My DD is five weeks old and refuses to sleep on her back. Literally refuses and yes a five week old can lol. I lay her on her back and she screams but as soon as I put her on her tummy she is fine and within minutes she is asleep OR she just lays there like in enjoyment. The past two nights I've put her in her crib on her stomach and she slept for a good five hours before she wanted to eat AND she is in HER bed NOT mine. I figured I'm right there. Anyway, in my bed she layed on her stomach as well but I figured I might as well get a good nights sleep too and with her in my bed I can't. I know they say to lay them on their backs but she will not. Even during the day if she falls asleep in my arms and I try to lay her on her back in her craddle she wakes up right away but if I lay her on her tummy she sleeps. Should I not be doing this? I know I have to do whatever it takes to stay sane and get rest but I don't want to be putting my DD in jeopardy. :confused:

I would say if she likes it, let her. Some one once told me that making them lay on their backs is not good anyway. Think about it, your daughter spent nine months in a curved position in your stomach. Her back was always arched over. Then all of a sudden she comes out and you put her flat on her back. That can't really feel good and it probably hurts. She is more comforted on her belly since her back is curved almost like it was in your belly.

For weeks my son would not sleep on his back. We were in the same situation as you. As soon as we would put him on his back, he would wake up and was just not comfortable. I spoke to the pediatrician about it and he said to keep trying. However, I finally just went ahead and put him on his stomach. He will be 11 weeks on Monday and he's been sleeping on his stomach for the past couple of weeks. I tried letting him take naps during the day on his stomach to see how he did while I was watching before I tried it at night. He isn't in his crib yet, but in his cradle in our room and not in the bed. He's been lifting and turning his head on his own practically from day 1. So, I gave in.

Some people may disagree, but there is no possible way that all kids are alike. You should do what works for you.

My DD has been turning her head since we brought her home from the hospital. I was amazed because of how well she turned her head back and forth. There was never a time that her head was down in the bed so I knew she was strong enough to turn when on her tummy. I too tried her in her craddle first while I was up in the day time so I could watch her and she was fine so these past two nights I've let her and she's been fine. I know when I was a baby my Mom was told to put me on my tummy so I'm ok I guess lol...

I didn't like th idea of putting my DD on her tummy for sleeping so what I did instead was allow her to sleep in her car seat. She was always happy there, and not lying flat on her back. I let her do this untill she was almost 3mo (though she was a preemie and weighed about 7lbs at 3mo).

My ped had me lay my DS on his side. I put a rolled up receiving blanket behind him and made sure his arm was out so he would not fall onto his stomach.

I know that with the risk of SIDS, there are many people that tell you to sleep them on their backs, but my son will also not sleep on his back. I asked the ped. first, and he said that we don't have any of the obvious links that can cause sids, so he is on his tummy now all the time. After all, we all slep on our belly's, right?

That's what my Mom said..."You slept on your belly when you were a baby, and look you're still here." I can't help it my DD will ONLY sleep on her tummy. No matter what I try. I have something not sure what it is but it has two sides and you put them in the middle so they don't turn but even that she doesn't like so tummy it is for her! If she couldn't turn her head so well I wouldn't do it but she is really strong.

All three of our babies were tummy sleepers. Our first two were born during the tummy sleeping era (before 1993) and our third, long after BTS began. She too would not sleep on her back for more than a few minutes at a time. It did take us a few weeks to figure out why she wouldn't sleep as well as her two brothers did. Tummy sleeping really does make a difference for most babies. I am no medical professional and I am not sure about this, but my opinion is that a major cause in the rise in what we are terming, infant reflux, has been increasing because of back to sleep. Tummy sleeping pushes the gas out.

Consider the following:

The rates of SIDS for a newborn tummy sleeper are not even close to 1%!

Nearly every human being age 13 or over slept on his or her tummy from day one.

Babies have died of SIDS on their tummies, on their sides, on their backs and even in their parent's arms. Fortunately it is EXTREMELY RARE no matter how the baby sleeps!

If you go into a NICU of any hospital you will find most of the babies on their tummies. The reason given by the nurses (our dd was in the NICU for two and a half weeks) is that they are more content and grow faster when on their tummies.

This is the final paragraph in the AAP statement on sleep position:
Although the AAP suggests that babies sleep on their backs or sides to reduce the risk of SIDS, all parents should keep in mind that the risk is extremely rare no matter how the baby sleeps.

The rates of SIDS have dropped since BTS, but also since BTS doctors are required to have autopsies performed on all babies who die in their sleep. That formally was not the case. All deaths were recorded automatically as SIDS. Of course the rates drop when many deaths are recorded as being caused by something other than SIDS. They now are able to identify many cases of death during sleep as illlness, undiagnosed respiratory problems, suffocation and even sometimes, child abuse.

Babies also do not sleep very soundly on their backs. I am concerned that in the future (if its not happening already) we may be seeing a lot more cases of developmental problems in older children due to the fact that most babies for the most part were never or rarely allowed to get into a sound sleep for the first seveasl months of their lives. I am not a medical professional by any means, but this is my guess. It should be interesting.

Try to relax and just enjoy the extra sleep you are able to get when your baby is on his tummy.

Nancy

Very informative post Nancy- Thanks

My DD also refused to sleep on her back and would wake up instantly. We spent 3 nights in the hospital (she was born at 12:32 am so we got an extra night) and she hardly slept at all in her bassinet. I thought I was going to have to hold her while she slept forever...LOL! The first night we were home, I tried laying her on her side and she was so exhausted she slept for 5 hours straight that night. If we put her on her back she would roll over onto her side almost form day 1, even on the changing table...LOL! Think about it, if every adult sleeps in a different position, why would we assume that every baby would be comfortable in the same position? You have to decide what's best for your baby. Like the other poster said, the risk of SIDS is less than 1% to begin with, but it does exist so you have to decide for yourself.

Sorry, I don't mean to be ignorant but what does "BTS" stand for?

thanks,

Jen

Back to sleep. The campain for getting parents to put their babies on their backs to sleep instead of their tummies.

InDueTime:
I see you have got many responses, but I just had to add one more.
Despite the fact that all of our mothers put us to sleep on our tummies and we lived to tell about it, this is clearly NOT recommended now. The main reason for the tummy sleeping was fear of choking on spitup, but as many people have mentioned, babies can turn thier heads, and also have a reflex which prevents any spitup from returning down the throat.
"Back to sleep and tummy to play" is encouraged for a reason, and that reason is the safety of our children. All of the reasons behind SIDS are not known or understood. We had a major problem with our nonsleeping, crying baby, similar to what the others have described. The miraculous cure was swaddling or wrapping our baby quite snuggly, and also moving her from her bassinet to the big crib,which she seemed to like better. ("The Happiest Baby on the Block" is an excellent reference book.)I have heard the reason that many babies do not like sleeping on their backs when they are young, is that they may feel a "falling" sensation, but the swaddling provides a womblike feeling of security. I hope other members will not be offended by my very strong position on this topic.

My DD HATES to be swaddled absouletly hates it. I've tried and even the nurses at the hospital put TWO blankets on her to keep her from squirming out but she managed everytime to get out of BOTH blankets and they were on tight too. The nurses even said they couldn't believe she didn't like the feeling of the womb. I could have told them that though. She was moving and turning up until I was induced. My Dr said it was rare for a baby to keep turning like she was but she was. I've tried everything and the only way for her to sleep is on her tummy.

my now 3 mth old son was the same way. i let him sleep on his stomach. he won't sleep on his back. he is a different baby now that he sleeps on his tummy. they say not to but 12 years ago they said that was the only way they should sleep. i would not let her do it in your bed because you don't know what chemicals might be in your matress. but do you have a matress cover on her matress? if not then get one. some studies say sids was the fire resistent chemicals in the matresses. get a cover. my son still sleeps on his tummy. as soon as i let him he started sleeping all night with in about a week. some babies hate their backs.

my now 3 mth old son was the same way. i let him sleep on his stomach. he won't sleep on his back. he is a different baby now that he sleeps on his tummy. they say not to but 12 years ago they said that was the only way they should sleep. i would not let her do it in your bed because you don't know what chemicals might be in your matress. but do you have a matress cover on her matress? if not then get one. some studies say sids was the fire resistent chemicals in the matresses. get a cover. my son still sleeps on his tummy. as soon as i let him he started sleeping all night with in about a week. some babies hate their backs.

I have a downs cover on my bed then the matress cover and then my sheets. I wash them in her detergent only because I do put her on my bed while I'm dressing or what not and she had been in my bed but for the past two and a half weeks she has been in her crib (yippee) On her crib I have a mattress saver too. So she isn't on the matress at all. Thanks for your response. I feel like a horrible Mother because a lot of people tell me I am putting her at risks but like her dad said... SIDS isn't a disease it is something that happens and they don't know why. And like another poster said she could die of SIDS in my arms. I know I shouldn't let what people say get to me but then it makes me question my parenting even though it IS working for us.

Amy, you are NOT a bad mother. You are doing what works for your baby. Do keep in mind that the risk of SIDS for a tummy sleeping newborn is not even anywhere close to 1%! If it were 1 in 10 I would say do anything you can to keep her on her back, but its no even close to that. I also wanted to tell you that you are not alone. I have read that between 70 and 80% of all parents eventually end up putting their infants to sleep on their tummies.

Nancy

Thank you Nancy......I needed to hear that!

You are not a bad mother. I tell people he sleeps on his tummy and they look at me like i am crazy. Every baby is different. Good luck.

I put my kids on their stomachs from about 4 weeks on. They absolutely did not like back sleeping. As long as they can lift their heads up it should be ok to put the baby on the stomach.

Another alternative is "side" sleeping. You can by a "wedge" type that keeps the baby in that position. You can also roll a bundle of receiving blankets together and tuck under baby's back.

I never cared for back-to-sleep positions. Its easier to put them on their stomach or side so anything that comes up from the stomach can't choke them. Good luck on what you decide. There are many different options that are safe and practical.