I am asking this question on behalf of my friend because she asked me, but I never experienced this with my daughter, and I was stumped.
My friend has a 6 month old boy who, for a while, has been able to roll from his tummy to his back. Recently, he has begun to roll from his back to his tummy. She says that he goes down each night (on his back) with no problem at 7:30 pm in his crib or Pack N Play. However, after several hours of sleeping, (at around 11 pm or midnight)he rolls from his back to his stomach and will then cry uncontrollably while he props himself up on his forearms until she puts him back onto his back with a pacifier. Sometimes, he requires a couple ounces of milk from the bottle (not breastfed anymore) while being rocked to go back to sleep. I know "Experts" say that if an infant rolls on to his tummy during sleep then let the baby sleep that way. However, her son does not want to stay on his stomach, but he does not roll back onto his back even though he knows how (maybe he's too upset or too tired to do so). Even worse, once she puts him on his back and he goes back to sleep, he only sleeps that way for a half hour or so before he rolls back on to his tummy and gets all upset again. One time, she said that she tried letting him cry for 15 minutes before picking him up and soothing him/turning him over. Another time, she brought him into bed with her and her husband, and he slept the whole night on his side. She also said that in the past three months, she can count on one hand the times he's woken up for a bottle so she's not sure what's going on. Any suggestions?
Hi A.
I was wondering if he slept all night on his side, why not wedge him up against the crib with a blanket rolled up tightly behind him? Perhaps this will keep him on his side and everyone can get a good night sleep.
~M
My daughter did the same thing (sometimes crying up to 5 times a night), until she got proficient at rolling from her tummy to her back. Once she had that mastered, she would just roll herself over. It took about 3-4 very LONG weeks, though. Have your friend stick through it and just continue encouraging him to roll from front to back while he's awake during the day... practice makes perfect!
Once they are rolling there is really nothing you can do to position them. My doctor said don't waste your money on the positioner, it won't work.
We let our son cry for 10 minutes, really time it on a watch, then we went in there. We did console him until he was calm and then put him back in the crib on his back. No binki! When it falls out after then fall asleep, you run the risk of them waking up because of that. So we did that a few times, eventually he just got used to sleeping on his belly. We were vigillant about it though, console until calm and then back in no binki. I hate to say it, but it is like training them. You keep repeating the same steps over and over and eventually they pick up on what is supposed to be going on.
Don't bring him in your bed. That is just problems waiting to happen. You'll never get them out! It may seem worth it while you are doing it, but its not!
Good luck and stick with what you decide to do. Eventually it WILL work!
My Dr. told me to let them cry it out and they will turn themselves over. She was right, it took a few days as they were used to me coming in and helping.
Tell your friend good luck
I agree with the other mom - get a pillow 'block' that you can nestle the baby in and he won't be apt to roll back and forth much. I've seen them at any baby stuff aisle.
I don't know if the baby is hungry...seems more like he inadvertently rolls on his side and then wakes up when he realizes he's on his stomach.
If the wedge/pillow doesn't work, maaybe increase the baby's solid/milk intake during the day.
My first thought is that maybe he is having some gas pains in his abdomen. It sounds like he wants to sleep on his tummy (my son seemed to hate sleeping on his back and started tummy sleeping as soon as he figured out how to roll over) but once he gets there something is making it too uncomfortable for him to sleep? Maybe she could try a little gas drops before bed or a little playtime between the last feeding and bedtime to help his tummy settle more? It's just a thought anyway.
Is it just when he is sleeping and rolls over? Does he lay on his tummy any other time without crying? If he cries every time on tummy I would have a dr check it out. Better safe than sorry.
6 months old is growth-spurt time! He could be getting hungry and when he lies on his tummy he feels it more ??
Is he interested in foods? Maybe try some cereal later in the evening to help fill him up would work.
Also, how about those terry cloth covered triangular pillow wedges that you can use for babies... maybe she could "wedge" him in on his back and he would not roll as much at night. They sell them at Walmart, Target, etc. It might be worth a try??
--Amanda
