ped suggested sleeping on belly

DD stopped letting us swaddle her and stopped sleeping on her back in the bassinet of the pnp at about 4 weeks.

out of desperation we tried the bouncy seat and it worked! she also loves to sleep on us.

at our appt this week (11 weeks)
the ped said he wants her sleeping in the crib and said she could sleep on her belly.
she still wont sleep on her back, so i tried it for 1 nap yesterday and she slept for 4 hours.

we are going to slowly get her used to it. we're a little nervous about letting her belly sleep over night.

any btdt moms of belly sleepers have any advice?

TIA!

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

Not BTDT (my kids hated their bellies for the most part) but I would get the Angel Care Monitor simply for peace of mind

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

I'm shocked your ped would suggest it...I let my kids sleep in their bouncers inside their cribs until they were 4 months...I don't know. I don;t think I would ever get any sleep like that

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

Both of my boys have been belly sleepers from early on. I told my first ped I was doing it and he gave me great advice ...

No blankets in the crib (use a sleep sack if needed with the open arms)
No loose clothing (fitted pjs)
No toys in the crib
Breathable Bumpers
Keep the room on the cooler side rather than the warmer side


I also put each of my kids on their bellies for nap time first. I would watch them and once they showed proper movement to shift their heads they were able to go in the crib - what that meant to me was that they would (not could but would) pick up their head to turn to the other side. No sweeping movement where their nose was in the mattress. Once they did that (they did very quickly) I moved them to nighttime belly sleeping.

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

Message edited 4/22/2011 9:00:01 AM.

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

Both of my kids were belly sleepers from day 1. Both of them had great neck control from birth (it was kind of weird, actually ), but they could push up on their forearms and turn their heads side to side, so I felt more comfortable letting them. Neither one would sleep on their backs. I would try and try and try and they would scream for long periods of time, so on their backs it was.
I kept it a bit cooler in their rooms and checked on them a lot all night the first few months. But in the end, it's what was right for them.

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

Belly sleepers here too.

My older DS was never a solid sleeper.....moved him onto his belly about 4 weeks and he started STTN! He always would nap good in bouncy seat or swing but never flat at night. I started with naps first and saw he could lift his head and turn back and forth. Also used the angelcare monitor.

For my twins, their neck control took a little longer but they were on their bellies by about 8 weeks and STTN not much after that.

Message edited 4/22/2011 9:21:40 AM.

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

My son was a belly sleeper from the minute he could roll over. I dont think I slept at all the first night....but he slept much better that way.

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

DS was/is a belly sleeper. He has been sleeping on his belly since he was 2 months old.

He had terrible AR and was colic. After many nights of him and me not sleeping, I gave in and put him on his belly at the suggestion of my mother and aunts, who belly slept me and all my cousins. They were all telling me to do it earlier, but I was a new mom who was paranoid about going against what was suppose to be right.

I will say that I only did this because we co-slept. I didn't feel comfortable having him belly sleep through the night in his crib. I wanted him next to me so I could hear and feel him.

Probably not the best thing, but we love having in between us so I'm not to upset at this habit we created...lol.

Ped scolded me when I told him DS was belly sleeping, but it was working and he wasn't as cranky because he was SLEEPING.

He also started STTN when I did this.

Message edited 4/22/2011 9:34:45 AM.

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

Both of my girls have been belly sleepers from very early on as well. I was nervous in the very beginning, but quickly got used to it.

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

thanks ladies!

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

I have belly sleepers. I kept them on their backs until they could roll over and lift their heads though. DD won't sleep unless she's on her belly.

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

My DD has been sleeping on her belly since about 9 weeks old. She hates sleeping on her back. As soon as I lay her down on her back she wakes up. Do i still worry at night, yes but if shes getting a better night sleep then Im happy with it. She can lift her head and she moves it from side to side so im not worried. She does however like to sleep with her face smooshed straight down and that freaks me out. And I know things change because they do studies and all that stuff but my mother raised 7 kids and we all slept on out stomachs. I worry more now with her on her back because sometimes if im changing her and she spits up she starts to cough and I have to pick her up so she doesnt gag. And shes gets very congested so lying on her back doesnt work. Its all a personal decision but do what your comfortable with and what works for you!

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

for the first few weeks of DS life he slept on my chest. He would not sleep on his back in the bassinet or in the PNP.

DS would sleep in his infant carrier seat most of the time.

then at like 4 - 5 weeks I started napping him on his tummy. By 6 weeks we were sleeping him on his tummy; DH and I slept in shifts to watch him the first few weeks; there were some nites I was so worried i slept with my arm reaching in to the bassinet..LOL.

I think babies are naturally inclined to be comfy sleeping on their tummies.

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

we have a ceiling fan in the room and i turned it on the past day and a half that we've been napping her on her belly (we had it installed while i was preggo b/c of what i read about SIDS).

this kid has been taking some long naps since we put her on the belly.

i don't think we're ready to sleep her like that though.... maybe in another week or so of napping on the belly....

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

Belly sleeping since day#1.

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

Started putting DS on his belly at 8/9 weeks and he was STTN by 11 weeks. Made a huge difference in his comfort level. My ped said no way so I stopped telling her

Recently I came across this article which I thought was an interesting read. The guy is NOT a doctor, but broke down the stats and it really made me think.

Article

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

Posted by mcl916

Started putting DS on his belly at 8/9 weeks and he was STTN by 11 weeks. Made a huge difference in his comfort level. My ped said no way so I stopped telling her

Recently I came across this article which I thought was an interesting read. The guy is NOT a doctor, but broke down the stats and it really made me think.

Article

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

Very interesting article. Thank you for posting!

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

DD#1 belly sleeping since 2-3 months.

DD#2 belly sleeping at 5 months

DD#3 hates her belly and sleeps on an incline in her chair, crib, couch or us, due to severe reflux and breathing issues.

The way I see it is if you are well informed with your decision to belly sleep or back sleep, then it is the right decision for you, regardless.

While everything says back is best. It does not say back works for all babies all the time. each situation is different and as long as you have the facts and know your circumstances, then you are doing the best for you and your baby!

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

Posted by headoverheels

Not BTDT (my kids hated their bellies for the most part) but I would get the Angel Care Monitor simply for peace of mind

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

Re: ped suggested sleeping on belly

can your little one turn head from side to side?

belly sleeping should be ok- our parents did it for all of us and we turned out ok!