# newborn likes tummy and side sleeping



## mrsfrenchy (Apr 14, 2008)

my 2.5 week old DD is cosleeping with us and spends most of the night snuggled up against me. But often, when I wake up, she's on her side (almost on her tummy). I put her in her crib for a little while this morning while I was folding clothes and she flipped over to her side then too.

Should I worry about this? She's obviously more comfortable that way. Her startle reflex doesn't bother her as much. And she has more control over her arms/hands that way(she's trying sooooo hard to get her thumb in her mouth and keep it there)

She has pretty good head/neck control for a 2.5 week old, but obviously, it's still not as impressive as a 3 or 4 month olds would be.

So would you let her sleep like this? Keep flipping her over? I'm not sure what to do...


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## veronicalynne (Nov 4, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mrsfrenchy* 
my 2.5 week old DD is cosleeping with us and spends most of the night snuggled up against me. But often, when I wake up, she's on her side (almost on her tummy). I put her in her crib for a little while this morning while I was folding clothes and she flipped over to her side then too.

Should I worry about this? She's obviously more comfortable that way. Her startle reflex doesn't bother her as much. And she has more control over her arms/hands that way(she's trying sooooo hard to get her thumb in her mouth and keep it there)

She has pretty good head/neck control for a 2.5 week old, but obviously, it's still not as impressive as a 3 or 4 month olds would be.

So would you let her sleep like this? Keep flipping her over? I'm not sure what to do...


I had the same thing with my baby about the same age. I was not comfortable her sleeping on her tummy at that early an age so I kept turning her to her back whenever I saw her sleeping that way and also made sure there were no blankets or anything that could block her breathing. When she got a bit older........I think when she was able to flip back and forth when she was awake, I still sometimes would try to turn her over but I didnt obsess about it like I did when she was younger. She is now 20 months and is definitely a tummy sleeper so I let her sleep that way now if she wants to but I still make sure about the blankets or pillows etc. In short, I personally was too afraid to let her sleep on her tummy when she was so young but that is just me


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## zoeyzoo (Jul 6, 2007)

I let my dd sleep on her side from birth. She won't fall asleep on her back unless she is proped up in a pillow (like a Boppy). I would just make sure her lower arm was straight out under her... that way she couldn't roll onto her tummy.. she could only roll onto her back.


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## JesseMomme (Apr 6, 2002)

If she's comfy sleeping that way, then let her. Some of my babies were side and tummy sleepers, I'd just be sure that their sleeping space was safe (like no pillows too close to the head, etc).


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## Rogelito's Mommy (Mar 13, 2008)

Ds always slept (sleeps) on his side. He never liked sleeping on his back. When he was really little I would just make sure his lower arm was out in front of him so he couldn't flip to his stomach and make sure there were no pillows/blankets around. I think it is fine.


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## mean_jeannie (Mar 3, 2007)

I had a side sleeper here, too. That little would also make me nervous in bed - until ds was 6 weeks he was next to the bed in a side-carred bassinet my dh rigged.

But ds never flipped all the way over until much later. So as long as you take the proper precautions with blankets and pillows, etc, I am inclined to agree with PPs.


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## elizalegs (Apr 16, 2008)

My two-month old HATED sleeping on her back but I would usually wait until she got a really deep sleep and then put her in between those wedge pillows designed to keep them from rolling. She still wakes up more easily from being on her back, but it helps if I'm trying to sleep to have those pillows. I don't feel comfortable leaving her on her belly unless I'm supervising. If I leave her on her side, I pull her arm out (the one she's leaning on) 90 degrees from her body because I read it's impossible for her to roll over when the arm is out like that. Congratulations! Don't worry too much


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## tuscany123 (Feb 15, 2004)

DH and I decided early on to let DS sleep on his tummy - even though we are both scared of SIDS. However, DS has made it clear that he wants to sleep on his tummy only, so that's how he sleeps. I have had limited success in getting him to sleep on his back, or side, with those wedge-shaped sleep positioners - or swaddling him. He just squirms, unless placed on his tummy. I have made my peace with it, and just keep a really, really close eye on him.


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## anitakidcrazy (Jul 25, 2007)

My little girl...now 4 months, has been a tummy sleeper since the beginning and I'm never worried about her because we cosleep and I make sure her sleeping space is safe. She was a breech baby, so I think she had a lot of practice holding her head up in vitro...it was strong from the get go. Just make sure not to have any loose blankets, pillows, etc. near her and keep an eye on her in the beginning.


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## wannabe (Jul 4, 2005)

Keep flipping her over.

Babies do like to tummy sleep, but it increases the risk of SIDS.


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## senmom (Jan 12, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mrsfrenchy* 
my 2.5 week old DD is cosleeping with us and spends most of the night snuggled up against me. But often, when I wake up, she's on her side (almost on her tummy). I put her in her crib for a little while this morning while I was folding clothes and she flipped over to her side then too.

Should I worry about this? She's obviously more comfortable that way. Her startle reflex doesn't bother her as much. And she has more control over her arms/hands that way(she's trying sooooo hard to get her thumb in her mouth and keep it there)

She has pretty good head/neck control for a 2.5 week old, but obviously, it's still not as impressive as a 3 or 4 month olds would be.

So would you let her sleep like this? Keep flipping her over? I'm not sure what to do...

You need to go with your "gut" feeling. All of my children slept on their stomachs. DD 3/4/96 BF for 15 mths, DS 11/18/97 BF for 7 mths, DD 5/1/00 BF for 11 mths. All doing fabulous, healthy, athletic! They slept with us, and were happier on their tummies.


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## S.Raine-Drop (Apr 5, 2008)

Ah, I have a strict tummy only sleeper here too. The ONLY time she will sleep on her back is when I have her in her boppy in bed with me after she wakes up for the first time in the morning, that's just how she naps and only for about an hour or two at a time, at MOST. Then at about 3 or 4pm after her last nap there's nooo getting her to sleep any way except on tummy. We are ALL afraid of SIDS but some babies have their own agenda and we just have to accept things where we can.

I've been told the Angel Care monitors are amazing, especially if/when you don't co sleep. They're pricey but I'm sure they're worth it!!


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## megan sacha (Oct 24, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *BabyBlanketGawki* 
I've been told the Angel Care monitors are amazing, especially if/when you don't co sleep. They're pricey but I'm sure they're worth it!!

Almost all babies prefer to be in a stomach or side lying position but they ALWAYS be put to sleep on their backs (these other positions are fine when they are awake though). Once they get older and start flipping onto their tummy you can't realistically keep putting them back onto their backs. But with such a young baby I would put them down between the wedge pillows so that they can't roll onto tummy. Our son too would wiggle up onto his side and then we'd just adjust the wedge to make sure he couldn't roll all the way over. We used this in our bed too since he liked to snuggle up and then ended up on his tummy a few times, freaking us out.

As for the Angel Care monitor, I think it's a total waste of money. If your baby were to stop breathing because they had died of SIDS, there would be nothing you could do about it when the alarm went off. Even when babies have a SIDS episode in a hospital, with all the hospital personnel right there, nothing can be done to stop it as we don't even know what causes SIDS. These babies die too despite being in a hospital. SIDS is VERY rare, but if it happens to your baby, nothing can stop it, even the Angel Care monitor.


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## S.Raine-Drop (Apr 5, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *megan sacha* 
Almost all babies prefer to be in a stomach or side lying position but they ALWAYS be put to sleep on their backs (these other positions are fine when they are awake though). Once they get older and start flipping onto their tummy you can't realistically keep putting them back onto their backs. But with such a young baby I would put them down between the wedge pillows so that they can't roll onto tummy. Our son too would wiggle up onto his side and then we'd just adjust the wedge to make sure he couldn't roll all the way over. We used this in our bed too since he liked to snuggle up and then ended up on his tummy a few times, freaking us out.

As for the Angel Care monitor, I think it's a total waste of money. If your baby were to stop breathing because they had died of SIDS, there would be nothing you could do about it when the alarm went off. Even when babies have a SIDS episode in a hospital, with all the hospital personnel right there, nothing can be done to stop it as we don't even know what causes SIDS. These babies die too despite being in a hospital. SIDS is VERY rare, but if it happens to your baby, nothing can stop it, even the Angel Care monitor.


Waking up on average every 45 minutes every single night, is too much for my husband and I to handle so we let her sleep how _she_ prefers. One of my good friends has a success story with the Angel Care monitors and if I were really worried about the sleeping position of my little one I would gladly spend the money for what little reassurance it can bring.


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## jadzia's_mommy (Jun 9, 2005)

With both my newborn girls, I let them sleep on their sides but I had them so they were either between a wedge, or else they were propped against my body against their tummy (nursing in their sleep). Sometimes I'd even roll a blanket up and lay it between us if that wasn't enough (low enough that it wouldn't be anywhere near their face). It puts them at a weird angle for nursing purposes, but it was comfortable. Oh, and we'd sometimes sleep with me on my back and baby on my chest, tummy down. DD#1 liked to do that more than DD#2.

I talked to our ped about it and he said both options were totally safe. I have a very pro-co-sleeping ped, so I'm not sure all doctors would say that!


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## SarahGuinn (Mar 6, 2002)

My boys both *loved* to sleep on their bellies from birth but I love them very much and decided to suck it up and let them do that on *my* belly until they were old enough to pass the sids risk. My oldest didn't sleep without being on my belly until he was 3 days shy of a year, he was/is a horrible sleeper but my youngest stopped being on me at about 6 months and still belly sleeps with his pillow in the exact same position at almost 4 now.

All babies like it, it lets them sleep deeper and lets the parent sleep more, both of which increases the risk of sids.


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## _betsy_ (Jun 29, 2004)

Babies sleep better/longer on their tummies or side, but current conventional wisdom and study after study says back sleeping is safer.

DD is 22 months, and has always been a side sleeper. We gave up trying to keep her on her back when she was about 6 weeks old, and we all slept better. She'd stay on her side between feedings, which I always thought was pretty neat.

Now, at 22 months, she's a belly sleeper, just like her father.

You have to do what feels right to you.


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