my son is 6 months old and he wants to sleep on his side??

Question

my son is 6 months old nearly seven and everytime i put him in his cot at night he seems to allways roll to the side and as soon as he does he falls straight asleep i wait untill hes asleep and i put him back on his back. but he always prefers to sleep on his side. is anyone elses babies like this? what do you all think about babies sleeping on their sides?

Answer 1

It's okay for him to sleep on his side. Mine loves sleeping on his side. He hates sleeping on his back. He went through a period where he wanted to sleep on his stomach on one of those wedge things too.

Answer 2

I am answering this because there are some inaccurate answers listed above. Several people noted that they let their babies sleep on their sides from a very young age; however side sleeping increases the risk of SIDS. Here (http://www.bmj.com/archive/7051pr.htm#1) is a scientific study in the British Medical Journal showing that the risk of SIDS for side sleeping infants is DOUBLE that of infants sleeping on their backs. Just because many parents have let their children sleep in their sides and those babies have not died does NOT mean that side sleeping is “totally safe.” You should not put very young babies to sleep on their sides.
That being said, most SIDS deaths occur between 2-4 months, so at 6 months there is less risk. You should ask your doctor.
One person said “I actually think its safer than laying them on their back because if they spit up they can choke if on their back, but if their on their side it can come out.” This is not true: scientific evidence has not shown any increased danger of choking when normal, healthy babies are put on their back (http://www.naeyc.org/ece/1998/12.asp; http://pediatrics.about.com/library/blbacktosleep.htm), but it has shown increased risk of SIDS when babies are not put on their back. Put the baby on its back to avoid the real, documented risk, rather than avoiding one that has never been shown to exist.
Finally, to the person that said “when i was a baby, women were told that babies needed to sleep on their stomachs to avoid SIDS. now it is back. it will probably change again in a few years”: You are ignoring the fact that the old advice was not based on medical research and the new advice is based on extensive research. Since the “Back to Sleep” campaign was started in the early 1990’s, SIDS deaths have declined by 50% (http://www.nichd.nih.gov/sids/). Given these figures, I think it is very unlikely that doctors’ advice will change again.

Answer 3

He's at the age where he can roll over and sleep however he is most comfortable. It's not problem, you don't have to worry. My daughter was a tummy baby and slept the whole night at about 7 weeks when she started sleeping on her tummy. I watched her during nap time to make sure she could lift and turn her head and once I knew she could during naps, I started placing her on her tummy for all night long. Before she slept on her tummy, I would prop her up on her side a little bit so she wouldn't get a flat head from sleeping on her back.

Answer 4

My daughter is 7 months and does exactly the same. I put her down on her back, and then when i check on her shes on her side. Then she moves from side to side.

It is a worry to parents when their child first starts moving in their sleep but its perfectly normal and safe. Just make sure you have no teddies or toys in his cot! At 6 months he will be able to move himself anyway and the risk of SIDS has reduced at this point!

Answer 5

Let him. The risk for SIDS is almost 0 for babies over 6 months. If he is comfortable like that why mess with happiness. I had to sign a waiver at the daycare b/c my son moves all around while he slept and they kept putting him on his back, waking him up.

Answer 6

Once a baby can roll from front to back consistently they can choose their sleep positions.

http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/DS/00145.html
Put your baby to sleep on his or her back. Place your baby to sleep resting on his or her back, rather than on the stomach or side. This isn't necessary when your baby's awake or able to roll over both ways without your help. By the time your baby has learned to roll over, the risk of SIDS has decreased.


http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/general/sleep/sids.html
Of course, once babies can roll over consistently — usually around 4 to 7 months — they may choose not to stay on their backs all night long. At this point, it's fine to let babies pick a sleep position on their own.

Answer 7

My Bay was exactly the same because he had reflux. Sleeping on his side helped stop the acid from coming out of his stomach and up his oesophagus, burning it.

Unless your baby can roll over it is not a safe position for him to sleep in. If he rolls onto his tummy and his face a flat into the mattress how is he going to push himself over and clear his airways!!!

When he has enough strength in his neck and he can roll over this is no longer a problem as he will automatically push himself off his tummy if he can not breath properly. Not that he will roll onto his tummy but you never know.

As he obviously prefers sleeping on his side you must make it as safe for him as possible (until he can roll).

Have a look at the baby sleep positioner:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-First-Years-Y5202-Sensations/dp/B000HK89GA

This keeps you baby in the same position and stops him from rolling onto his tummy. Staying in the position he likes.

In the mean time you can practise rolling onto his front from his back and side during the day to speed the rolling process up.

Answer 8

My daughter has rolled on her side to sleep every since day 2. Day 1 I held her all night. If she is going to sleep better on her side I let her, but she is sleeping in a crib. Have you let him sleep on his side. Does he toss and turn?? If not let him, but if he does the only thing that would concern me is that he is on a cot. why?

Answer 9

My baby has slept on his side since he was 5 months old. It's absolutely fine and totally safe. Just let him sleep like that.

Answer 10

My son likes to side sleep also. I think it is fine. I check on him so often and even though SIDS is a risk, they are stronger and have good head control and can turn their heads easier at this age. I just think it is their own preference, just like us. Not to mention, sleeping flat on your back with no pillow cannot be that comfortable! :)