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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Infants
5 month old WONT sleep on her tummy



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amother


 

Post Wed, Oct 01 2014, 8:48 pm
My 5 month old dd LOVES tummy time. To her it's playtime, social time, etc.

She finally perfected flipping from back to stomach

Her naps have gone from being 1-1.5 hr long to 30-45 min because she flips on her stomach and doesn't know how to go back to bed. Her nap is done.

Tonight when I put her to sleep there was a lot of crying. I put her On her back then within 3 minutes she flipped and then cried out because she was tired. I tried helping her lay down and turn her head to the side but she would pop back up as soon as I left the room. I repeated and this time rubbed her back and then left.

I finally got her to sleep because at the last popping up she got so upset that she tired herself out and when I adjusted her head she was able to sleep.

Will this process get easier?
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Dolly Welsh




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 01 2014, 8:53 pm
Yes. It will. You may be doing too much and trying too hard.

Let the kid sleep her way. You are accustoming her to someone fiddling with her physically, when she wants to be left alone to drowse off, and she may want her boundaries respected.

She may be crying about confusion. Mommy's touch is so very precious and dear, but it's also in the way somehow, and not so welcome, when she wants to just drift off. What is she to think? So she cries from the confusingness of it all.

As for her nap length changing, ask the ped, but that sounds like what happens when you grow up.

Talk to the ped.


Last edited by Dolly Welsh on Wed, Oct 01 2014, 8:56 pm; edited 1 time in total
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MaBelleVie




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 01 2014, 8:56 pm
Pretty much a phase that all kids go through when they learn how to roll one way and not the other. Work on teaching her how to roll back and your life will resume Smile
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Dolly Welsh




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 01 2014, 9:02 pm
Right. Maybe I misunderstand, but if she is crying because she hates being made to lie on her back, when she wants to lie on her stomach, then really, stop doing that. A healthy baby will develop without being taught how to. It's all programmed already, inside the baby. Don't interfere.

We no longer force left-handed kids to write with the right hand. That caused problems.
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amother


 

Post Wed, Oct 01 2014, 9:21 pm
To clarify:
To my baby
Back= sleep
Stomach = fun

Up until tonight she was sleeping 10-12 hour night happily on her back

When I put her in her crib today for nap and bedtime she immediately flipped on to her stomach.

It interfered with nap because she wanted to play

And it interfered with bedtime because she wanted to sleep but didn't know how to sleep on her stomach
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Dolly Welsh




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 01 2014, 9:25 pm
Ah. Maybe you overtrained her a little to sleep on her back. She will now figure out that sleeping can be done in lot of positions. Just give her time.

I would say just let her be. Her tiredness will put her to sleep, and as Ma Belle Vie says she will just figure it out and all will be well.

Some children like to sleep sort of upside down with their legs against the wall. It looks funny but it works for them.
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pickle321




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 01 2014, 10:31 pm
Dolly Welsh wrote:
Yes. It will. You may be doing too much and trying too hard.

Let the kid sleep her way. You are accustoming her to someone fiddling with her physically, when she wants to be left alone to drowse off, and she may want her boundaries respected.

She may be crying about confusion. Mommy's touch is so very precious and dear, but it's also in the way somehow, and not so welcome, when she wants to just drift off. What is she to think? So she cries from the confusingness of it all.

As for her nap length changing, ask the ped, but that sounds like what happens when you grow up.

Talk to the ped.


Nap time at 5 months should not be changing to half an hour long it should be 1.5 to 2 hours long. That is how much a baby at that age needs. If she is only getting half an hr then she is not getting enough sleep and u have to work on extending her naps.

And I disagree that putting her back on her back is interfering too much. Sometimes babies need our help to get into the proper position because they can't do it themselves. They get frustrated because they are tired but can't sleep on their tummy and don't know how to roll onto their back. I had the same problem with my baby and I would just keep rolling her back onto her back, give her the pacifier rub her a little to calm her down until she was calm enough to fall asleep
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pickle321




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 01 2014, 10:32 pm
However I would not try to adjust her head into a certain position. With time she will learn to sleep comfortably on her tummy when she knows how to roll both ways and can decide on her own which way she wants to sleep
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Dolly Welsh




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 02 2014, 8:16 am
The fact is that any kid will eventually fall asleep no matter what.

So will anybody else for that matter.

But then you think "good, I did the right thing and it helped them to fall asleep". But, eventually they were going to fall asleep no matter what you did. I think I am still in favor of the stomach position, and above all of letting the kid alone about that, if that seems to be what he is doing.

Yes, a kid may fuss before going to sleep, but usually from over-stimulation and over-fatigue, which is painful, and therefore stimulating. Pain is stimulating. So, one tries to put the kid down before he is over-tired.

Inevitably, in a house with other children, there is going to be noise and stimulation from the others. One hopes the kid can adjust and self-soothe. By sucking.

I am so, so for offering a Nuk pacifier in the first days of life, exactly to teach how to use it. It isn't learned easily later. There are mothers on here who have to be the human pacifier because they didn't do this. Thumbs are certainly ok, but Nuks are better, I think; cleaner and exert no pressure.

The stomach is where all the sensation is, it's where digestion is going on, and it feels good to have it pressed down lightly by the baby's body weight.

Then there is the curve of the spine. On your back, your abdominal weight is trying to flatten out your spine, which does not want to be flattened because it wasn't designed that way.

Whatever. They all grow up.
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MaBelleVie




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 02 2014, 12:29 pm
Dolly, this is just a phase. Baby is used to sleeping on her back. She learns how to roll onto her stomach, but she doesn't have the awareness that once she rolls there she will be stuck in that position. There is nothing wrong with a small baby having a preference for sleeping in a certain position; it's the norm in fact. Soon she will be able to roll both ways, and she'll get into a comfortable position on her own. Until then, mommy can help out.
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sequoia




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 02 2014, 12:32 pm
She will soon start sleeping in child's pose anyway. With her tushie in the air Smile It is most restful for the back.
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mandr




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 02 2014, 12:54 pm
sequoia wrote:
She will soon start sleeping in child's pose anyway. With her tushie in the air Smile It is most restful for the back.

Oh my, my baby has done that and he wouldn't let me correct his position! You say it's good for them?

OP, this will happen at every gross motor skill development - sitting (can't lie back down), standing (can't sit back down), etc.
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sequoia




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 02 2014, 1:02 pm
mandr wrote:
Oh my, my baby has done that and he wouldn't let me correct his position! You say it's good for them?

OP, this will happen at every gross motor skill development - sitting (can't lie back down), standing (can't sit back down), etc.


LOL

Yes, little ones are SUPPOSED to sleep like that. It takes all the pressure off the back. If you do yoga, you know how restful the child's pose is -- that's why it's the go to position when you feel tired or unable to keep up.

A friend once commented on another friend's photo of her sleeping kid, "it looks so comfortable. Why do we stop sleeping like that?"
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