Advice for putting baby to sleep on tummy

[cocraze]

Hi mummies,
wish to ask a silly question. How do you put your baby to sleep on tummy? Just reverse? Any particular useful precautions to take?

I only recently started trying to put my girl to sleep on tummy in the day time, cos she startles and wakes up very often if I put her on her back to sleep. Every 8am-6pm got construction/drilling works for the Lift and neighbourhood upgrading, buay tahan!

She sleeps better on her tummy. I just ensure that she is on her tummy only on our bed (which is firmer than the foam mattress in her cotbed). I lay a clean towel/nappy for her to lie flat on. She likes to sleep in a outstretched "Star" position (i.e. 4 limbs all stretched out), so sleep on tummy also all 4 limbs stretch out. BTW, she is 2.5 months old, her neck muscle still not so strong yet. She does try to shift her neck and sometimes end up nose down, but I quickly shift her back to the side.

I try to follow the following tips I recall seeing from books/forum.
1. Ensure there is adult supervision at all times. (Most important!! I only leave her in that position for not more than 3-5 minutes, when I need to relieve myself or do quick chores)
2. Baby should sleep on a firm mattress.
3. Rotate her head position from time to time so that head/face more 'balanced' (wont be flatter on one side)
4. Ensure there is sufficient air flow/circulation around her head area, so minimise risk of suffocation.

My question is: Is it better to put her slanted at an angle (or inclined)? i.e. as though she was lying on my chest and I was lying on my pillow? If yes, how to do that??

Appreciate if anyone has any good tips to share. Thanks in advance!

 

[Ting]

hmmm i dunno abt your girl but when pin was born, my hse here was also doing upgrading, so alot of drilling n stuff n those construction workers also keep shouting.
actually my hse area is always noisy bah,(i live in chinatown btw) but pin was ok...
think she got used to it alr..
but i think if u put her inclined, she will feel quite uncomfy.
most ppl will place the childon a flat surface instead.
if u r worried, maybe u can invest in a babysafe mattress.

 

[apollo]

ds started slping on his tummy when he was 6mths old. b4 tt we tried putting him on his tummy b4, ard 2mth old iirc. but his neck wasnt v strong, hence his face was facing DOWN, lucky my dad went to checked on him. aft tt, we dare not place him on tummy anymore.. but dunno y, since 6mth old onwards, he will auto slp on his tummy, we tried flipping him back but he will cried v badly, so we just leave it.. =)

btw we did not put him in inclined position, just let him lie flat on the bed =)

 

[Phoebii Cheng]

The infant care tht time put my son on a firm mattress on his tummy with head to one side, pat the backside to sleep, I think incline is not very comfortable over a prolong period of time

And the infant care teacher after my son sleep on his tummy will transfer him to another bed, sometimes they put him sleeping sideways

But if you don't feel confident, and your bb is being startled often, mayb u want to give her jin feng shan? and also another option is to swaddle her since she is still young? swaddling makes bb feel safe & secure....

 

[shiyi]

my queen likes to slp on her tummy, only on my tummy!! if put her to slp on her tummy on the bed she will struggle..lol

 

[catherlyn]

Deziree had been slping on her tummy below she reach 2 mths. when we put her on tummy we will mk sure her head is either facing left or rite n i will slp with her. but after awhile we r quite comfy to let her slp alone at least for 15mins without supervision as she has strong neck, she will turn her head herself in her slp. Even the pd comment that she has strong neck for baby of her age.

 

[diymummy]

My son has been sleeping on his tummy from birth.

You've got most things right in your precautions to take.

As for whether to put him on incline, no. Just let your baby lay flat on the bed on his tummy.

I didn't even bother turning his head. By 6 weeks, my baby has a neck that's strong enough to turn on his own for his own comfort.

 

[candy_ian]

My son has been slping on his tummy since birth too n after he turned one month old he could turn his head pretty well.. I find that he alps betta on tummy though now he's all over the place but when he wakes up he's always on his tummy..

 

[cocraze]

hmmm i dont know about your girl but when pin was born, my house here was also doing upgrading, so alot of drilling n stuff n those construction workers also keep shouting.
actually my house area is always noisy bah,(i live in chinatown btw) but pin was ok...
think she got used to it already..
but i think if you put her inclined, she will feel quite uncomfy.
most ppl will place the childon a flat surface instead.
if you r worried, maybe you can invest in a babysafe mattress.

Hi Ting,
by "babysafe" mattress, do you mean particular brands? where to look for such mattresses? any idea what is price range like? The FOC foam mattress that came with the cotbed quite lousy. Girl sleep for about a month, the area where she sleep already sunken. I gotta find new evenly flat spot for her. Intending to invest in better mattress for her once this existing one cannot make it...

The infant care tht time put my son on a firm mattress on his tummy with head to one side, pat the backside to sleep, I think incline is not very comfortable over a prolong period of time

And the infant care teacher after my son sleep on his tummy will transfer him to another bed, sometimes they put him sleeping sideways

But if you dont't feel confident, and your baby is being startled often, mayb you want to give her jin feng shan? and also another option is to swaddle her since she is still young? swaddling makes baby feel safe & secure....

Hi Phoebii,
I've stopped swaddling her since confinement ended. She didn't quite like being swaddled..keep 'boxing' her way out. end up the nappy cloth in clumps near her neck. Besides, she's coming to 3 mths, and as advised by my sisters, I prefer to keep her limbs free so she can 'play' around and start developing her gross motor skills (not sure if this is the correct term to use)

my queen likes to sleep on her tummy, only on my tummy!! if put her to sleep on her tummy on the bed she will struggle..lol

Hi Shiyi,
same here! she loves sleeping on my tummy. Sometimes she struggle once I start moving her off my tummy to any other position, and I gotta redo a few times before she's sleepy enough not to resist. Haha! That's why I was asking whether putting on incline (as though slping on my tummy) is okay. But I guess it is a combination of other factors that make our tummies more comfortable (can feel/hear our heartbeat; our body warmth; our breathing provide a regular rhythm etc etc)

 

[diymummy]

I'm using a babysafe mattress. You can buy it from Kiddy Palace. You will be able to see adverts of it in mags.

I bought that 28" x 52" mattress. It cost me nearly $200 bucks.

 

[Ting]

hi cocraze, i think there might be a few brands out in the market.
perhaps u can head down to the baby fair n hv a look?
but of cos, it doesnt come cheap, cos its babysafe, prevents SIDS.
but it will be a good investment.

 

[llcyahoo]

my gal love to sleep on tummy, she will auto turn facing down. but recently she start crying when she was about to sleep on tummy cos she hv problem 'putting' her head down. We try to help her turning her head down facing either side but she will keep crying seem like not sure which side to sleep. sigh. very sad to see tat. she was so sleepy aredly still struggling to place her head on the bed. anyone know what happen?

 

[cocraze]

my gal love to sleep on tummy, she will auto turn facing down. but recently she start crying when she was about to sleep on tummy cos she have problem 'putting' her head down. We try to help her turning her head down facing either side but she will keep crying seem like not sure which side to sleep. sigh. very sad to see that. she was so sleepy aredly still struggling to place her head on the bed. anyone know what happen?

Just a guess, maybe your girl is learning to strengthen her neck muscles so she associate being on her tummy as tummy time instead of sleep time??
I've not put my girl to sleep on tummy for qute a while cos it's almost impossible to do so when she's sleepy. She wld struggle. End up I usually rock her to sleep in arms then put her on bed on her back.

She's been having tummy time regularly as we want to help her strengthen her arm and neck muscles for flipping over ( she's coming to 5 months but not yt learnt how to flip on her side on her own)

 

[zaza]

My baby too start sleeping on his tummy when he was 2 wks. As a start, every 1 hr i will turn his head.Do this abt few x and he will automatically turn on his own.
Actually, sleeping on tummy flat on mattress will make babies sleep longer n more peaceful.
My baby also don't like being swaddle. He will kick his legs n hands to set free.In the end I just let him sleep as he like. Cover his body with cloth if he sleep straight. n put bean bag on his chest to comfort him.
I guess you try to start let him learn to sleep on tummy.Its good that u have follow all the precaution. It will stimulate his brain also.