Newborn sleeping on belly

maynooth_rules

Hi,

We have just welcomed home our second born. But he will only sleep on his belly on moses basket. This obviously concerns us as we know its not encouraged, but it's the only way he sleep. Our oldest girl did the same also, mainly because she was in a harness and that was only way she could get comfortable.
What should we do. We have tried persisting with back sleeping but are getting nowhere with it

jlm29

maynooth_rules wrote: »

Hi,

We have just welcomed home our second born. But he will only sleep on his belly on moses basket. This obviously concerns us as we know its not encouraged, but it's the only way he sleep. Our oldest girl did the same also, mainly because she was in a harness and that was only way she could get comfortable.
What should we do. We have tried persisting with back sleeping but are getting nowhere with it

You could try swaddling? Also not recommended, but probably a lesser evil. Or maybe a sleepyhead pod or something? My newborn would also rather sleep on her tummy, but I generally wouldn’t put her down that way, knowing that it’s not advised. Maybe put baby on their side? Or co-sleep, all mine slept well beside me.
It’s up to you to know the guidelines and decide what you’re comfortable with

Try the cocoonababy nest.

angeldelight

Putting an infant to sleep any way but on their back is a known risk factor for SIDS.

OP only you can make the decision what to do with your child but don’t listen to people telling you “he’ll be grand” - they’re speaking to you from the privileged position of being lucky enough for nothing to have happened to their child and are no predictor for what could happen to yours. It’s like the older generation saying sure they didn’t even have car seats when we were young and we’re fine. Because the ones who weren’t fine aren’t around to talk about it

ModEdit - removed deleted quoted post.

Foweva Awone

Newborns can't roll so you just have to persist with putting him down on his back, even if it takes longer for him to get to sleep. The statistics about the danger of sleeping on their stomach are frightening (Google the "back to sleep" campaign.) It's just not worth it.

My little boy had reflux and the PHN recommended putting a wedge (just a folded up blanket) under the mattress at his head end, so that he was sleeping at an angle rather than flat on his back, he seemed much more comfortable that way. It might be worth a try.

ModEdit - removed deleted quoted post.


Don't listen to this advice OP.

Listen to the medical advice from scientific research which strongly advises for babies to sleep on their backs.

mirrorwall14

To be honest OP, baby should never be put on his tummy to sleep so shouldn’t only be able to sleep on his tummy? There’s only a few rules that are hard and fast in my house, back to sleep, safe sleep space and rear facing car seats. They are absolute

shesty

I have had trouble putting all of mine to sleep on their backs.But as others say I just couldn"t leave them any other way.I often tried different tricks like putting them to sleep on their side and either wedging rolled up blankets at their back and front (just up to their chest on the front, not to their faces), and gently rolling onto their back once they were in a deep sleep, or just leaving them and then rolling onto back once they slept.I do know someone who let her baby drift off on his tummy and then turned him once he was asleep.

Wind was always the issue with mine.I actually think sleeping on their back is just not great for a newborn's digestion, but it is safest.I would also (try) to make sure they were well winded.Tipped up the head of the moses basket sometimes helped.

Outside of that though, I embraced the fourth trimester concept, particularly on my second and third children.Just accepted that they would sleep better in a sling some days or with me other days.We muddled through. They are all great sleepers now.Interestingly my third child started to sleep on his tummy as soon as he could turn, at about 4/5 months.Worried me terribly but he wouldn't drop off any other way.I would not have been comfortable leaving him like that at newborn stage myself though.

maynooth_rules

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. We tried swaddling last night, to no success. For lunchtime nap today we put a wedge under mattress and it seemed to work. So thanks for that suggestion.

shesty

How new is the baby Maynooth??

I have to say I would absolutely zero expectations of a newborn sleeping for any length in a basket, but that is just from my experience of my very windy children!!!

maynooth_rules

Slept through the night last night on his back, just waking up every 3.5 hours which was superb. Seems to make all the difference having his head end a little higher.

jlm29

maynooth_rules wrote: »

Slept through the night last night on his back, just waking up every 3.5 hours which was superb. Seems to make all the difference having his head end a little higher.

That’s great! Long May it last!

Orion

jlm29 wrote: »

You could try swaddling? Also not recommended

Studies are indicating that swaddling can increase risk of SIDS by 30-40%. that's why it's not recommended.

jlm29

Orion wrote: »

Studies are indicating that swaddling can increase risk of SIDS by 30-40%. that's why it's not recommended.

Out of interest, do you have links to the studies? I wouldn’t mind having a look. I couldn’t find anything conclusive. But there are lots of guidelines for safe swaddling, so I would definitely consider it before I would put a baby to sleep in prone.

stampydmonkey

maynooth_rules wrote: »

Slept through the night last night on his back, just waking up every 3.5 hours which was superb. Seems to make all the difference having his head end a little higher.

3.5 hours...so jealous. ; ) Long may it last. We were also told to put a small towel under the mattress to raise the babies head very slightly

Orion

Orion wrote: »

Studies are indicating that swaddling can increase risk of SIDS by 30-40%. that's why it's not recommended.

I noticed that the midwifes in the hospital always swaddle the babies so I wonder if these studies are really conclusive.

fits

I think a lot of what midwives do is based on their training, whenever that occurred, and might not necessarily be latest best practice.

kylith

Just to say that nests, positioners, Dock-a-tots, rolled up blankets, and the like are not recommended as they are SIDS risk. I seem to remember hearing the same about putting them on an incline, I would imagine because they could slump over and be at risk of positional asphyxiation. Perhaps you could gradually lower the incline until baby is flat in his back.

shesty

Propping up the legs at the head of the basket/cot can be a good option.Baby is still lying flat on a mattress then, but the head is a bit higher.

Lia_lia

I think the issue with swaddling is overheating and not swaddling tight enough (could cause suffocation). I’m was on a fb group for safe sleep (which I left as it was scaring me!) and they all swaddled their babies or used a swaddle sleeping bag such as a swaddle up. But the advice is to stop swaddling at 8 weeks or if they roll over before 8 weeks. This is following advice from an American organisation.

AtticusFinch86

We have a 4 month old.

Initially as a newborn, we had trouble settling her enough to get her to sleep and then having trouble keeping her asleep for more than an hour or two at a time.

I watched a documentary (based on a book of the same name) called Happiest Baby on the Block. After seeing that, I persisted using his tips and within a couple of days, she was nodding off to sleep within 5-10 minutes and staying asleep for 3+ hours a time.

It's about 90 minutes long and costs about 5e on google video. Well worth sitting down and watching it. He recommends using a technique called the 5 S's, which help induce a calming reflex in your baby and helps them sleep longer. I found it to be incredibly effective in first 3 months of my daughters life. Less so as time has gone on, but still great. Reviews of it are generally very good.