Rolling over disturbs 6mo's sleep

[GG]

My question is 2-fold:

My DS learned to roll over about a month ago.  It's just now disturbing his sleep, though.  He sleeps on his right side and most of the time, either as he's falling asleep or as he's waking up, he'll push himself over and wake himself up.  I've tried putting a good-sized folded blanket by his belly to prevent him from pushing over but it doesn't work all the time (less and less of the time now, actually).  Any suggestions?

The second thing has to do with his sleeping on his right side.  I'm pretty sure that he prefers to sleep on that side because of the pat/shhh I did the last couple of months.  He won't sleep on his left side; sometimes sleeps on his back during the night but never falls asleep any way except on his right side.  Do you think this is bad for his body/back alignment?  Should I try to get him to 'learn' to sleep on his left side, too, or should I prevent him from rolling to the side?

I hope I don't come across as neurotic.  :oops:  I just want to make sure it's okay for him to sleep like that at his age.

[micah'smom]

don't have an answer but just letting you know i'm going thru the same thing. ds is a tummy sleeper and rolls tummy to back. he's been rolling for about a month, too, but this past week his nightwakings have been really bad - almost at every 45min mark until midnight! i've been so tempted to let him cio but i know that would be unfair to him.

some moms say to block the roll, which i've tried but doesn't prevent him from doing it later on (when i'm konked out). i've tried rolled up towels and blankets, pushing him against the bumper, etc etc. nothing works!

hope someone out there can give us an answer  :?

i'm sure sleeping on his side is ok. my ds ends up in all kinds of bendy positions no matter how many times i readjust.

hang in there! let me know if your lo gets over this

[GG]

i'm sure sleeping on his side is ok. my ds ends up in all kinds of bendy positions no matter how many times i readjust.

I wouldn't mind if he slept in a bunch of weird positions, but he seems to prefer that one most of the time.  That's my concern.  I also check his skull and it doesn't seem to be flat on the right side, so I know that's okay.  ;-)

Isn't it frustrating?  He went from a dreamfeed and 1 waking to eat between 7:30 PM and 6 AM to several, so I know how you feel! :?

[zayandme]

How long have your lo's been up to this rolling business? I know for us, it only lasted a few weeks and then he got used to rolling in bed, bumping into the side of the crib, etc.
May just need to ride it out- but at the same time rest assured it will settle down (btw- may run into the same thing when they learn to pull themselves up! You'll make it through that as well!!!)

[micah'smom]

georgia,

hm as long as your lo doesn't get flat-head, i guess that's the biggest concern??
last night ds woke 6+ times!! i think his 1am and 4am wakings are now habit, and i caved in and just nursed him to sleep b/c i'm so sleep-deprived, dh is out of town, and i'm starting to wonder if my milk is low b.c i'm not eating or resting!! btw i noticed you're in libertyville - i'm in wrigleyville!

sarah, my ds has been doing this for almost a month. i thought he'd get used to this too, there were some nights in the beginning i'd find him kind of on his back, pushed up against the bumper, but now he screams the minute he's rolled! last night i was so exhausted i fell asleep sshh-ing over the crib. sigh.

selena

[micah'smom]

btw sarah can i have your feedback on what i do? maybe i'm doing something wrong?

when ds rolls while trying to go down for a nap, sometimes he doesn't cry right away and just wants to play. so i leave the room and only come back if he's hard crying. sometimes i roll him back and patshh, but if i can tell he's too hysterical i pick him up, pat, then put back down on tummy.

during nightwakings it's the same thing except sometimes i use the paci b/c i'm so desperate. if his legs are trying to kick up i place pressure on his tushy/thighs or rub his legs to calm him down.

are these ok? am i teaching him that i'll rush in and help him when he rolls?

thanks!

[Carys' mom]

Hi,

Sorry - no advice - I'm also having the same problem with my 6.5-month-old daughter. She's a back sleeper and has just started rolling over onto her stomach both at night and during naps, and she starts crying because she can't seem to remember how to roll back over onto her back. We worked with her a little on how to roll back onto her back today on the floor during activity time, and she was able to do it. But then it happened again while she was going down for her afternoon nap. I guess we'll have to work with her on this in her crib. Any other advice would be great!

btw - I'm in Palatine, IL - lots of Illinois moms on this thread, eh? 

Thanks...

[GG]

Here's an update: My ds now rolls over completely onto his belly but his face is down into the mattress!  :shock:  :!:  WTH?  I don't get it!  I've caught him in this position several times since I put him to bed tonight!  Think I'll get a good night's sleep tonight? :?   I've tried swaddling his torso but it was a half-@$$ job since he was rolling over the whole time (and this was after he was half-asleep after eating).  I will remove the bumper so that I can see him better but... I don't get it!  Why is he doing this (and hyperventilating when he does this, may I add)??

I'm sleep deprived this last week!  I just want to figure out why he's doing this.

[GG]

Melanie, I live 20 minutes from you, about 50 min from Selena.  Cool!  You both should meet up with me and the other NW suburban moms!  They're really nice.  :-)

[GG]

I just did a Search and found the following thread, which should help with this new problem, so disregard my post for that issue here.  ;-)

http://www.babywhisperer.com/forum/urgent-rolling-over-onto-tummy-at-night-vt34870.html

I think I will let him sleep as he likes during the day but watch over him and help him learn to turn his head when he rolls over.  I didn't think about the fact that he doesn't understand that he can fall asleep on his tummy by turning his head.  He's used to looking up and around and playing.  (Maybe I should have continued to let him sleep at least 1 nap a day on his tummy so that he would have gotten used to it.  :?  I'll keep it in mind for the next one.  :wink:)

[micah'smom]

georgia,

i thought about that - should've had ds sleep in all kinds of positions so we wouldn't be stuck doing the roll-over every hour. btw i posted on that other thread too. need all the help i can get!

my MIL and SIL are out in palatine, right off of 53...so we're in the area alot. ha! maybe we'll all run into each other at woodfield or deer park or something

ok ds is calling to get flipped...

[Carys' mom]

Georgia -

Thanks for finding that thread. That would be great to meet up with you and Selena and other NW suburban moms. I've been wanting to start finding a play group or play dates for Carys so she can start socializing with other babies close to her age. She's my first, so she doesn't have any siblings. Are you already involved with a play group?

Selena - I live in Palatine pretty close to Rt. 53 too. It sounds like your MIL and SIL live pretty close to me.

I'll send both of you a PM or e-mail with my address, and maybe we can set something up!