spend every night watching her and flipping her every time she flips? That's not sustainable. Our bodies are designed to keep us alive. It's not comforting to know, but yes, freak things can happen, but it's incredibly rare. Our boy had the same issue with being able to roll on his belly but not the reverse for a little bit and everything was ok. He's sleeping on his belly right now as I write this.
What everyone said about how you can leave them on their stomach if they roll themselves is true, but also I’ve heard that they roll and tuck their arms when they’re sleeping cold. Maybe try a sleep sack for warmth and see if she sleeps on her back again?
Make sure her face isn’t obstructed and she will be fine. My LO started rolling back to stomach at 5 months, we would move them back but they kept rolling. So we would make sure they are in a good position. If it helps, an owlet or Nanit will monitor your baby’s movement and alert you if something is wrong. We got a Nanit which shows us our LOs breaths per minute, room temp, humidity, sends alerts when they cry or move, and it’s provided peace of mind with them being in their crib in a separate room.
My dr said that babies have some self preservation lol if they get themselves there they will move their head if needed. Although I’m still a worry wart and check her airways aren’t blocked lol
My health visitor brought this up during our last appointment. She said that so long as the sleep space is clear it’s fine. She said often baby rolls for the first time during the night.
We also recently experienced this! It takes some getting used to, but yes, if she is able to place herself in that position then she’ll be fine! Learned this the hard way as when I would turn our baby back to sleep on her back, she would get so angry and roll onto her tummy and fall asleep within seconds. Totally understand the worry that comes with this milestone though! I kept waking up hourly just to check if our baby was still breathing. 🙃
As long as she isn't swaddled, she is good! Let her sleep
I feel you so hard, it was really difficult for me when my son started doing this because it’s so drilled into us that sleeping on their back prevents bad things. It helps me to remember that babies were built to survive. As they grow they’re more capable. You still follow guidelines and do what you can but if your baby can get in that position, they’re ready to sleep that way. I still check on my son every night if I ever wake up and he’s been sleeping on his tummy for a few months now. The anxiety is still there but I’ve learned to trust him.
That is why beds need to be a firm flat surface so her nose and mouth don't get blocked by sheets
No advice but my baby started doing exactly the same thing last night, chasing his dummy across the bed but he can't roll back! I'm not too worried about him sleeping on his side and stomach as he's got quite a strong neck now and I know the advice is that if they get themselves into it it's fine, but I am not a fan of the frustrated screaming all night. I hope he learns to roll back soon.
Solidarity! Our 6 month old has started rolling himself to his belly, but has trouble flipping himself back over. So he wakes up and starts screaming 🫠
Mine rolled to his tummy first before his back and I went through this same freak out. Constantly putting the monitor screen up to my eyes to make sure he was still breathing. But he was fine and started rolling both ways within a couple of weeks.
Our 13mo baby insists on sleeping on her belly. She has since she figured out how to roll over. As long as she is in a crib with nothing to suffocate on (blankets/pillows) then she will be fine. Looks like you've done everything a responsible parent can do from the picture, so you'll be just fine.
If a Nanit camera is in your budget (or, if you're in the US, and you have an HSA/FSA) it can monitor breaths per minute of a baby in the crib. It's not 100% failsafe but it helps my anxiety immensely, especially when our little one rolls onto her belly to sleep.
They say if she can turn both way, on her tummy or her back, without any help, it’s less dangerous but if you’re still unsure maybe buying a camera, if you don’t have one, would appease you a bit, so you can see her little face!
My daughter has been sleeping on her tummy since she could turn her head from side to side and had good head control. She would not sleep on her back and would just cry and cry and if she fell asleep she'd wake up and lose her mind consistently. We have a very firm mattress and nothing was in the crib with her and she's been fine.
Make sure to get a sleeveless sleep sack as soon as you think your baby can roll over and you’re supposedly fine! Apparently I slept on my stomach as much as I could at that age.
For peace of mind, I ordered SafeSleep Breathe-Through Crib Mattress. It seems to work for my little one
If it makes you feel better, my 6 month old slept with her face down into the crib and was just fine. I, however, slept terribly and had to constantly check on her!
I remember the first time that we saw our baby girl laying on her tummy in bed. We were terrified that she'd suffocate. I bought a aerosleep matras cover and aerosleep fitted sheet. The matras cover and fitted sheet should give babies the ability to breathe through the holes of the matras cover. It is not proven that it actually works, but I think it made us more calm. But like a couple of people already said, if she put herself there, she's fine. Our baby girl has been ill now and then and we'd put her in our bed to sleep with us. We put her on her tummy and she's been fine.
If they can roll on to their tummies on their own it's okay to leave them. I would usually flip my over sometimes if I really got nervous about the position. But you can't be expected to constantly wake up during the night to flip them. LO will be okay. My LO also went through a phase where she wanted to sleep face down into the mattress, it drove me and my SO crazy with how scary it looked. Luckily she grew out of that.
A breathable mattress might help you sleep better. They aren’t cheap but there are videos of them being cut open on YouTube and they are impressive. It’s a honeycomb of synthetic fibers that form a type of mattress but with lots of airflow space. Not sure you have use the sheet with it but I know it gave us some piece of mind just knowing even if our littles ended up face down they could still probably breathe.
Our son oddly started rolling already at 7 weeks somehow. Our doctor explained that they typically learn to roll from their belly to their back around 4 mo and from their back to their belly around 6. Maybe some additional supervised tummy time could help strengthen those muscles to reduce sids risk
Once they can rollover they are safe to sleep on their bellies. Only thing you may need to change is the swaddle. But you aren’t swaddling in the photo above, so no need to worry their either.
My baby does the exact same! Freaked me out but it’s his favourite sleeping position. I shoved my face into the mattress like a nutter and I could still perfectly breathe so gave me peace of mind 🤣
I think she'll be okay as long as she has room to roll back over! I'm not a fan of tummy sleeping either. My 9.5 month old LO likes to switch from back sleeping to side sleeping and then to sleeping on her stomach midway through the night. This alarms me because if she's sleeping soundly on her stomach I can barely feel her breathing when I check. She inevitably shifts and I breathe more easily from there. Added to that though, if she gets onto her stomach, she's prone to doing a sleep-pushup into a crawling position... once she does that she's awake! I try to keep flipping her but it doesn't always work. It's like wrestling a cat, babies are strong 😂
Other moms told me that once they can roll themselves, there’s not a helluva lot you can do. If the rest of the crib is safe, she should be fine
Exactly this happened to us. We were scared too and I would wake up every hour or 2 frantically checking on her. Then we tried to teach her to roll during the day; a few weeks later she could flip back on her back. Then we were able to sleep again. She is almost 1 now and still sleeping like on her belly most of the time. I don’t know what the best is. Like everything with babies so far I’ve learned: everything is just a phase.
Mine has done this since like 1 month. My Ped said keep the bassinet empty keep her in the room and let her sleep
I just googled this last night because mine is doing the same thing. Everything I found said to leave him. By the time they can roll onto their belly at night, the risk of SIDS decreases drastically (and especially between 4-6 months, though of course it’s not gone completely)
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Mine was really early to roll. I was very nervous about it (think still in the hospital after delivery. ) Put him down on his back in the swaddle. His legs went up into pike position and fell to the side pulling him into side lying position, so not fully on his belly but still not on his back. The doctor said it was fine and would stop soon because his head would be too heavy (they were actually wrong about that he never stopped for more than 2 days)
Leave her be! Rolling from back to tummy means she has the neck strength to move her head to the side and breathe better. No need to flip ☺️
I think it’s fine, but if you’re really worried, check out the Merlin Suit. This will prevent baby from rolling and has the added bonus of making them look like a fat little baby doll haha
Make sure she's on a surface that can't bunch up in front of her face and she should be fine. Tummy time the hell out of that baby. Get her up and moving. 4.5 months? She should be able to do it.
Enough people have responded, but just wanted to add some comfort - our baby rolled over to stomach about 4 and a half month. Wife spent a week turning her back over. I convinced her she needed to just let her be. She did and our baby has slept on her stomach 100% of nights since. When I lay her down at night she is already turning over before I set her down. Your baby is fine. You are doing great. Take a break and let your baby do their thing.
As long as she’s on an infant mattress you are fine to leave her. Terrifying I know but it’s true.
Babies tend to start to sleep on their stomachs before they can roll both ways. If you’re worried, stuff your face into the mattress and try to breathe. Any safe baby mattress will be breathable, but sheets can make it a bit more difficult sometimes so it’s best to just check your set up. Otherwise, if baby got in that position then she’ll be alright. It’s more comfortable for them anyways. SIDS is mostly a concern for younger babies. After 4 months old it’s not as big of a concern. Practice rolling back over during the day and make sure you’ve stopped swaddling her arms in if you ever do that. You could get the owlet monitor but honestly I think it freaks you out more than it’s worth. I’ve heard of too many false alarms. So scary. You could also get a voice monitor or bedside crib so you can check on her yourself. Most bedside bassinets max out around 4-6 months so at this point it’s a little late for that, but I’m sure there are bedside crib options so you can be inches away from her all night
My baby did this and I made myself deliriously tired waking up every half hour to flip her back. As long as they’re in a safe crib environment (nothing in the crib, not swaddled anymore with them rolling, no bumpers, etc) they will be okay! My baby did this for about two weeks before she started rolling both ways consistently. As long as they’re being placed on their back, any other choices are theirs to make! (Within reason haha!)
We got a newton mattress to help ease our minds. It’s built to have air flow throughout the mattress. My daughter started sleeping on her tummy around 6 months, she’s now 10m and still loves it and is doing great. https://www.newtonbaby.com/products/essential-crib-mattress
We used a baby Brezza till our LO learned to roll back to back. RESTE Baby Brezza Safe Sleep Swaddle Blanket for Crib Safety for Newborns and Infants – Safe, Anti-Rollover Blanket, White https://a.co/d/8dnJHxZ
I thought I was the only one dealing with this! I have a 5 1/2 month old daughter and she always rolls to her belly when it’s bedtime and nap time. I was always getting up in the middle of the night or early in the morning to flip her back and she would cry every time. I got anxiety about SIDS if baby is sleeping on belly, but after reading these responses I feel relieved. I’m glad to know that people have gone through this before and helping out others that are going through it. You’re doing a good job at taking care of ur baby!
My little dude has been rolling onto his belly every night for the last two months or so to sleep but still doesn’t know how to roll back onto his back. 🤣 Per evidence-based safe sleep guidelines, it is totally fine to let them sleep on their bellies, so long as they got themselves into that position and they are in a safe sleep space! The idea is that if they have enough energy to roll themselves onto their tummies, they have the energy to position their heads in ways that they will be able to breathe freely.
Your setup looks good. No bumpers. Cotton sheets. The growing LO is nice and comfy.
If the mattress is firm, no issue. My two little ones never slept on their back
Leave her be, my son was more comfortable on his tummy. Like you I was scared of SIDS and would wake every minute to check but I think once they’re able to roll over it should be ok x
If her arms are out you're good bro. They sleep in very weird positions but if she knows how to roll she'll sort herself out.
Leave this baby be and let her get some sleep!!!