What age can you put your baby to sleep on stomach

muss

Mon, Aug 10 2020, 3:11 pm

My baby is 5 months now. She gets up very often and I'm really not sleeping. I'm hoping when she sleeps on her stomach she'll sleep better. When can I do that? She does turn over mainly from her back to heR stomach

#Happymom

Mon, Aug 10 2020, 3:33 pm

The official safe answer from the experts? Once a baby can roll both ways, you can put them to sleep on their stomach. Also, once they're rolling over, they will often choose their own way of sleeping...

silverlining3

Mon, Aug 10 2020, 3:46 pm

Few weeks after birth. I first start with naps, until I feel safe, when I see they properly turn their head side to side.

The later you start the harder it's to get them used to sleep on their stomach.

Teomima

Mon, Aug 10 2020, 3:52 pm

Always put your <1 baby on their back. Once they're old enough to freely roll to their stomach, they can stay there. But never actively put an infant on their stomachs. And 5 months is certainly too young.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safe_to_Sleep

(Yes you will always encounter parents who say they did it from birth or whatever, but the statistics don't lie: there's a significant reduction in the rate of SIDS in babies who sleep on their backs. Doing anything differently is knowingly taking a huge risk. Do you really want to do that? Personally I preferred a few months of disrupted yet safer sleep rather than increasing the chances of SIDS. But it's your kid, your call.)

FranticFrummie

Mon, Aug 10 2020, 4:02 pm

It's not a matter of age, it's a matter of muscle tone. If your baby is not rolling over yet, it looks like they'll be slow to start crawling, or seems at all "floppy", absolutely keep them on their back. Have them practice being on their tummy while they are awake, so they can build up those muscles. Until then, they are not ready no matter how old they are.

I don't remember when DD started sleeping on her stomach. Probably when she insisted on rolling over, and threw a fit if I tried to put her on her back again.

Just make sure there is nothing else in the crib. Blankets are the most dangerous, not so much the position of the baby. I don't think we used a blanket until DD was a year old or so, and was able to consciously pull it away from her face, even in sleep. (She usually kicked it to the bottom of the crib, anyway.)

A paci is OK, as long as there is no clip attached to the pajamas. If your baby seems cold, put them in warmer pajamas. Soft toys can be just as dangerous as a blanket, so don't leave those in the crib, either.

stillnewlywed

Mon, Aug 10 2020, 6:11 pm

Put your baby down on his/her back until age 1.
Once they can roll to their stomach they will do it themselves if they want to.

Also for a 5 month old, sleeping on stomach isn’t going to make a huge difference in sleep as the startling reflex is gone by that age.

soap suds

Mon, Aug 10 2020, 6:44 pm

Teomima wrote:

Once they can (and do) roll over onto their stomach, why not put in their preferred position right away? What’s the point of putting them down on their backs, if you know they’ll roll onto their stomach anyways?

amother

Burlywood

Mon, Aug 10 2020, 6:47 pm

just to let you know there is a special cushion you can get on Amazon that sort of slots the baby in, on their side . so its more comfortable for them ,then on their backs and it prevents them from rolling over.
having said that, I pput my baby on his stomach from very young. but I wouldv used this cushion if I wouldv heard of it then.

dancingqueen

Mon, Aug 10 2020, 7:02 pm

silverlining3 wrote:

I don’t find that, as soon as they can roll nicely, they settle right down on their tummies.

silverlining3

Mon, Aug 10 2020, 8:40 pm

dancingqueen wrote:

I don’t find that, as soon as they can roll nicely, they settle right down on their tummies.

I guess everyone experience is different. My kids that slept on their back as a baby, who rolled nicely, sleep now on the side or back. My kids who slept on their stomach as a baby, who didn't roll over from back to front until late, sleep now on the side or stomach.

amother

Blue

Mon, Aug 10 2020, 11:07 pm

My kids slept very nicely on their stomachs - until one died of SIDS!!! Just because some kids do OK on their stomachs - doesn’t mean all kids will, and there is no sure way to know which kids will be safe. . . Why take a chance on causing an irreversible tragedy?

geemum

Tue, Aug 11 2020, 1:53 am

As a young (naieve, immature) mum I put my edlest on his stomach, but with the younger ones I use a pillow wedge to put them on their sides, or I'd setttle them on their backs. I always swaddled them when they were very little to help them feel snuggled.

Make sure the room is completely dark, and no doors or cupboards banging. I doubt the position is waking the baby, but rather some external factor. Goodluck x

amother

Lime

Tue, Aug 11 2020, 3:33 am

amother [ Burlywood ] wrote:

just to let you know there is a special cushion you can get on amazon that sort of slots the baby in, on their side . so its more comfortable for them ,then on their backs and it prevents them from rolling over.
having said that, I pput my baby on his stomach from very young. but I wouldv used this cushion if I wouldv heard of it then.

Do not use these. Positioners are not safe. Baby should be placed on their back with nothing in the crib except for a sleep sack and a pacifier (no clip) if they use one. Anything else is a hazard.