Tummy Sleeping Infant, What Would You Do?

[Heidi]

Assuming this child is completely healthy with no medical diagnosis:

No I would not put him on his belly or on his side. It's not safe. If the child had a doctors order that stated he MUST sleep on his belly then I would term the child. A baby on his belly would have to have an adult right next to him watching every rise and fall of his chest. He would have to have intense one to one supervision every second of sleep which would be way too costly for my small business.

There's nothing to do to transition him. Do NOT allow him to sleep on his side and do not put ANYTHING in the bed with him.

Put him on his back and let him make friends with gravity. If he cries and is up all day then so be it. A crying baby is an alive baby.

Put him to bed WIDE awake and let him be. If he doesn't like it and cries then you just have the information that he doesn't like it. You don't have to solve it. It's okay for him to not like it. This is one of many situations in his life where he isn't going to like what's happening in his life.

Fair enough.

He doesn't like it and you get that he doesn't. Give him a ton of belly time when he is wide awake and right next to you. If he starts to fall asleep then flip him on his back to get him awake again. Once he's had a good fuss then flip him back and start over.

Don't let him sleep in anything but the bed and on his back. Tell the parents you can NOT belly sleep him and DOCUMENT that you have told them that he should NEVER sleep on his belly.

He will learn...it may drive you bonkers, but he will learn!

[nannyde]

dont do it, dont do it, dont do it!

A local provider here recently lost a baby who she's laid on his tummy per the parent's request.

WI requires family childcare providers to lay them on their backs.

My children (all 4) slept on their tummies, and they are 22, 19, 14, & 11. I think they slept better, honestly. But, I would NOT do it today...

I had EVERY baby on their belly for the first couple of decades of doing this. I truly didn't KNOW better.

What I don't get is how a parent today can't know. What are we doing wrong that a parent doesn't understand that they MUST have them sleep on their backs?

What is it going to take? Is it going to take that parents who go against it and have babies die ... or providers who go against it with or without the parents permission... that THOSE adults HAVE to be prosecuted so that all caregivers GET that it's NOT their choice to do this?

We have to get the message to the parents that they DO NOT GET TO CHOOSE. We need to have CONSEQUENCES to get this across. Training... education... public service announcements... and legal criminal consequences if they do it and a baby dies.

[MsMe]

[QUOTE=nannyde;158442]We had a LOT more babies dying in the 70's and 80's though. Back to sleep has saved many many lives.When I first started caring for kids there were no car seat regulations. Millions of children were riding without seats or even buckles when I came up. When we KNOW better we DO better.

The first week they flip over it's the riskiest time for them. It's a good idea to flip them back periodically during that week. Ask the parents to ALWAYS tell you when the kid flips from back to belly so you know the time stamp of when you need to supervise it and flip them over.

After the first week then you can allow them to sleep in the position they are most comfortable sleeping. You can't be in the business of flipping them constantly during nap.

Most babies will belly sleep when they can flip. At that point there really isn't much you can do but your normal nap supervision. I have an eight month old and I poke him every time I check on him. If I see his in the same spot after a couple of checks I will flip him over just to make me feel better. If he has his head up to the wall of the playpen I move him to the middle every time.

He sleeps great so I can mess with him at nap. I get them used to a lot of touching during sleep from the time they are first here. He sleeps thru me coming in and out and poking him twenty times during nap. [/QUOTE]


my babies are also very used to me touching them while they sleep....I am not satified untill I see movement....they learn to stay asleep through the interuptions of me checking on them.

[Cat Herder]

To poke the baby is to love the baby.

::::

[nannyde]

To poke the baby is to love the baby.

::::

Everytime we TALK about his he gets poked a LOT more.

[Cat Herder]

Everytime we TALK about his he gets poked a LOT more.

Yeah, but aren't they worth it. I LOVE "my" babies....

[Country Kids]

I wouldn't have slept if my babies didn't sleep on their tummies! We tried everything-swaddling, back sleeping, no covers, cio. Luckily they are with us to this day but they seriously wouldn't sleep unless on their tummies. One of ours cried for over two hours for days if not weeks when we were trying the cio method.

Also, all of mine hated the crib. They wouldn't sleep more than a hour in it. Oh, I loved having babies but I look back and think if I could do it over I would somehow make it so I wouldn't have had to work and would have had the energy to work more with mine on things like sleep.

Maybe that is why parents to the easiest thing-because by the end of the day they are soooooo exhausted they just want the baby to sleep.

[nannyde]

Maybe that is why parents to the easiest thing-because by the end of the day they are soooooo exhausted they just want the baby to sleep.

Yes this is pretty much why parents and providers do tummy sleeping, swing sleeping, car seat sleeping. The parents are tired and don't want the crying. The providers are tired and don't want the crying.

I think if we really studied WHY parents and providers do tummy, swing, car seat, swaddling etc. it would be 100 percent about crying.

We NEED to talk openly about crying. We need to have CRYING plans in place for parents and providers. We need more research about the effects of crying and educate parents and providers about how to cope with crying so that bad decisions or desperate decisions aren't made.

We also need to train providers that parents aren't allowed to give permission about sleep positions. We need to use car seats as the example so it's easily understandable. It's NOT up to the parents whether or not the child is in a car seat when they are in a car. They don't GET to decide whether or not they WANT the seat. It's the LAW it's not up to them and they don't get an opinion on it.

They need to understand that they don't get to decide to belly sleep the child. They don't get to use positional devices. They don't get to allow swing sleeping. It's not a personal decision. It needs to be the law. We KNOW it's unsafe and we shouldn't allow any leeway in it.

We need to do intensive campaigns about sleep positions and crying management.

[Cat Herder]

Yes this is pretty much why parents and providers do tummy sleeping, swing sleeping, car seat sleeping. .

Don't forget "Magic Milk"

Parenting was never meant to be easy....

Grr... the whole "no cry" thing get's under my skin.

[Unregistered]

flipping

what about once the children can flip over easily, back and forth. we have an 8 month old that will turn right back over all day!

[SilverSabre25]

what about once the children can flip over easily, back and forth. we have an 8 month old that will turn right back over all day!

Once they can turn over, you can let them sleep in whatever position they prefer. You lay them down on their back, they take it from there.

[Play Care]

Once they can turn over, you can let them sleep in whatever position they prefer. You lay them down on their back, they take it from there.

[Unregistered]

In Minnesota we are now required to flip the baby from tummy to back while sleeping if they are under six months old, unless we have a signed note from the parent that the baby rolls regularly from tummy to back.

It makes me mad when I see babies in the hospital nursery side-sleeping or tummy-sleeping. It's not a good model for parents. Not a good way to start them out.

[Unregistered]

Also in MN providers ARE PROSECUTED if an infant dies while asleep in a sleep environment that does not follow the new rules. Prosecuted. Fined at least $1,000 and lose their license. They may be able to appeal, but not sure there would be a point. It's all over the news when it happens. Mugshot and all.
I don't know if that's happening everywhere, but it is here.