Can't Sleep on Back

I would get a sleep positioner that allows the baby to be placed on his side. Swaddle him and put him in there- I would guess he will sleep much more soundly and believe me- he isn't going anywhere with the positioner on either side of him. It worked great for my little girl. Good luck!

You could simply try putting baby on his stomach. For a lot of years, that was the norm. Putting them on their back lowers the risk of SIDS, but it's not like every baby that ever slept on their stomach died of SIDS--the percentage was still low.

You need the miracle blanket... www.miracleblanket.com or there is a baby store in Reston Town Center that carries them. It is the absolute king of swaddle blankets and they can't get out of it. My son slept so well in it and did not sleep otherwise.

M.,

Buy a Halo sleep sack and sleep positioners. I have an 11-week old son and the only way he can get a good nights sleep is swaddled in the Halo sleep sack (he can't get out of it like a blanket swaddle)and on his side using the sleep positioners. At 11-weeks he is sleeping 9 hours each night!!

Good Luck!

I just called our pediatrician about the possibility of our son sleeping on his side or belly without the swaddle. He was 11 weeks at the time. He said that after 3 months it's ok for him to do either. If during the day he rolls on his back, it'll wake him up, but he'll go back to sleep. During the night he could care less. We get anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 1/2 hour naps during the day and 6-7 hours overnight. Then of course it's only 3 or 4 after that. :) That's all since we've started putting him on his side or belly to sleep. The first few nights I checked on him probably every hour, but now I'm very comfortable with it. Good luck!

When our son was 6 weeks old, we discovered he slept much better on his side (attached to my breast or nestled agaist it) or on his belly. I know that it is completely agaist all the SIDS scares/advice, but I think that is a little too hyped up. Try laying him on his belly. I am sure your peditrician will advise against it, because then she/he would be sued if something happened. I don't blame your doctor, but the lack of tort reform - it completely inhibits the ability to have a balanced, honest conversation with one's physician. Sorry for the rambling... enjoy your little one. And, I survived my mother placing me on my belly in my crib:-)

We had to swaddle our son. His startle reflex was really strong like that as well. We also got a sleep positioner that would elevate his upper boddy slightly and had 2 wedges on either side so that it felt like he was being snuggled when we put him down.

I'm curious as to why you're reluctant to swaddle. Babies, especially young babies, sometimes need that to feel secure. Our little guy is 3 months old and he still gets swaddled for the night.

Good luck!

Kris

My son (now 4) spit up a lot and the only way we could get him to sleep was swaddled in the carseat in the crib. It worked awesome and he sleep 8+ hours. I have talked to other moms who said they also let their child sleep in the carseat because it kept them at an incline and helped with the reflux. You can also buy crib wedges to put under the sheet that will keep them slightly upright but we found with our daughter (5 months) she moved a lot and would slide down.

Good luck.

Hello M.,

I am a mother to a 2 month old son. He had the same problem with sleeping on his back and then we tried on his side. On his back he would awake frantically crying because he startled his self. On his side he would sleep a slight bit longer, but would wake crying because he seemed uncomfortable. 10 pounds may have been a lot on onside for too long and repositioning him only made him wake up cranky because he didn't get the nap out. I say all this to say that I gave in and let him sleep on his tummy. The pediatrician advise against it because of SIDS, but she let me know that she had did the same things I did and eventually caved in and let her little one sleep on his tummy. I always say a prayer the God will protect my little not because he is on his tummy but in general and he does just fine. In fact before he was 3 weeks he could lift his head and turn it side to side without getting is face stuck mid way through the turn. It is a personal preference and I wish you luck in your decision.

Hi M...

I don't have any tips for keeping your son on his back, however, I just wanted to tell you that my youngest was a belly sleeper from the time he was just a couple weeks old. He had reflux pretty bad as an infant and that was the only way he was comfortable and slept soundly. I know the risk of SIDS goes up tremendously for belly sleepers who can't roll over so of course you need to keep that in mind. But as long as he has no stuffed animals in bed with him and no blankets near his face, you may want to try that and see what happens.

Good luck to you.

K. - SAHM of 2 boys, 5 and 2

My sone is 2 1/2 months old and has reflux. We have been putting him in his car seat to sleep. Naps, all night etc. Nothing scares you more when your child starts choking and looking at you w/ his eyes all red and welled up. Its a very scary thing. ANyway you can also try a bed wedge to prop him up. I put blakets around him in his bed rolled up so when he is laying down he is pretty secure on his back so he can't roll or anything. This seems to help but I still have him sleep in his car seat the majority of the time.

Hi M.!
I wrote in a couple of weeks ago having the same problem with my newborn girl ( 2 months old now). If you look under the sleeping category I titled it 'Baby wont sleep on back' and I got some really good responses from people out there. In the end, I found that it seemed to mainly be the startle reflex that was keeping her from wanting to be on her back. I bit the bullet and bought this special cushion/pillow/nest from a company called Red Castle. It was very expensive (I thought) for a pillow. I live in Europe and it cost me 139 euros or nearly 200 US dollars. BUT- it worked. It was designed specifically to help babies with the startle reflex (keeps them from doing it almost completely by the way it 'cradles' them) and with any digestive/reflux/colic problems.
It was developed by pediatricians, and I must admit has done the job.
I was letting her sleep on her tummy, just so we could all get some sleep and it was the only way she would sleep. However, the risk of SIDS scares me so much, I was always reaching over to her cosleeper to check her anyway. The money was worth the peace of mind, and really- it worked after she got used to it (about 2 days).
I will check and see what the model/name is- I am sure it must be available in the USA. I really hope it will be not as expensive there and will work for you too.
Congratulations on your baby boy!

M., I wouldn't buy a sleep positioner for the simple risk issues involved in using them. That's just my opinion. When my children were infants and suffering from either reflux or ear infections the pediatrician recommended them sleeping in their car seat. It sits them up and they are buckled in and it's a much safer environment. Good luck! I hope you find what works best for you and your baby.

Sorry I do not have an advice on how to keep him on his back sine both of our boys fliped on the tummies very early on and we just used AngelCare motion monitor.It was great!!!!!!!
I also think he will outgrow it very soon.

My daughter did the same thing. We swaddled her and she out grew the startle reflex after a while.

I think swaddling is probably the best answer. Luckily, he'll grow out of this startle reflex pretty soon!

They have bounced back in forth between whether to but your baby on his/her back or his/her stomach. When I was a baby you put your baby to sleep on the stomach when my daughter was a baby you were supposed to put them to sleep on their back. My daughter would not sleep if you put her on her back so I put her to sleep on her stomach & she slept fine. Can your son pick up his head? If so then you have nothing to worry about anyway. You have to put your son to bed however you think he will be most comfortable. In a couple of months it won't matter anyway because you will put him to bed & he will roll to whatever position he wants to sleep in. So don't worry & do what you feel is right for you & your baby.

You may want to try to get some type of white noise in the room, that would help with noises that may startle him. My personal preference for white noise is an air purifier - that way you get the benefit of the air purifier and also are receiving white noise to eliminate some outside noises. Best wishes!

Hi, luckily at 12 weeks he is almost throught this I think. My daughter's reflex was largely gone by then. Have you considered putting him down earlier - 2 hours beteween naps may be making him too tired. My daughter, at 4 months, still has only about 1-1.5 hours of good awake time before she starts getting tired and hard to soothe. He might sleep more soundly if he is less sleppy.

We put our children on their tummies, but they also liked their sides. When they were babies,the trend was to put babies on their sides... whatever... Mine really preferred their tummies.
YMMV

I found that having my son sleep in his infant car seat worked best. He couldn't sleep on his back but he was fine in the car seat and slept for longer perionds. Just make sure to buckle him in. I put his carrier in his room so that he was used to sleeping in his own room. Good luck.

Hi M.,

Here is a web site that might help:

http://sids-network.org/experts/elsa.htm

Hope this helps. D.

They have sleep positioners that support him on either side and prevent him from rolling over. Check out www.onestepahead.com. I don't know where else might carry them anymore (my boys are 7 & 4). He also might need a different position. Try his side, but once he starts rolling over on his tummy just make sure his crib is clear of everything (blankets, pillows, toys, bumper pad) and use a sleeping sack instead of loose blanket for safety. Good luck.

I would say he needs to be swaddled. Our son did the same thing, to the point where we couldn't get him to sleep unless he was sleeping on me. We were hesitant to swaddle because he could always get his arms out and would still startle himself awake. We bought the Miracle Blanket, which is an awesome swaddler (we got ours at Buy Buy Baby in rockville). He wasn't able to get out of it. We still use it and he is over 4 months because it is kind of part of his bedtime routine. It also keeps them from rolling over because they can't move their arms or legs very well.

Check with your pediatrician, but I would say if he sleeps better on his tummy, let him. He'll be rolling all over the place soon enough and chances are he'll end up on his tummy anyway. If you do, keep all blankets, toys, etc. out of his crib. And please, don't use a Boppy or pillow to prop him! It is very dangerous! Good luck.

Here are a few tips that may help. Most times, new parents place the baby into the crib/bassinet too early, before the baby has fallen into a deep sleep. Without getting too technical, there are various stages of sleep. If one places the baby back into bed right after he/she has fallen asleep, this is generally a light stage of sleep, & the infant will be startled and awaken. Cues of light sleep are movements of mouth, eyes, body and breathing that you see and can hear out loud.
If you hold your infant longer, until you observe he/she has fallen into deep sleep, demonstrated by stillness, breathing so soft that you have to bend in really close to see and hear, no eye movements, in that deep sleep, when the infant is placed down, she/he remains asleep.
Also be sure to have two rolled receiving blankets to place, one on each side of him, as he lays in bed (no part of it around the face, from the chest down) to give him the feeling that he is still snug and cuddled.
Good luck, I know it can be exhausting to have a baby waking up a lot! Hope you are resting as well while he naps to keep up your energy and stamina!

M.,
I would try using a Boppy. Although it says not for sleeping, the incline and proper set up can assist the child to be up rather than flat on his back.
That's what I would try. I put our daughter down on the Boppy to sleep MAAANY times and she is just fine.
I do not recommend pillows or anything of that sort to prop him up. Perhaps putting him to sleep in a swing or inclined vibrating chair will help? Fisher Price has a vibrating Jungle Themed chair that is awesome for putting babies to sleep.
H~

swaddling works well. AF

It's not necessary to keep him on his back to sleep. You can have him sleep on his side. I'd offer a little chammomile tea, a few teaspoons before he goes to sleep. Not sure why you are having him nap every 2 hrs. Sometimes playing soothing music can help.
Over the yrs. professionals have gone back and forth about which position is best to use for babies. After a few months, I just followed my son's own natural lead; and he slept best on his tummy. He would let us know when he was tired and which position was best for him.
Trust your instincts.

You might try just feeding on demand and sleeping with him. Some babies sleep better with mom near by. For naps I have put something small that smells like me near the baby to help them sleep a little longer i.e. a cloth nursing pad. Sleeping on the back is to lower the rate of SIDS. There is good data to suggest that just by having baby sleep at least near you in the same room you lower the rate of SIDS as well. If you are not comfortable putting the baby in bed with you you might try an arms reach co-sleeper or putting the crib beside your bed or at the end of your bed.

Here's an interesting article that I recently read about SIDS prevention that states it's not caused by a baby's sleeping position, but rather the toxins in the mattress. http://www.babysake.com/SIDSfacts.htm

It makes sense to me, but I'm not sure how reliable the research and stats are. Good luck.