Baby Tummy Sleeping
Posted by Nicole on August 5th, 2008
I received a question through my Ask Nicole e-mail address (asknicole [at] picknicksbrain [dot] com) this week. It came at the perfect time because I was contemplating what to write about for my blog posts this week (I try to post every Tuesday and Thursday and have a lot of ideas, but like to vary topics) and it was a good question. The gist of the question is whether it’s OK to put a 9-month old on his tummy to sleep.
First, Back to Sleep
It is highly recommended to place your baby on his back to sleep to reduce the risk of SIDS. If you haven’t already, please review the ten ways to reduce SIDS risk, one of which is to make sure baby sleeps on his back to sleep. Some parents are worried baby will choke on spit-up, but babies will automatically swallow fluids or turn to the side. The #1 way to reduce the risk of SIDS is to put baby “back to sleep”.
When can baby sleep on his tummy?
So, when can we put our babies on their tummy to sleep? Please note you should check with your pediatrician, first and foremost. I am not a doctor, but it is my understanding that once your baby can roll onto her tummy, it is OK to allow her to sleep that way and you do not need to worry about continuously flipping her back over. Dr. Sears’ website states “It does not mean that if your baby sleeps on her tummy she’s going to die of SIDS. Current SIDS rates are around one in a thousand babies; meaning that there’s a 99.9 percent chance your child will remain a healthy little girl regardless of her sleep position.”
Some babies start to roll and don’t like it and wake you up numerous times per night. That is never fun. I was lucky that once my son learned to roll that way, he actually slept better!
But, what about older babies?
Even though SIDS can happen anytime in the first year, the peak risk for SIDS is between 2 and 4 months old and 95% of all cases have occurred before 6 months, so that is probably less of a concern in a baby as old as 9 months old (the question at hand I mentioned at the beginning of this post). Many babies are rolling by 9 months old and likely would roll in their sleep, too.
Should you “force” tummy sleeping to get better sleep?
While encouraging your baby to sleep on his tummy when he hasn’t done it himself can work, it may be difficult to implement. It is best to develop a plan that you can 100% commit to and the #1 question to ask yourself when you consider a plan such as this, is whether you can stand at the crib and rub/pat his back for 2 hours. Of course, most babies probably will not take that long, but in most cases, if you had to visit this site, you do not have an “easy” sleeper and thus, certain methods may take a little longer than with other babies (especially in this case if he isn’t used to sleeping on his tummy). While some may drift off to sleep in 5-10 minutes, yours might take 30, 60 or 90 minutes. The #1 key is to be consistent with your plan, so make sure whatever you choose to do, you feel 100% committed you can stick with it for as long as it takes and then hope he doesn’t take that long. 
Of course, you will never know unless you try, either.
However, as with any method, you should be very careful not to create yet another sleep association that you will need to break. Don’t break one sleep association in exchange for another. That’s very important!
When did your baby start to sleep on his tummy?
Tags: baby back to sleep, baby sleep, baby sleep on tummy, baby sleeping on stomach, baby tummy, baby tummy sleep, infant sleep, position to sleep, sleep infants, sleep on tummy, tummy sleep, tummy sleeping
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August 6th, 2008
Love your article! I’d like to offer one clarification. Parents should always place their baby to sleep on his or her back, then allow the baby to adopt whatever position her or she feels most comfortable. We also want to make a distinction between “flippers” and “rollers” . A “flipper” is an infant that can only roll to one position. A “Roller” is a baby that can freely move from back to tummy and tummy to back at will. Once the baby is freely rolling, we let them adopt whatever position they are comfortable with in a safe crib (no bumpers, pillows, quilts, stuffed animals etc.)
“Flippers” are inexperineced rollers. They can get into trouble and not be able to get out. You MIGHT consider repositioning that child if you happen to find him or her on the tummy. Most important, tummy time play during the day. That assists babies of all ages with their upper body strength, torso rotation and development. Enjoy your baby!
August 6th, 2008
@Pam Thank you so much for commenting! Reducing SIDS risks is very important, so I’m so glad you added this valuable information from SIDS of Illinois.
Nicoles last blog post..Is Your Kid Cute?
August 11th, 2008
Thanks for the posting.
January 15th, 2010
I confess my husband and I allowed our baby to sleep on her front right from the beginning. We fought getting her to sleep in the crib for two weeks, but she wouldn’t. I was exhausted because she would only sleep if I held her. Finally, a friend came over, put her on her stomach in the crib, and Emma slept for 2 hours!!!!!
So now, I have the opposite problem… she flips over on to her back and then can’t stay asleep. How do I help her?
BTW, part of the reason she couldn’t/can’t sleep on her back is because her hands move so much she wakes herself up. I know Swaddling was supposed to help that. But if we swaddle her with both arms inside the blanket, she screams, kicks and twists until she gets her hand free. (She was ok with being swaddled, as long as at least one hand was free.)
January 15th, 2010
Jesica,
The great thing about being a parent is that you get to make the decisions. You weighed the information available to you then decided that for your child, belly sleeping worked best. That’s your right as a parent.
You don’t say how old your daughter is, but I’d say that your answer is tummy time while she is awake and observed. Tummy time will allow her to develop the skill of rolling completely around so that she can assume any position that she likes rather than getting stuck on her back.
Once a baby has begun to roll, swaddling is no longer recommended.
Good luck!
January 15th, 2010
Thanks!
She’s almost 5 months now. She can roll back over, but I am not sure she knows it yet. As a matter of fact, I think it’s only been a week or two that she realizes she can (intentionally) roll to her back. I will continue to encourage her to roll back to her front. Thanks for your help!
January 29th, 2010
@Jesica Thank you for sharing your story. I agree with Pam.
@Pam Thank you for chiming in!
June 19th, 2010
ummm this whole thing with SIDS is bullsh*t as u r born with SIDS it has nothing to do with sleeping… SIDS is caused from a chemical in the brain stem which if your body does not produce enough of u die… if ur baby dies from anything else then its called suffocation…. NOT SIDS! this is not like a personal attack on u or anything… my mhn still craps on about safe sleeping and SIDS, but i no it bullsh*t
June 21st, 2010
Roxie,
Our researchers have not proven that you are “born with SIDS”. We do believe that our SIDS babies have a vulnerability that other babies don’t have and it may very well be a lower level of serotonin but we don’t believe that a baby is doomed because of these lower levels.
We have proven successfully over the last 15 years that placing a baby on his or her back does work. Otherwise, the number of deaths due to SIDS would not have fallen more than 50%. Research shows that about 97% of the babies that die have a least one known risk factor and over 80% have at least two risk factors.
Something as simple as placing baby on his or her back could save a life. Isn’t it worth it?
June 22nd, 2010
@Roxie I understand you feel strongly that SIDS is not real or that babies are born with it, but it is real and it is not the same as suffocation. They rule that out and a baby who dies from SIDS can’t be explained. They are still researching all of the causes of SIDS, but they have studied ways to limit your baby’s risk. Some babies may still die, even if you follow all of the advice and some babies won’t even if you break all of the “rules”, but to limit your risk, it’s best to use what years and years of research has told us: Babies sleeping on their backs have lower risk. If that one decision is all a parent makes and it saves their baby’s life, isn’t it a good thing to pass on? I think that’s why the person you are referring to is trying to share with you safe sleeping tips, so you don’t have to go through what 2,500 moms will go through this year in the U.S. Read more here: http://www.sids.org/
July 22nd, 2010
Hmmm Roxie
Wish you’d have been at the coroner’s office and performed my daughter’s autopsy, perhaps her death certificate wouldn’t be blank. You clearly have found the reason for this awful syndrome, or perhaps it isn’t a syndrome anymore since you know why babies die.
All babies should be placed on their backs to sleep regardless of age or ability to roll. They can in fact become stuck in the tummy position, especially when the covers get caught over their heads.
When a baby dies of suffocation, there is haemoraging behind the eyes, that’s how an autopsy can rule out suffocation as SIDS babies don’t have this haemoraging.
Just my two cents worth.
July 23rd, 2010
@Tracy I am so sorry for your loss!
I will add that you should not use covers with a baby and instead use a sleep sack. We don’t want anything going over their faces and tiny airways, so it is recommended to keep the crib free of anything “free” that can cover a baby like a stuffed animal, blankets, etc. Thank you for sharing your story and I’m sorry about the other reader’s insensitivity.