I have an almost 9 week old. He has been a horrible daytime sleeper. He will sleep 20-30 minutes then wake up. He does this sporadically throughout the day. He gets very cranky because he is so tired. He does ok at night although not great. He is up 2-3 times a night. Yesterday I tried everything I could think of to get him to sleep during the day with no luck. Then out of curiosity I put him on his stomach and he was out like a light. He sleep for 3 hours which is unheard of for him. I laid him on his back like usual last night and it was a typical night. Today I have put him on his stomach again and it is a huge difference. I know the dangers in doing this and don't feel comfortable doing it at night. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I have a similar problem, my little one wont sleep on her back or stomach!! The only way she will sleep is in her papasan cradle swin or car seat (she has to have her head and feet elevated). She is now 5 wks old and has only slept in those 2 places....I wonder if we will ever get her in her crib or pack n play.

If mine would sleep on her stomach, I would maybe do it during the day, when I am there to keep a very close eye on her, but I wouldnt do it at night either.

how good is his head control? if you feel he can move it pretty good and not face plant in the middle of thenight i say go for it! you sound like your describing my second son who is only 13 months now, napping and all was the same! you know why he was so cranky, it turned out before he was four months old his two bottom teeth came through!!! both my babies slept on their belly from about 2 weeks on.

Try a sleep postioner. I think, for the most part, babies don't like sleeping flat on their backs. Who would?! My son didn't sleep for very long when he was that little either, until we started using a sleep postioner. He loved it. Once he was able to roll over by himself, we stopped using it. You can get them at Wal-Mart for pretty cheap.

My daughter didn't have that many issues sleeping in the beginning but did start getting cranky once in a while, wanting to be rocked laying on me (on her belly). I, like you, was worried about putting her on her belly so I tried laying her on her side (with a sleep positioner) and she LOVED it! It was the only way she'd fall asleep for a LONG time after that. She was late in rolling over, and I thought it was due to the sleep positioner, so I stopped using it after she was about 5 months old. Then, when she rolled over on her own, I didn't worry anymore. From that point on, she still sleeps ALL the time on her belly. Only once in a while for a nap, she will fall asleep on her back. She is a year old today!

I often let my son sleep on his stomach at a young age - but only for naps where I could keep a close eye on him. I think by 6 months I had him fully on his stomach - for naps and night sleeping.

I also suggest the sleep positioner - and putting your son on his side. My son moved around a lot though so this didn't help us much.

I know many people who have let their babies sleep on their stomachs and it is just something you can decide on, based on how comfortable you feel. I personally don't believe SIDS is caused by stomach sleeping if that is what you are worried about.

Sorry I can't be of more help!

What is a "sleep positioner"? Does it do something special?

a sleep positioner is basically 2 triangle cushions on each side attached by a piece of fabric in the middle. You can adjust mine with velcro enclosures. It helps keep the baby still, either on their side or so they don't roll over. You can also achieve the same results with 2 rolled up receiving blankets on each side, but nothing too close to their face. ;)

When DD was that age she was the same way. I let her sleep like that for naps right by me. I kept a constant eye on her, and she got a great sleep. She now at 10months rolls herself onto her tummy to sleep.

Jeremy sleeps best on his tummy too. During the day he takes his naps on his tummy and i kep a close eye on him. At night i put him to sleep on his tummy as soon as i see that he is sound asleep i turn him on his back.Up to now this has worked.He has very good head control.

Finally i think you have to do what you feel comfortable with

AMy

I agree with the other posters. Do what you feel most comfortable with. If your little one has good head control, and is able to turn it from side to side while on his belly (most babies can do this with ease by 9 weeks, if they have a lot of tummy time), I wouldn't worry about sleeping him on his tummy.
My ds was a terrible sleeper as well until he was about 3 or 4 months old. One night, unbeknownst to me, dh put him to bed on his tummy and he slept for 6 hours straight! Since that day we've been putting him to bed (nap, or bedtime) on his tummy, and he's been a great sleeper ever since. He's now 12.5 months old, and still loves to sleep that way, although now he's big enough to position himself so he's comfortable. Also, we had a problem with him having a flat spot on his head when he was about 2 or 3 months old, because when he slept on his back, he ALWAYS, always turned his head to one side. They thought it might be due to a lack of muscle strength in one side of his neck, so he just naturally turned it to that side, but it turned out that he was just more comfortable that way. We tried a sleep positioner, but he wouldn't sleep that way, he just cried until we repositioned him to his back (this was before we figured out he was a hard-core tummy sleeper). But anyways, the flat spot rounded out soon after he began sleeping on his belly.
Someone gave me wonderful advice when I was pregnant, and that was that YOU are the parent, and ultimately responsible for every single descision, and you have to be comforable with whatever descision you make. They used to tell parents to place the baby on their tummy to sleep because if they spit up, they wouldn't choke on it. Now they say to place the babies on their backs for different reasons, but the point is that "professional" opinions change all the time, so do what you feel is right for you and your baby.
Good luck!

Whiskers :)