How can i stop my three month old from turning around in her sleep?

Question

Every night I put my 3 month old daughter down to sleep feet to foot and on her back but at some point during the night she manages to turn herself so she is horizontal and her head and legs bang off the bars of her cot. Sometimes her feet poke through them. I don't use a cot bumper cos i'm worried about her getting caught up in it and I can't think of any other way to stop her from moving and waking herself up. I use a baby sleeping bag when i can but lately its been to hot even for her 0.5 tog one. if anyone has any advice I would be really grateful.

Answer 1

I used to do that when i was like 4 years old i always woke up the other way around. Dont worry about it she should be fine

Answer 2

Try to find a 'wedge' that gets put on either side of the baby while she sleeps. Mine (got it at a baby shower so I have NO idea where it came from) is quite old, but I still use it for my daycare babies. It's kinda' hard to explain in words how this thing looks but I'll try anyhow. Picture two triangle shaped (light foam material I think, covered with material) wedges that are connected to each other with a piece of material in between them that can be adjusted to fit the width of the baby (both pieces of material have velcro for the adjusting). It will keep her from turning over onto her stomach or changing directions. My daughter wanted so much to be a 'belly sleeper' at that age and I was petrified of SIDS. So this thing worked great until she got big enough to roll on top of it, but by then the danger of SIDS wasn't as prominent. Good Luck!  

Answer 3

I had this problem w/my youngest son. but once he was old enough to roll himself over and lift is head very well i put the bumpers in.

i made sure they were tied very secure at the top and then tucked them between the mattress and the crib slats at least 3 inches down to prevent him getting a leg or arm stuck under them.

he was bruising himself before from all the tossing he does. he's 11 months old now and does fine with this. we've been using the bumpers since he was 4 months old.

Answer 4

My daughters where both the same. They would never lie on their back always moved onto their stomachs. They where fine. I know what you mean about them getting their legs caught though same happened with mine. Their are alot of people who don't want to use bumpers but we started using them and they worked a treat. It meant baby could move into what ever position was comfortable without getting legs caught and waking up. You tie bumpers at top and bottom all the way round the cot so i don't think baby would be able to get caught in them.  

Answer 5

when my son was little we used an airflow bumper. its a small piece of fabric with rolls on the sides that you put down in the crib and then put the baby into. this was more to keep him from rolling over before he was able to but it may work to keep your little one positioned. either that or a bumper, we use one and our son has never had any problems getting caught up in it. i use it to prevent him getting his legs or arms through the rungs in the crib.

Answer 6

roll two blankets or towels very tightly and place one on each side of her. they also make something, i don't know what its called, but you place baby in the middle of it and it has a foam thing on each side to prevent baby from rolling over or moving around.

Answer 7

u can't!!! I don't use quilts or bumpers my 6month old goes in bed feet at bottom and wakes up any way round...she ahs a blanket and never wakes up under it..she likes to lie on her side with feet sticking out of cot lol it won't do your baby any harm  

Answer 8

Tie her with some good string? Im no doctor but thats my idea.

Answer 9

Your daughter has a highly refined sense of self preservation. She will not put herself into harm in her cot. Try and relax! You are suffering far more than she is!

Answer 10

Hi,

I think the most important thing to start with is to get your baby into a good sleep routine.  I had massive problems with getting my 4 month old son to sleep.  He would just lie awake and cry for hours, then when he finally went to sleep he would wake every hour or two hours through the night and cry again!  Talk about pulling our hair out .... we were absolutely desperate for sleep!

It was a baby sleep audio program recommended by a friend that finally saved us. We followed the advice and began by creating a baby sleep routine which included bathtime, dimming of the lights, putting James into his crib, final nappy change and then lullabies. We also made recommended changes to his naps during the day and used some of the other recommended techniques. Within two weeks he was sleeping through the night most nights with just the odd night where he would just wake once!

Definitely start by creating a good baby sleep routine though and you could find that solves most of your baby sleep problems.

Good luck!

If you want to take a look, the audio program is at http://www.babysleepsolution.com

Answer 11

When your baby rolls over by their self  that's means they're strong enough to sleep on their belly's. I freaked out when my baby started sleeping on his belly. I kept turning him on his back. It kept me up all night. So at his next appointment I asked my doc and she said that i have nothing to worry about babies let us know when they are ready to do new things like rolling over or sleeping on their belly's. You have nothing to worry about but if you still don't feel comfortable you can by a thing at the store that stops them from rolling over and they're pretty cheap too i think its called a " AIRFLOW ADJUSTABLE SLEEP POSITIONER" first year makes them. Hope i was so help.

Answer 12

My son does the same thing!  My solution was to buy some mesh bumpers for his crib.  According to the website, they are breathable (no suffocation), light weight (so they can't use it as a step), and slim (they go down below the mattress so baby can't get tangled).  Also, they attach with very strong velcro, so there are no dangerous strings!!

I found mine at Babies R Us:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp...

Here is the product website:

http://breathablebaby.com/

Answer 13

I don't know why you would care how she positions herself in her bed. My dghgtr used to move around til her head was on the bars of her bed. That's how she liked it. No problem.

Answer 14

Let her move.  As long as there are no blankets, bumpers, pillows or fluffy objects in the bed she is fine.  She isn't going to hit her head hard enough to hurt it, and if her legs/arms get trapped and she can't get them out she will cry and you will help her out.  If she is constantly getting her limbs trapped get a breathable mesh bumper which will prevent that.  A normal padded bumper wouldn't stop her getting her limbs stuck in any case as most babies do so over or under the bumper.

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/legislati...

However, when used correctly, bumper pads should not protect infants from bumping against the sides of a crib or from having limbs become entrapped between the slats of the crib. This is because bumper pads are supposed to be removed from the crib by the time that the infant is able to roll over and sit up unaided (a development milestone normally reached between 4 and 8 months of age), which represents the same time frame in which it is expected that the infant would be able to move over and approach the side of the crib.

(It must also be noted that, for the most part, infants do not sustain major injuries from banging their heads against the sides of their cribs because they are incapable of generating enough force to seriously injure themselves through head banging. The frontal bone, which is the part of the head most frequently struck during crib head banging, is the thickest bone in the body and therefore, is capable of absorbing the shock associated with this type of behaviour.

It should also be noted that it remains possible for an infant to entrap his or her limbs over or under the bumper pads and that infant limb entrapment [between the slats of a crib], in the vast majority of cases, results in no injury or minor injury, such as bruising.)

In summary, aesthetic value, the risk of limb entrapment, and the risk of a child hitting their head against the side of their crib are overshadowed by the hazards of entanglement, entrapment, strangulation, and suffocation (potentially leading to death) that children are exposed to through the use of bumper pads.

Breathable bumper

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp...

Answer 15

I might suggest putting some sort of towel or something over the bars of the cot to keep her from sticking her feet through them.  It's not as cushy as a bumper, but it might do the trick.  You might also try weaving a blanker through the bars.  She's going to get more active, and eventually she'll have to get used to waking herself up and putting herself back to sleep.  You might try repositioning her, giving her a bink and walking out. Try to stimulate her as little as possible.  I know I had to do this with my son when he started rolling over.  

BTW I use a bumper with my son who is 10 months old.  

Answer 16

We didn't use bumpers either, until my son started doing the same thing.  Moving around and getting his hands and feet through the slats.  One night he got his leg stuck at the very top of his thigh, and freaked out.  Started screaming bloody murder and scared my husband and I half to death.  The next day we put on bumpers.  I have heard that they can be dangerous, but we haven't had any problems at all, and he hasn't gotten any more limbs stuck in his crib!  

good luck