is it better for a baby to sleep in car seat or on stomach?

amother

Tue, Sep 23 2014, 11:56 am

I know, I know, they're both bad.

but the alternative is no one getting ANY sleep at all, so which is the lesser of two evils?

otsrock

Tue, Sep 23 2014, 12:02 pm

That's up to you. One carries the risk of SIDS, and the other carries a risk of torticollis, visual difficulties...

otsrock

Tue, Sep 23 2014, 12:04 pm

Try elevating the head of the crib to get the same "upright" effect of the car seat without the risks. Speaking both professionally and from motherly experience Wink

MMCH

Tue, Sep 23 2014, 12:47 pm

being that they are both bad, for my sanity and peace of mind I dealt a lot better with the carseats on those crazy sleepless nights.

In my head I viewed the car seat as temporary (Which bh was! I would say 2 months at most!)
while sleeping on the stomach made me more nervous and I knew baby wouldn't change that.

Hashem_Yaazor

Tue, Sep 23 2014, 1:11 pm

Stomach is my personal feeling because all my research does not indicate it to be exactly the risk it's hyped up to be. I do know of a baby who died from airway occlusion while in a carseat, it's not just a long term risk, but an immediate risk as well.

chani8

Tue, Sep 23 2014, 1:16 pm

I got a 'baby sense' so my babies can sleep on their tummies, stress free for me. On Shabbat, I struggle with the same dilemma though. I think I prefer the car seat. Once the child is older, but not after vaccinations, I'm fine with tummy even without the monitor.

mandr

Tue, Sep 23 2014, 1:44 pm

Maybe a swaddling blanket in the crib?

But you didn't ask that. I'm ok with sleeping on the stomach if baby can hold his head up well. At 4 months I switched my baby from back to stomach and he was fine with it. My baby slept a lot in the car seat because he'd fall asleep while in the car and I'd bring him in and let him stay in there till he woke up. Sometimes I'd put him in there for a nap too if I was in the room.

busydev

Tue, Sep 23 2014, 1:53 pm

I would put my babies on their stomachs once I felt they had good head control. (by 3 mo so far with my kids)

car seats they would continue to sleep in, but I never put them to sleep for the night in a car seat.

MaBelleVie

Tue, Sep 23 2014, 1:57 pm

IMO... Stomach sleeping following all safety guidelines

mandr

Tue, Sep 23 2014, 1:58 pm

MaBelleVie wrote:

IMO... Stomach sleeping following all safety guidelines

Exactly.

And buy the breathable blankets (like Gerbers). I tried holding one over my face in pretend suffocation and I was able to breathe regularly! It's great and safe. THat's my baby's favorite blanket now. I own 3. They're $7.

FranticFrummie

Tue, Sep 23 2014, 2:36 pm

In my experience, use whatever method minimizes the screaming (both you and baby).

amother

Tue, Sep 23 2014, 3:05 pm

MaBelleVie wrote:

IMO... Stomach sleeping following all safety guidelines

you mean, flat hard mattress & no bedding/soft things in crib? I do that, am I missing anything else?

MaBelleVie

Tue, Sep 23 2014, 4:18 pm

amother wrote:

you mean, flat hard mattress & no bedding/soft things in crib? I do that, am I missing anything else?

Cool temperature in the room, sleep in same room as mom, nursing during the night, pacifier.

amother

Tue, Sep 23 2014, 5:14 pm

MaBelleVie wrote:

Cool temperature in the room, sleep in same room as mom, nursing during the night, pacifier.

hmmm. we do the first 2. for the past couple weeks he hasn't been waking up at night to eat, I haven't done anything to encourage that, he just hasn't woken up. he doesn't take a pacifier but he has started sucking his thumb.

Stub2

Tue, Sep 23 2014, 5:19 pm

My 3 mo baby sleeps on stomach and doesn't always wake up to nurse. Is that an issue that I'm missing here?
Thanks OP for bringing this up.

amother

Tue, Sep 23 2014, 5:19 pm

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

Also no smoking in the house.

oh, of course! (or out of it either Wink

)

amother

Outerspace

Fri, Oct 06 2023, 7:40 am

chani8 wrote:

Can anyone explain this to me please?
Is there a correlation between vaccines , 2 month old, sids chas visholom, and sleep on stomach m

Thanks

amother

Maroon

Fri, Oct 06 2023, 7:53 am

I don't know if this is an option for you, but co-sleeping with the baby on its side against the mother's chest is actually the safest of all the options above.

Of course, no blankets / pillows anywhere near the baby.

amother

Poinsettia

Fri, Oct 06 2023, 8:03 am

I’m not giving an opinion on which is better. But Sids has nothing to do with sleeping on the stomach. The concern with stomach sleeping is suffocation while the definition of sids is in explained death it’s sudden with no explanation