Author Topic: Tummy Sleeper – Do I try to get him to sleep on his back?  (Read 2053 times)

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Offline Karen Pierrehumbert

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Tummy Sleeper – Do I try to get him to sleep on his back?
« on: September 26, 2005, 10:34:30 am »
Hello world,
I am a relatively new mum – Axel is 6 months old this week. My major issue is sleep. My darling is a night-waker and I am sure I have contributed to this problem by not making him 'go thru the night' without feeding him. I guess this stems from when he was very new and cried A LOT all the time. At six weeks I was at breaking point and finally buckled to the pressure from two 'super Grannies' (my mother and her close friend) who were helping me settle Axel, by settling him on his tummy (believe me, I am well aware that this is not recommended by SIDS people, and I have always been nervous about it, but as he was very active and strong, he seemed already able to hold his head up a little at this age, so I just rolled with it and he has been settling on his tummy ever since). Most times I can get him to settle quickly during the day, often on his own now, but sometimes with help still. At night, though, it can take anything from 10 minutes to 90 minutes to get him to sleep and sometimes now he will sleep from 7.30pm to 1.00 or 2.00am, then thru till 5.00am, at which time he is resettled until 6.00am. Then other times he will wake at least four more extra times during the night and I will have to resettle him. My plan is to cut out the 1.00/2.00am feed all together, and use PU/PD to resettle him. I am concerned, though, that I will have to pick him up from his tummy, then turn him over into a cradle hold, then turn him over again when I put him down. I've decided now, that Axel needs to learn to go to sleep on his back and resettle on his back, so he will not wake up when he rolls over at night. But he has NEVER slept on his back for more than 45mins since he was one week old and it seems to really frighten him to do so. I am worried that I will create a trauma if I force him to sleep on his back? Is there anyone out there who can help me! I have not had more than 3 or 4 hours sleep in a row since he was born and I am wondering if it will go on forever.
Sorry the entry is so long
Karen
Karen M Pierrehumbert

stasztk

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Tummy Sleeper – Do I try to get him to sleep on his back?
« Reply #1 on: September 26, 2005, 14:57:54 pm »
Karen,
Did you say he is 6 months old now? If that is true, you put him on his back and he'd just roll over kwim? I really don't think it would be a concern anymore.
What do you do now when you settle him down at night?

Offline Samanthas mum

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Tummy Sleeper – Do I try to get him to sleep on his back?
« Reply #2 on: September 26, 2005, 17:39:55 pm »
As I understand it they say not to worry if your baby sleeps on its front after they have reached 6 months. I had no choice with my dd as she had learnt to roll over by then and even if I put her to sleep on her back she would always roll over at some point in the night.

Although I totally respect the new advice on SIDS back in the mid 70's when I was born the advice was to put babies to sleep on their tummies which is what my mum did with me.

Although my mum believes you should now put a newborn to sleep on its back if that is the advice being given she is sure SIDS was not as common back in the 70s - although it could be the case that it was just not in the news as much.

My opinion therefore is not to worry but I do know where you are coming from as I worried about my dd when she started doing it.

3 months later she still sleeps on her front all the time so it must just be the most comfortable position for her.
Sam's Mum


Offline Eden's Mum

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Tummy Sleeper – Do I try to get him to sleep on his back?
« Reply #3 on: September 26, 2005, 17:50:42 pm »
Have a look through the other posts. there is a lot of info on this and it is very reassuring. My baby is a tummy sleeper and only 2 months, but the sids evidence is statistical rather than medical and really if you are doing everything else they suggest and you lo is 6 months then really there shouldn't be a huge problem. look at the sticky or announcement about it, there is loads of good info on there.
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Offline micah'smom

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Tummy Sleeper – Do I try to get him to sleep on his back?
« Reply #4 on: September 27, 2005, 14:20:51 pm »
karen i'm in the same boat as you!

just to clarify i think what you're saying is not so much the SIDS issue anymore, but that you want axel to learn to sleep on his back so that he won't wake up when he rolls over, right?

that's the same thing i'm going thru with micah. he's 5.5mo and can roll onto his tummy during the day but won't do it at night when he finds himself on his back. we've been having wakings anywhere from every 2-4 hrs.

if you figure this out please let me know :)
selena, mom to micah 4/14/05

Offline Luisasmum

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Tummy Sleeper – Do I try to get him to sleep on his back?
« Reply #5 on: September 27, 2005, 14:53:24 pm »
Hi Karen,

My girl has slept on her tummy for most of her life. She is nine months now and I have just started doing the dream feed to get her to sleep through and it works a treat. I feed her formula now - she gave up breastfeeding when she had a cold. It's a bit of a hassle rolling her over and then back again but she never wakes up fully when I do it. I guess you are breastfeeding hence the need to pick your son up. If you can express and your son takes a bottle, you might find it easier just feeding him in the cot from the bottle. I left my daughter on her back once after the dream feed but she ended up back on her tummy anyway. If you wanted to try teaching your son to sleep on his back, maybe you could try to settle him on his side first.

Good luck and I hope you get some sleep!
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Offline Karen Pierrehumbert

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Tummy Sleeper – Do I try to get him to sleep on his back?
« Reply #6 on: September 29, 2005, 23:18:32 pm »
Thanks everyone for your input! Yes, my main concern now is that Axel wakes up in fright when he rolls over at night. I am just wanting him to sleep better ie: learn to resettle himself a bit more. At the moment I have to sit and pat his back most times when he wakes, otherwise, if I leave him to resettle himself after replacing the dummy/pacifier, mostly he will start to cry after just a few minutes. This is why I have been wanting to try PU/PD with him when he cries. I just thought it might be very disruptive trying to do PU/PD because of turning him over each time I put him down. Since my last posting, I did try PU/PD twice during the day to extend his naps and that worked in a fashion – he screamed as though I'd cut him for about 20mins while I PU/PD then finally the crying eased and when I put him down he sobbed then closed his eyes for a couple of minutes. When he opened his eyes again and saw me there it was as if the other baby, the smiley one, had returned and he was ready to play! What fun parents have trying to decide what is best! So I guess I will continue with PU/PD and maybe not worry so much about the tummy sleeping, just try and adapt a way for PU/PD to suit us. At this stage it feels like I might have to put my son back to sleep forever, which is not ideal. Thanks again for your advice and reassurance. Love from here.
Karen M Pierrehumbert