Sleeping on the tummy?

[Anonymous]

Has anyone out there had any success with having their babies sleep on their stomachs, even before it is recommended to do so? I keep hearing that it can help babies with gas and reflux and that they actually prefer to sleep on their tummies. (I know the safety concerns…so no worries…i’m just curious as to whether anyone has done this as a last resort and had it work…??)

[Anonymous]

dd’s been on her tummy since 2 weeks old in a sling/wedge combo. We were worried at first before she could move around good, so we got an apnea moniter. That thing drove us nuts! I think it is reccommended for reflux babies to sleep on their tummies so they don’t choke. Also, alot of reflux babies feel better on their tummies for some reason. First time we tried it, dd slept for 6 hours straight. Maybe give it a try and see how she does. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

This has been a topic before. I don’t have time to find the links right now, but hopefully someone (Laura?) will post them. There is actually research saying that reflux babies do better on their stomachs. Tummy sleeping made a huge difference for us. We switched Kaelyn to her stomach at 4 weeks. Prior to that, we were lucky if she slept for 45 minutes. After the switch, she would go 3 to 4 hours at a stretch. She was on a pulse-oximeter, so we felt comfortable letting her sleep on her tummy. I know that others have used the Angel Care monitor to help them feel safer.

[Anonymous]

I have the angel care monitor….maybe i’ll give it a try…even if i’m up all night checking on her, what difference does it make since i’m up all night anyway!! 🙂

[Anonymous]

Oh also…meant to ask….did your babies like to be on their stomachs during the day too? Because my DD does not really like it much when we do tummy time so i guess i figured she wouldn’t like to sleep on her stomach either…but maybe it doesn’t work that way?

[Anonymous]

Aidan hated being on his tummy during tummy time, and I would never even think of putting him on his tummy to sleep (even now) regardless of if it would help or not…the risk is just to great, besides it made his reflux worse, but that’s just me … now he is cool with tummy time b/c he can roll onto his back and vice versa so he knows if he wants ro get off his tummy (or back) he can. Aidansmom792006-5-25 16:44:36

[Anonymous]

I also tried putting Ryan to sleep on his tummy when he was around 6 mths to see if he would sleep better and it actually seems to make him feel worst. He loves to sleep on his side though.

[Anonymous]

I put my first ds on his belly to sleep when he was 6 or 7 weeks old, per our Peds recommendation. I was really afraid to at first, but Alec slept much better. My 2nd child was born at 32 weeks and they even put him on his belly when he was in the NICU. I put Noah to sleep on his tummy after I watched him spit up one night and almost choke on it (thank God I woke up when I did). Reflux babies and even non-refluxers usually tend to sleep better and feel better when they are on tummys.

[Anonymous]

Do it if the baby likes it! We put Matthew on his tummy for a while and he slept fine (he is not a good sleeper) but since he learned to roll over he sleeps on his back or on his side – he hates ANYTHING that has to do with pressure on his tummy

[Anonymous]

I agree – if he sleeps well that way, go for it and get an Angel Care
monitor if it gives you peace of mind. Marisa used to sleep on her side
in a sleep positioner (she used to HATE being on her back until reflux
got under control). We took that away when she learned to roll – now
she’ll either roll onto her side or her tummy to sleep – often her
tummy – and she sleeps better that way too. The American Association of
Pediatrics has stated that tummy sleeping is best for severe reflux too.

[Anonymous]

Kaelyn hated tummy time, but loved sleeping on her tummy. Go figure! While I agree that back sleeping is generally much safer for babies, our ped and ped GI agreed that Kaelyn’s severe reflux warranted putting her on her stomach. We had a similar incident to Lisa’s – Kaelyn choked on her own spit up while on her back. Personally, if it helps her sleep better and you have the angel care monitor, I’d give it a try.

[Anonymous]

I found one of the links that I mentioned:

http://www.aap.org/new/sids/question.htm

[Anonymous]

Sebastian started rolling over at four months and put him self on his tummy to sleep. I would put him on his back and he would just roll right to him tummy. I was a little worried but there was no way to keep him from rolling that way. He slept that way for a month and now he sleeps on his side. It did not really make a big difference in how long he slept.

[Author]

Posts