My 8 Week Old Will Not Sleep on His Back

My youngest did this, but th important thing is to lay then on there back when you put them to bed. Other than that there is nohting youc an do if they roll in there sleep

S.,
If it is any help all 5 of mine were belly sleepers pretty much from the day they came home from the hospital!

Maybe it isn't the position so much as the warmth. Try placing a heating pad in the playpen and removing it just before you put the baby into it for sleeping. I think that, along with the advice already given here of swaddling and either womb sounds or white noise should do the trick. I would definitely NOT recommend putting him to sleep on his tummy!

Hi there,

I have to say I'm a bit appauled by the advice given on this topic. Before you put your tiny infant on his tummy to sleep, at least do some research about it. Check out how huge the decline in SIDS was when they started recommending "back to sleep."

It's your child, protect him.

leave him alone let him sleep on his tummy. Just make sure there are no blankets or pillows or stuffed animals near him. Keep it all away. My daughter would only sleep on her tummy. It's ok as long as there is nothing to cover her face.
The reason they tell parents not to let them sleep on their tummy is mostly for parents that don't have enough since to not put things in the crib.
Good luck

Both my kids HAD to use a swaddle. I bought the ones with velcro because they didn't get out of them easily. This was the thing that helped the most. Then I also found a wedge worked well because both my little ones both had acid reflux. Good luck this is the most difficult time! It gets better! If you want to do the transition off your chest then try earlier in his sleep cycle. But if you have him asleep on you and transition when he wakes up in the night then he will expect you to be there when he wakes up. If you want him to sleep by himself in the crib then it is best to put him in the crib awake and fall asleep on his own. But do what ever is most comfortable to you!

Hi. My first son is named Riley also. He also would not sleep on his back nor did he want to be left alone. He hated the crib. I finally discovered that when I put a futon on the floor and went to sleep on the futon with him, I could walk away once he was asleep. I let my guy sleep on his side, a position that seemed to be more comfortable for him. Good luck. Try to catch some sleep whenver you can!

BTW: He slept on the futon on the floor until he was 3! I did not even try a crib with my second.

Hi S.-

I would not put your baby to sleep on his tummy unless you clear it with your doctor first. Even if you clear the intire crib of everything but the sheet on the mattress, SIDS can still happen...it's NOT just caused by other things being in the crib like blankets and bumpers.

Have you tried putting him in the the same infant sleeper that you were using in your bed? As previous people mentioned, a swaddler might be a good idea too.

Good luck!

ok first of all

his is missing your sound.

see if you can find him a womb bear, try looking at wallmart.

also, i know this goes againts all the advice that anyone will tell you but some babies just dont like sleeping on thier backs. they prefer their stomach.

my little boy would sleep anywhere but my sisters would not sleep unless she was on her stomach.

just clear the bed of all toys and lose blankets and then let the kid sleep on the stomach. start with daytime naps then move to night time check on him a couple of times to see how it is working.

just try it and see

I got a side positioner when my son was a infant because he wanted to sleep on his stomach and that way his belly was up against something and it gave him the feeling of being on his belly, while keeping him safer on his side. Good luck!!

Hi S.,
I haven't read the other responses so I don't know if this advice was already given. Try putting a piece of your clothing in the playpen with him. Since it will smell like you, it may comfort your son enough to go to sleep.
And as far as him not sleepingo his back, let him sleep however he feels comfortable. We stopped putting my son on his back when he was about 2 or 3 months old because he wouldn't sleep long. When we started putting him to sleep on his belly he would sleep much longer. Then when we would lie him on his back, he could roll over in one direction to get on his belly anyway.
i hope you find something that works for you.

I put all my 5 kids on their tummy all there newborn days.
My granddaughter is now on her tummy too.
It's really no problem.
The SIDS things is because of a small group of little ones...they have found that if they babes are in their mom's room at night or near mom, they do just fine on their tummy's!
God Bless

Hi and Congrats. My son was kind of the same way when he was younger. His biggest issue I think was not sleeping with us anymore (we had space issues as well). what we did was we would use the shirt we wore that day (that smelled like us) and put it in between us and him when we layed down with him. Once he fell asleep we would then put him down in his crib with the shirt as a blanket. the warmth and our scent was usually enough to keep him asleep. once he got used to that, we were able to put him in there no problem and he would just pass out

I swaddled my girl and placed her on her side in an infant sleep positioner. She was much happier on her side, and couldn't roll over or pose any risk to herself at all. I highly recommend you at least try it and see if it works.

For what it's worth, there is some theories out there that suggest SIDS is caused by toxins in mattresses and not b/c of tummy sleeping. Check out this website: http://www.healthychild.com/cribdeathcause.htm

I can't tell you which study to trust, but you are the mommy and know what's best for your baby. I know that some people are suggesting swaddling, but by the time my daughter was 2 months, she no longer wanted to be swaddled.

Good luck.

I know it's a big NO-NO but my youngest was a belly sleeper since he was 5 weeks old. He had reflux and that was the only thing that made him comfortable. You need to use your best judgment and do what is best for your family, I just wanted you to hear a positive belly sleeper story.

I went through this with my older son who is now four. I was scared to put him on his stomach so for the first 13 weeks, he slept on his stomach on top of me. Then I went to his doctor and told him and he said, until a few years ago, we told everyone to put the baby to sleep on their stomach, if that is the only way the baby will sleep, put him on his stomach...so that's what we did. We did the same with my now 7 month old. As they say back is best but no sleep can't be good either.

my daughter did this. we used a sleep positioner and she slept on her side. there are some that think that they are not safe but it was the closest we could get to her sleeping on her back.

My 1st child was very gassy and such and had a very hard time sleeping on her back. She managed to roll over on her own while in one of the anti-roll over things I had in her crib. From that moment on she slept much better. As long as she can move and have her head turned to the side, you should be ok, but you need to be comfortable with the decision. We started putting her on her tummy in her crib and she was happy. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Hi,
I'm not sure if this is an issue of sleep positioning or sleeping with parents. A few weeks after my son came home, he refused to sleep in his crib anymore. So, we ended up co-sleeping. He coslept for a few weeks. Then we got him the Miracle Blanket, which is a swaddler that NO baby can get out of. We swaddled and coslept for a couple of weeks. Then at about 6-8 weeks we transitioned him to a bassinett next to our bed. The first night was pretty rough and we had to just reassure him regularly....so I would pick a weekend night. Then around 3 months we transitioned him to a crib because we went on a trip and he handled it well. About that same time he started to outgrow the swaddler, so we took him out of it and he did fine. So, I don't know how much help this is, but I did want you to know that your son will outgrow it and will sleep by himself. They just have to mature on their own. Sometimes you second guess if it is normal because everyone else talks about their babies sleeping by themselves. Also, don't think that cosleeping is bad. You will have a very bizarre awareness of him in bed. If that is what works the best at getting you and your son the most sleep, then that is what you need to do. It also makes breastfeeding super easy if you are doing that. And now that my son can roll himself over, he only sleeps on his tummy. I don't think the back is a real comfortable or natural position for babies. Good luck.

Congrats S. on your new little bundle. I would suggest placing him on an infant wedge and have him in an infant sleeper one piece. I had to do this with all of my 5 children to get them to sleep and feel comfortable.

Hope this helps.

J. Z.
www.jenniferzaranis.com

Usually babies awake during transition due to separation from the warmth of you, the feeling of falling or gas bubbles. So, if he's able to sleep on you, my suggestion is to put a blanket in between the two of you first. When you transition him to the play pen, keep him close until you can't reach and let the blanket lay on top of him. Slowly, lay him down on a soft and warm blanket (tucked firmly under the mattress). It's the coldness of the play pen that also can wake them! After he's in the play pen, make sure the blanket is not covering his face (obviously) and tuck it underneath of him. Also, if he falls asleep right after eating, make sure he gets all the air bubbles out. I hope this helps a little! Good luck!!

Let him continue to sleep with you. Try reading any book by Dr. Jay Gordon or Dr. Sears about sleep. Dr. Sears says Everyone should sleep where they get the most sleep. There is nothing wrong with sleeping with your baby. Most of the world does it. There are a few simple safety precautions to take and you can't be obese, on drugs, or drunk.

I first want to point out that the tummy sleeping issue is not completely solved by removed blankets and toys from the bed, there is also the matter of re-breathing in the carbon dioxide we exhale.

Have you tried putting him in his bed still awake? My son sleeps best when he goes to sleep on his own. He just turned 4 months and we have been doing this since the beginning. We lay him in his bed drowsy, but not completely asleep and we pat his back and "shhhh" him. Within a few mins he's asleep. At his point we are actually able to lay him down still awake and walk away. He drifts off on his own with virtually no help most nights (and for naps also).