For the past 2 weeks off and on my 4mos son has flipped himself on his tummy during the night and during some naps, and gets hysterical as he can't flip back (he will sometimes during the day but doesn't in his crib). I will not use any type of sleep positioner etc. but want to know what other moms have done in this situation. So far, we've been going in and flipping him back as he won't sleep on his tummy but it is getting a bit much. Shall we continue to flip him back until he learns or let him cry on his tummy till he figures it out? Thanks so much!
WOW! What an overwhelming response and so helpful! I agree with all of you :) We have had 4 naps on tummy so he is working on it and I will be patient with lots of day time tummy time and training how to roll back and forth! I know his goal is to sleep on his tummy and I am fine with that b/c he will probably be a happier sleeper that way.
Thanks so much mamas :) Enjoying this little guy so much!
My recollection is that this phase lasted less than a month. I agree that extra tummy time will help develop those muscles faster. Hang in there mama!
It only took my kids a month to figure out how to right themselves. In the interim I flipped them back.
What is strange is most kids have trouble flipping from the back to the front, not from tummy to back. Have you put him on his tummy to play to see if he can do it. I mean half asleep is not the time to work on mastering a new skill. Let him learn when he is rested and playing.
I would start giving him a lot of tummy time during the day and practice rolling over with him so that he gets used to the feeling of rolling over and then let him practice it on his own. It might take awhile, but it should help. Or, resort to a sleep positioner. Or, put him down on his tummy so that he learns to sleep there like most babies. Personally, I would practice with him. Good luck mama! Isn't babyhood fun!
When my son started rolling over to sleep on his tummy I asked his pedi what to do about SIDS and he said that if he can role over then then he can role back, and you can't really stop them, so let him sleep on his tummy.So I did, and he is fine.
I've always believed that the way they learn to roll back over is from the frustration they feel when they can't! If you keep doing it for him, he won't learn to do it on his own. I would let him try at least for a couple of minutes before going in and turning him yourself.
Ours rolled at 2 weeks. You can imagine our surprise. The ped said that once they can roll over, they can safely remain on their belly, if that is their preference.
Since yours doesn't care for it, you will either have to keep flipping him, use a positioner, or teach him to enjoy his belly.
Good luck to you and yours,
F. B.
I flipped my kids back.
They won't figure it out yet, until their coordination gets coordinated and with their appendages.
They don't learn that over night.
But sure, it can be inconvenient for the parent in the meantime.
During the day, maybe "practice" his rolling with him.
Just wait, until a baby learns to pull-up. Because even if they learn how to pull-up, they don't concurrently "know" how to then sit back down. They are just standing there... and don't know the full sequence of movements yet, to then sit themselves back down, nor to then, lay down, again.
If you just leave him there crying "till he figures it out..." it does not mean he will figure it out, right then. It has to do with developmental, motor skills and coordination of their body and appendages.
My daughter did it around 3.5 months as well, I worked with her so she could learn to flip back by putting her on her tummy several times a day. In her frustration one day she got very angry and pushed off hard and did it, she never cried again when it happened at night.
Also, she pulled herself up to a sitting position not long after she mastered rolling back, so I put the crib mattress down that day as low as it would go,...good thing, too, by 7 months she had learned to pull herself up to stand!
It is amazing to see how fast they grow and develop ツ
If your child can flip over and lift his head, he can sleep on his tummy,, Our daughter was only a few weeks old when she could lift her head..
Allow him daytime tummy time, so he can get used to it, It will not be long till her will flip over.
If he is rolling over and screaming that he is on his stomach and cant get back over I say go in and flip him back on his back until her can do it himself. I agree that if he is doing it himself that its okay to leave him on his stomach but as you describe it he doesnt like it so I would say give the little guy some help and flip him over. He is 4 months so he will master rolling both ways in no time but for the time being I would help him to make him happy
He's still so little, I wouldn't let him cry for long, but I would let him cry for a few minutes. He will learn how to figure this out on his own.
Are you ok with him falling back asleep on his tummy, or do you want him to figure out how to flip back over? I was always scared to let my babies sleep on their tummies (SIDS risk), even though my younger daughter really wanted to.
