baby won't sleep on back....?

Question

Did anyone have this type of problem?...my daughter will not sleep on her back no matter what. She has been sleeping in her bouncer because when she was a newborn she had that acid reflux and we were told to let her sleep in the bouncer. (it's a papasan vibrating seat) Also as a new mom you know that when you are sleep deprived that whatever it takes to get them to sleep more than 20 min you do it. Well she sleeps really well in her seat but now she is almost 4 months and I have been struggling to get her in the crib. At first I put the bouncer in the crib because she would wake up literally every half hour on her back and so I just gave up and put her in the seat. I just don't know how to get her to sleep on her back. She wakes up at 5 am and she takes a 15 or 20 min nap then she is awake for the whole day and then she will sleep for maybe an hour in the afternoon, sometimes in her bouncer or on my chest ( just so I can get sleep) and then she goes to bed at 9 and wakes at midnight...

and then at 4 then again at 5 and this is while she is the seat if she is just in the crib she wakes every 30 min so I am already sleep deprived and I also work so I just feel like a mom who can't do her job sometimes because everyone else i know their baby went straight to the crib no problems. If she could sleep on her stomach she would sleep through the night and some people have said they just gave up and just put them on their stomach but I can't, I am too worried about sids...any tips would be grateful and experiences from moms would help me feel better thanks a bunch!!

she hasn't rolled over yet, when we give her tummy time she raises her head and stuff but as soon as she gets tired she doesn't get fussy and tries to turn over instead she puts her head down and falls asleep....sound asleep. It was cute at first...lol...

My daughter will be 17 weeks this tuesday. :-)

Answer 1

My children all have slept on their stomach. The way I looked at it they could die from chocking while laying on their backs or they could die from SIDS. I would rather have them die from SIDS. I have three children and they are 17,13 and 11. Each time I had one the information on SIDS was different. They kept changing it from one to the other, back, stomach, back. Letting your baby sleep on her back does not mean that she is going to die. SIDS is unexplained and you never know. They also die from SIDS laying on their backs, it just happens more to babies on their stomaches. If it were me I would let her sleep on her stomach. Good luck.

Answer 2

First of all is your mom nearby or maybe a female relative who has had children they are your greatest asset. As a grandma I can tell you what to do to soothe your baby. First before she sleeps give her a warm bath with lavender and/or chamomile this will relax her. Place her in the crib on her back and place on either side of her a soft pillow or stuffed animal. She needs to feel the security around her. Place a blanket on her swaddled and if you have soft music to play this will also help. New moms and first time moms need to relax and find a support group which includes family. These women may not have all the answers but they can be there if you need a break. Good luck dear and Bless you and your little one.

Answer 3

I know EXACTLY how you feel. EXACT same situation with my son. How old is your baby? I looked at it this way.......they have changed how your baby is "supposed" to sleep so much over so many years....my mom and grandma were told to have them sleep on their tummies so I said I NEED SLEEP...BABY NEEDS SLEEP. My baby hated to sleep on his back. It was almost as if he was very afraid and lost or confused when I put him on his back. I would have to have him sleep on my chest if I wanted to get any sleep...it was the only way. I was miserable. I talked to the doctor and he said let him sleep on tummy during the day when I can watch him. As day by day went on, I finally put him on his stomach. He was so much happier. I was scared too, and hesitant at first and he was about three or four months and I couldn't take it anymore.

Answer 4

i freaked out, too! are you breastfeeding? sounds like it, but if you're not, either way, the baby just wants to be close to you. she was inside of you for a long time: she knows your breathing, your voice, your smell... anything other than YOU is foreign to her. by the way, she will establish her breathing patterns from your breathing patterns, so if she is close enough to you to hear your breathing, she will be fine unless you have sleep apnea or somthing like that. people will tell you over and over again that the time goes by so fast... it really is true! now i long for those times that Jesse laid on my chest. he has never been a textbook baby when it comes to sleeping patterns, eating patterns, etc. none of it! i finally came to the conclusion that no matter how many different ways that people tried to help me, EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT! but, we, too, had unorthodox ways of getting our boy to sleep, and it never really felt like he slept enough (sometimes it still doesn't) my doc said that Jesse could sleep on his side (which he still does most of the time), and that if nothing else worked he could sleep on my chest (chest to chest) that also worked for a while. we used to put the car seat anywhere and everywhere, sometimes on top of the clothes dryer or washing machine. i think your baby want to be close to you, and what's wrong with that? :)

Answer 5

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 6

I would recommend you put your baby to sleep on it's stomach.

Back sleep causes social skills delays at 24 weeks, motor skills delays at 24 weeks, increased episodes of sleep apnea (lack of oxygen to brain), deformational plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome), torticollis (shortening of neck muscles), shoulder retraction, TMJ, and less sleep duration. Stomach sleep causes none of these negative effects and also helps prevent hip subluxation, lessens acid reflux, increases sleep duration by 8%, decreases sleep awakenings by 43% and shortens sleep awakenings when they happen by 40%. Prior to 1993 over 70% of American babies slept on their stomachs, 13% slept on their backs, and the rest slept ontheir side. Also, the SIDS prevention Back to Sleep campaign statistics are misleading, overstated, and not even applicable to 99% of infants.

Also, some of the negative effects of back sleep are associated with other negative health effects. Sleep apnea is associated with infants who are overtired but can't sleep as well as emotional and learning problems. Deformational plagiocephaly is associated with delayed mental development and motor skills delays are associated with speech and language delays and disorders. Since 1993, when the Back sleep campaign began, there has been a 500% increase in deformational plagiocephaly as well as a huge increase in children with emotional problems, learning disabilities, and speech and language disorders. Look at all the babies now wearing orthotic helmets and going to physical therapy as well as all the kids in Special Education.

I personally feel that stomach sleep is far healthier than back sleep. Everyone from babies to Parents needs to go through several sleep stages in order(4 Non-Rapid Eye Movement, 1 Rapid Eye Movement) every night. These 5 stages together are known as a Sleep Cycle and last about 90 minutes and then repeat. Getting proper restorative sleep is very important for physical, mental, and emotional health and it sounds like neither you or your child are getting proper restorative sleep. Personally, I think stomach sleep is far healthier than back sleep considering the negative health effects caused by sleep stage fragmentation. Also, tummy time may help with motor skills improvement and lessening plagiocephaly but it will not lessen the negative emotional and mental effects caused by the sleep stage interruptions. Also you may want to have your baby checked for sleep apnea. If your baby is making grunting sounds, loud snores, or gasping it's likely she has sleep apnea which is worsened by the back sleep position. If it turns out your baby has sleep apnea I would recommend she be put on an nCPAP (nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine. Good Luck.

http://www.oandp.com/edge/issues/articles/2006-12_02.asp

http://cgi.thescientificworld.co.uk/cgi-bin/processHtml.pl?Id=2005.03.71.html&format=Dreamweaver

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1595182

http://www.chestjournal.org/cgi/content/full/116/1/10

Being that you seem to have a lot of multi-tasking to do while at the same time being as good of a mom as you can be I would recommend the following book that has a lot of really good, real-world strategies: "Codependent No More" by Melody Beattie. If you think that book is helpful then I'd also recommend "Bradshaw On: The Family" By John Bradshaw and "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey. Best of Luck! Sorry for writing so much.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

you shouldn't have your baby sleep on its back any way because if she burps up anything it will choke her. so DON'T have her sleep on her back!!!

Answer 9

You should verify this with your pediatrician but I think at 4 months it is ok as long as they are able to roll.