How horrible am I?

[samsam23]

My son will be 9 weeks on Thursday and seems to only sleep if he is placed on his stomach. He is so good with being able to lift his head, turn it from side to side and hold it up... Is it crazy bad for me to let him sleep during the night like this?

 

[jessmke]

My DD is 4 weeks old and she really likes to lay on her stomach, especially if she is gassy. I will let her nap on her stomach on the couch during the day if I am sitting on the couch next to her, but I would be too nervous to let her sleep on the stomach through the night. She has phenomenal head control and can hold her head up and turn it from side to side when she is on her stomach, but still I don't think I would get any sleep if she was sleeping on her stomach, I would be too worried about her. I'm sure she would sleep better at night if she were on her stomach, but until she is able to roll on her own I will be putting her to bed on her back.

 

[Witchrose]

You're not horrible in the least. I actually come from the generation that was always put onto our stomachs because the thought was that babies could choke to death on their own spit if left on their backs. Heck, I know that along with having my son sleep on his back, I'm doing a lot of things differently than my mom was told to do. But I ended up fine, as did most of my generation, so I don't see any point in getting hysterical about these things when experts are always changing their minds.

Do your research, consider your baby's health and weight, perhaps discuss the subject with his doctor. But no, you're not horrible.

 

[_Meep_]

Get a baby monitor with a sensor pad that goes off if the baby stops breathing! We've used one from birth and I'm glad of it since our LO chose to sleep on her front as soon as she could get into that position.

It's highly unlikely your baby will have anything happen from sleeping like this. SIDS is, thankfully, rare. But with a monitor, you don't even have to worry about the tiny chance as you know that if it went off, you'd at least be given the chance to do something.

 

[Bebedeux]

My DD sleeps on her belly. Has for the last 3weeks. She sleeps allot better and settles quickly and as soon As DS could move in his cot he was on his belly.

 

[samsam23]

Get a baby monitor with a sensor pad that goes off if the baby stops breathing! We've used one from birth and I'm glad of it since our LO chose to sleep on her front as soon as she could get into that position.

It's highly unlikely your baby will have anything happen from sleeping like this. SIDS is, thankfully, rare. But with a monitor, you don't even have to worry about the tiny chance as you know that if it went off, you'd at least be given the chance to do something.

Thanks u all. U took most of the relief off my chest. He just seems to enjoy it so much and will sleep long lengths that way. I just don't want to be a bad mom. I work full time and also have a 4 year old DD so any extra sleep I get I take.

I started googling SIDS the other day and I think that what freaked me out.

 

[_Meep_]

Perfectly understandable - it's any parent's worst nightmare! I freak myself out all the time by Googling. You're definitely not a bad parent.

 

[wishingonastar]

In SCBU babies are often put on tummies to sleep as it's more relaxing and they get deeper quality sleep. That however is where sids risk comes into it and in scbu they have monitors on them so I agree with above comment on getting a sensor if you do allow tummy sleeping. Then you can have peace of mind x

 

[Elizdia]

I second the baby monitor that senses breathing. It really does ease your worries. My LO liked to sleep on his side, he would not sleep on his back so against what they say, i propped him up on his side. The monitor helped me to keep an eye on him and see he's breathing so i felt comfortable to do this. Your not horrible at all for doing this, its your mothers instinct kicking in and you do whats right for your baby.

 

[Jessicahide]

My son Alexander was the same, would only sleep on his tummy, he suffered very badly with colic, i had a censor pad with the monitor, he is 9 now xx you are doing your best xx but babies are little people, and we cant all do everything the same..

 

[SarahBear]

The recommendation against laying your baby on his belly, isn't about being able to move. It's about how the baby sleeps. It is suspected it may raise the SIDS risk due to causing the baby to sleep more soundly. If you are going to make the choice to let your baby sleep on his belly, I would strongly urge you to make sure your son isn't sleeping alone. Babies shouldn't sleep alone at all, but this is particularly true if you're going to choose to place your baby on his belly. The reason isn't about being able to monitor your baby. The reason is that a baby's breathing is regulated by sleeping where he can sense his mom/parent.