Back or side sleeping

I put them to bed in whichever way was most comfortable for them. My first two were belly sleepers, they wouldn't not sleep any other way. My third was a back sleeper. Pray and Trust God.

Adding: there are so many things that you shouldn't do yet they all contradict themselves. Sleeping on their belly MAY cause sids, sleeping on their backs they can throw up and choke, sleeping on their side their lungs can't move properly. Co Sleeping, you might roll over on them. Crib sleeping they might get their head caught between the slats, but don't use a crib bumper b/c they can get caught up in it. It is no wonder so many more moms suffer from PPD these days. Their hormones are out of whack and everywhere they turn someone is telling them NOT to do something.

My daugher is now 6 so it was OK to let her sleep on her side at the time. Now they say no. I really don't know what to do. I prefer the side sleeping. Uggggg!

When my daughter was born 4 years ago it was "back to sleep". A far as I know that's still the recommendation.

All I've heard says either back or side. You can buy a foam thingy to prop them on so they don't roll over onto the stomach. Or a giant foam thingy to put under the matress, which elevates the head end a little, for back sleepers.

My first, I was very careful to only put on her back. #2 was 3 weeks early, loved to cuddle up, and really liked being on her stomach. 3 &4 both were rolling over by 2 weeks old, so it didn't matter which way I put them down, they would flip over anyway.

If the current medical advice doesn't make sense to you, find out why they say it, and then decide for yourself if it's worth bothering about. That's my opinion, anyway.

I'm with Mrs.A2J on this one....(since our girls are nearly the same age!)...back to sleep...but it depends on the child as well. My niece would NOT sleep on her back or side, she could only sleep on her tummy.

Back to sleep is the current recommendation. I have a 4 mo old. When he spits up and he's on his back he has no trouble getting it out of his mouth. Trust me, he manages to get it everywhere.

All 3 of mine have been "back to sleep" babies and the only thing we've remotely had a problem with was getting a flat spot an our 2nd's head. Our other 2 had no probelms. You're supposed to vary where you lay their head in the crib and alternate which end you put their head at. Babies will tend to find one spot in the room they like to look at and varying head placement helps from having them always laying on the same spot on their head.

I put my 9 month old on her back when she was a newborn and even now I do. She rolls over and sleeps any way she wants to now, regardless of how I lay her down. I just always make sure the blanket is not by her head and that her face isn't in the matress. I think the risk of SIDS decreases quite a bit once they can roll both ways.

oliveplants said:

All I've heard says either back or side. You can buy a foam thingy to prop them on so they don't roll over onto the stomach. Or a giant foam thingy to put under the matress, which elevates the head end a little, for back sleepers.

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The side sleeper helpers are now a "no-no"...They were fine when I had my first child 4 years ago but all Dr. and Nurses told me NOT to use them with my second child.


I had two kids who ALWAYS spit up and had a tough time getting it out. I found that having them slightly on their side was the best way...
I had a foam "roller" that they rested their backs on at an angle and they were fine. I told their pediatrician and he said it was fine so I guess it comes down to what you feel is right...

BJWS said:

The side sleeper helpers are now a "no-no"...They were fine when I had my first child 4 years ago but all Dr. and Nurses told me NOT to use them with my second child.


I had two kids who ALWAYS spit up and had a tough time getting it out. I found that having them slightly on their side was the best way...
I had a foam "roller" that they rested their backs on at an angle and they were fine. I told their pediatrician and he said it was fine so I guess it comes down to what you feel is right...

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Why are they a no-no.

With both of my kids, they slept better on their sides.

here it is recommended to put them on their backs. I do agree, but also see no problem with them on their sides so long as they CANNOT roll on to their tummy. Particularly when they are really young and cannot lift their heads off the mattress.

It is "back to sleep" .... when a child is old enough to roll onto their side then they are old enough to sleep on their side though (in my humble opinion) .... david always slept on his back as a tiny one but his head was *always* looking to one side... I don't think they come tiny enough that they can't turn their head to one side.

This is why we have a generation of flat-headed children. Really.

Babies MUST be rotated to prevent flat heads. You wrap the baby up like a little burrito, nice and tight, and then rotate them each nap or night time. Left side, back, right side, left, back, right, etc.

OH, and don't waste your money on side sleeper things. Just take receiving blankets and roll them up nice and tight. Use them to prop the babies back and tummy (placed against the tummy and legs, not up to his/her face). It's how they do it in the hospitals. Which is where I learned about rotating to prevent flat heads.

alternate which end you put their head at

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This is why we have a generation of flat-headed children. Really.

Babies MUST be rotated to prevent flat heads. You wrap the baby up like a little burrito, nice and tight, and then rotate them each nap or night time. Left side, back, right side, left, back, right, etc.

OH, and don't waste your money on side sleeper things. Just take receiving blankets and roll them up nice and tight. Use them to prop the babies back and tummy (placed against the tummy and legs, not up to his/her face). It's how they do it in the hospitals. Which is where I learned about rotating to prevent flat heads.

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Exactly what I was going to say. My niece just finished wearing a head shaping orthopedic device for almost a year. I think a combination of rotating and what they like is what worked best for us. Eleanor slept through the train that went by our house and in any position. Thomas never slept longer than an hour or two straight till we flipped him onto his tummy... that first night he slept 6 hours and we were sure this was how he needed to sleep.

Huh.... I guess David turned his head to both sides automatically... he always has been an active sleeper, he gets it from his momma. He had/has such a perfectly round head people thought I had a cesarian, which I did not. I never really thought about it.

When my babies were babies 7 and 8 years ago it was back sleeping, so they slept on their backs . . . . neither of them have flat heads.

I'm not liking the sound of a wedge or rolled up blankets, sounds like a smothering hazzard.

Like Katomi said, since the Back to Sleep campagin, SIDS has been decreased by upwards of 50 percent.

It's important to remember that SIDS is not the same as smothering or suffocation. If a baby is sleeping on its tummy and has its face smashed into a pillow, and dies of suffocation, that's not SIDS.

They don't know exactly what causes SIDS; it's just what happens when a baby stops breathing in its sleep for some unknown reason. A lot of doctors think it's the result of the baby going into deep sleep, its breathing stopping, and not starting up again because the baby is sleeping too deeply and the reflex that causes breathing to resume is not fully developed in young babies. This actually makes sense, since the SIDS rate is the highest for babies at the age when they begin to sleep more deeply. And when a baby sleeps on its tummy, it sleeps more deeply. It stays warmer and makes it harder for the little thing to wake, so that's supposedly why SIDS is so much more common in babies who sleep on their tummies. Again, SIDS is not about suffocation, smothering, co-sleeping parents overlying, etc.--although, of course, those are things to watch out for as well.

That said, I have read that if your baby always decides to roll over onto her side or tummy, don't stress--even then, SIDS is rare, especially if you are without the risk factors (e.g, preemies, smoking in the house, etc.).

Natalie slept on her back until she was about 4 months old. Then it was side or stomach...whichever way she rolled.

My kids slept however they were when detached from the breast.

I am lucky that Dan, my 22 yo survived. He slept on his tummy, with me, in a waterbed, on a down comforter with a cat

My 7 year old slept on her belly propped up on a pillow, lol. Probably not the best plan for an infant, but it worked for her. She was a great sleeper.

My little one was a side sleeper...we used the wedge thingy.