My baby sleeps face-down!?

Question

No matter how I lay my 6-month-old baby down at night, he rolls over onto his stomach and sleeps face down in his crib. It's driving me crazy because I can't sleep at night. I'm so afraid he won't be able to breathe...If I could just get him to turn his head to the side, I would feel much better. Does anyone else's baby do this?

Answer 1

Babies sleep in the oddest positions; it's hard to believe that they could be comfortable!!

You can't really control how your baby positions himself at night, except by staying up all night and constantly moving him. In this case, *neither* of you will get much sleep!

Since he is 6 months old, he presumably has pretty good head control. If he were to have trouble breathing, he would just move his head! So suffocation is pretty low risk. (In fact, most babies have good enough head control when lying down *from birth* that it's not usually a problem unless there is heavy bedding that they don't have the strength to move.) And he's past the peak period for SIDS, too. (Most SIDS deaths occur with babies 2-4 months old, and by 6 months, the number drops still further.)

If you are really concerned, you could put him in your bed instead of in a crib. Adult mattresses aren't plastic, so they are more breathable, plus you'd be right there next to him to make sure he's okay. But I doubt there's a real problem.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

My baby is almost 5 months old and he does the same thing! I have even sat by his crib for an hour and turned his head every time he put face down. Im not as worried about it any more because hes been doing it for a couple months and hes still breathing!

Answer 4

OK I am gonna tell you how much sleep I lost when my son was younger. I used to sleep with my son and check on him so often because I was so worried. I told my doctor this and he said starting at 6 months old it is less likely for SIDS to occur because your baby can finally realize the air is not coming into the body and he can gasp for air like adults can do. He said really that there would be high suspicion towards the parent if the child dies in a SIDS manner. The closer to the 1 year mark the less likely the child will die from SIDS. I slept more soundly after that. I don't blame for feeling scared though. But talk to your son DR. maybe that'll help you too

Answer 5

It is a normal thing for the babies to do that. My 12 month old starting rolling over at 4 months and I would always lay her on her back and always found her on herstomach the next morning. She now will sleep anyway she can find comfortable. normally with her butt in the air onher stomach. Dont worry about it. Its a normal part of growing up and parents worrying.

Answer 6

all of my children have slept face down and are okay. They let babies sleep face down for years. I think they found a study showing that SIDS is actually genetically linked somehow. Basically the child doesn't know to move when it isn't getting oxygen. Your little boy will be fine. Just don't let him sleep with cover, toys, etc.. that can get in his face.

Answer 7

Your baby will most likely be fine. If you feel like you need to just turn his little head to the side for him. If he rolls make sure that there is nothing in the bed he can gete tangled up in or smother himself with. Let your baby sleep as he likes....at 6 months you really have nothing to worry about.

Answer 8

If you want to put your baby to sleep in 20 seconds you must get the "Instant Baby Sleep" MP3 sound track. Here is their official web-site: http://www.instantbabysleep.net

The sound track gently produces energy over the full human hearing spectrum with an embedded pulse that gently eases the brain to the Alpha state well known for drowsiness and sleep induction.

Answer 9

If he can roll over and lift his head don't worry. He's old enough now to sleep how he feels comfortable. My son (7 mths) quite often sleeps on his stomach with his face buried under his blankets. It would only be of concern if he wasn't able to roll yet and wasn't able to lift his head up.

Answer 10

I experienced a similar problem when my baby (now 9 months) was around that age. My doctor said that ideally we want them to sleep on their backs, but if they're to the age where they can turn over by themselves, then you shoudn't have to worry too much about them. Just make sure that when you put them to bed at night, make sure you place them on their backs. But, if you are worried about him not turning his head then you might want to look into getting him a sleep positioner.