5 Month Old Flipping on Stomach in Sleep

Hi! My daughter's doctor told me that when she flips over to her stomach at night, to just leave her cause she's ready to sleep on her stomach. She slept on her stomach for the first time around Christmas. She was almost 5 months old at that point. When I would put her in the crib at night, I'd put her on her back down towards one end of the crib. When I'd go in the next morning, she's be on her stomach, on the other end of the crib and facing the opposite direction. She's now 9 months old. She starts on her side at night and eventually is on her stomach, knees tucked under and her rear end up in the air.

Good for you for being so careful and protective. However, I'd just let him get used to falling back to sleep on his stomach. Most babies (not tiny infants, but 5 or so months and older) sleep better on their stomachs anyway because it doesn't activate the falling or moro reflex. And if your baby can flip over, he can definitely turn his head, which means he's really not likely to be at risk for SIDS (if you continue to do all the smart stuff like not overdressing him, etc.). And the bottom line is that you cannot prevent him from rolling over. They all do this and they all learn to fall asleep that way eventually. Good luck!

My boy is six months now and when he first started turning to his tummy he hated it. Now he passes out as soon as you lay him down on it and doesn't like sleeping any other way. Plus it keeps their binkie in there mouth better!

Just let him sleep on his stomach. After they start learning to roll, there's really nothing you can do to stop it, and it's just going to drive you crazy if you keep going in there multiple times every night. My daughter started doing this too around 5 months, and like you, I kept going in and rolling her over. I asked my doctor at her 6 month checkup and he said not to worry about it, and just let her sleep.

You should definitely remove any extra stuff you have in the crib though, like the bumper, pillows, stuffed animals, blanket, etc. Also, I would strongly advise against using a sleep positioner or towels to try to keep him on his back. Since he's rolling over on his own, using them would be a huge suffocation hazard.

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My son had acid reflux as an infant, so he's been sleeping on his belly since he was about 5-6 weeks old. I never really worried about it, because when I was young & babysat, that's how we were SUPPOSED to put babies to sleep! My doctor reassured me that it was okay & that however he sleeps best is what's best for baby.

One thing you may want to consider for the mobile kiddo... get a few of those sleep sacks. Not necessarily the SwaddleMe ones (those were too tight for my son), just the ones with arms & a sack instead of legs. (I would put a thin onsie on him underneath, but it was also during the colder months). I think the sizes I found go up to 9 mths. This REALLY helped keep him from being so mobile in his crib - I guess because his knees couldn't get as good of a grip on the bed. My son started scooting around at about 4-5 mths old, and because of the acid reflux, we had one end of his crib raised. When he would scoot, he would get himself turned around & eventually ended up "upside down" in the crib. Once we put him in the sleep sacks, it really minimalized his movement & he'd generally end up "right side up" in the mornings.

Good luck!!

C ~

Leave him be. If he is flipping over he will flip back if he needs to. He;s just growing up. My son went to his stomach very early on and he i just more comfortablethis way. Take a breath mom - you're doing a great job.

Be Careful putting anything else in his crib at this point to keep him from rolling. When my 1st son started rolling about the same time, I tried and tried to keep him on his back and he just got upset. So, the pediatrician said not to fight him. Let him sleep however he wants. Not sure if that is your question or not. If he's waking because he's moved around, try putting him in the center of the crib on his stomach. He is old enough now to lift his head if he has trouble breathing.

But please, don't put towels in his crib. All due respect to the other person who suggested it but I am terrified of SIDS.

Good Luck to you!

I wouldn't worry about it. I just always started them off on their backs and if the rolled over to there stomachs I just left them. I think by the time they can rollover and lift their heads on their own then they are more out of the woods as far as sids goes. Otherwise you will drive yourself crazy trying to turn them over all the time. Just make sure you take out anything out of the crib that they could roll over on or get on top of their head. You might use a sleep sack for them.

Good luck!
M.