sleeping on belly - Infant Care (up to 18 months old) Message Board

Noel's girl · 09-23-2006, 10:16 AM

When is it ok to put baby sleeping on there bellies? When is the fear of SIDS supposed to be gone. My girls like sleeping on there bellies (there 8 months) but it makes me nervous to put them to sleep on there stomaches when I am not watching them.

Cookiem26 · 09-23-2006, 07:07 PM

The risk of SIDS is supposed to be highest between 2-4 months but there is a risk all the way through the first year. Since the babies are 8 months old I would think they would be able to roll over and sleep in whatever position they want but I could be wrong. My baby is only 3 months and has only slept on her back, hates tummy time so sorry I'm not much more help. Maybe some others can help you who have tummy sleepers.

BioAdoptMom3 · 09-23-2006, 07:24 PM

At eight months I don't think you really need to be all that worried. I am assuming they are rolling over and putting themselves in that position on their own? Most babies do sleep better on their bellies and though the risk of SIDS is a bit higher, the actual risk during the greatest risk period (two to four months) is not even close to 1%. Even the final paragraph in the AAP statement on sleep position says that the actual risk of SIDS is extremely low, no matter how the baby sleeps. All three of mine were belly sleepers, the first two because they were born before 1992 and the third because it was the only way we could get her to sleep for longer than 20 minutes at a time. DH and I didn't have a problem with it because of our experiences earlier. When I mentioned it to our ped at her two month check up she told me that as long as I had tried and it didn't work not to sweat it because a baby actually has a great chance of being struck by lightning than of dying of SIDS on his or her tummy.

Nancy

Jordyn · 09-24-2006, 06:35 AM

As long as they can get themselves in and out of the position they like to sleep in (ie on their tummies) it is o.k. to let them sleep that way. Atlleast that is according to my ds#1's doctor and his physiotherapist. Because he had a gross motor delay and didn't roll at all till he was 6-7 months old it was never really a concern for us but once he mastered the rolling then he wanted to be on his tummy when sleeping. I always put him down on his back and let him choose how he wanted to sleep from there.
The fear when they are smaller is that they can't roll over on their own and therefore can't get out of any position should they start to have breathing issues.

j baby · 09-24-2006, 09:11 AM

i woulden't worry about it. mine sleeps on his belly.