What age can babies lay on their fronts?

Question

We always lay our baby on his back but last night when we checked on him he had rolled onto his front. His head was to one side so he could breath perfectly well and he was happily asleep. We rolled him onto his back again but I felt a little guilty as we woke him up!

He has just gone into his own room now so obviously we wont always know when this happens.

He is 5 months old.

Is he now old enough to be left if he decides to roll over or should we keep rolling him back? what age is it ok?

Cheers.

Answer 1

think its ok now cause he is rolling himself over..but my daughter is now 2 and slept on her front from the 1st night i brought her home she screamed house down on her back.. my health vistor did tell me not to do it but it was the way she was comftable and she was in my room til she was1.. think evey  baby is differnt there sleep how they feel comfortable  

Answer 2

Your lucky its taken this long, my baby boy was rolling on to his front from about 3 1/2 months, we find that its best to leave him to sleep whichever way hes comfortable, sometimes its on his front and sometimes on his side.

Remember hes a little person and how many people do you know who sleep solely on their backs all night long, people toss and turn as do babies.

If hes able to breath ok then id leave him to it but always make sure his head is on the ventilated part of the mattress in case he goes face down and always check on him before you go to bed to make sure hes ok

Answer 3

hess kinda old enough to turn over as my sister is 3 months and she can roll on her front just, so it can be any age,

you do have to be very careful leaving him because he may not be strong enough to push bhak or roll over and he might suffercate so i would say ur best bet is to turn him back as it may result bad.

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Answer 4

As soon as they can roll over by themselves it is OK to leave them on their front.

Answer 5

If he is physically able to roll himself onto his tummy then he is able to move his head to a position that is comfortable for him which means he is less likely to get himself stuck in a position where he cant breath properly.  I wouldn't worry at all, maybe check on him just before you go to bed - I still do that with my 4 1/2 and 21 month old and sometimes have to put my eldest child back properly in his bed as occasionally he has gone to sleep laying sideways across the bed with his legs hanging over his side rail and his head squished against the wall!  Kids can go to sleep in some weird positions!

Answer 6

its probably ok to leave him on his tummy if thats wat he prefers. and ya.. dont wake him to turn him over

Answer 7

my baby sleeps for longer and a lot better sleeping on her front she used to sound raspy and this eased it off also she has colic at the moment and its the only way i think she is comfortable because she sometime sleeps through the night. she is 4 weeks now but ive been puttingt her on her front since she 2 days old, the midwifes in the hospital did it aswel!! dont worry  

Answer 8

If he is old enough to roll over now, he will just keep doing it, especially if he finds that he is the most comfy on his tummy.  Two things that I would recommend is the Kangapouch.  It is made by a nurse and a Mother, it is down so it will keep him cool in summer and warm in the winter, it has shoulder straps attached to a little sleeping bag type thing so it stays on him.  This allows him to roll all over, and never be uncovered.  They wash beautifully, and you can unzip the bottom to change him without waking him if you need to.  It replaces all the crib bedding, so no blankets can bunch up around his face and overheat him, and he only needs to wear a long sleeve t-shirt with it.

The second thing, that I was told when my son started moving around more, was to remove the cribs bumper pads so that if he rolls over in his sleep, his face won't be pressed against it, and again cause him to overheat.  Overheating due to having blankets or something pressed up against their face is one of the main concerns regarding SIDS.

Sorry this is so lengthy, hope it helped.

Answer 9

I believe the official guideline is that they should stay on their backs until at least 6 months.... however...

I have several friends who admit that their much younger babies will only sleep when on their front. The worry is of course cot death, but as they don't really know what causes that and the sleep position is only a precaution, I would say let your child sleep on their front but make sure they're not able to get tangled in sheets, their mattress is clean and in good condition and the base sheet is washed regularly. If you keep turning him over, you'll only get yourself and your baby more frustrated as time goes on, it won't harm him to let him sleep the way he wants to!

  Good luck.

Answer 10

My daughter slept on her front from 3 weeks.

Babies sleeping on their backs are only the current UK guidelines. 20 years ago, babies were meant to sleep on their fronts, 40 years ago, they were meant to sleep on their sides. What does this tell you?

Answer 11

yeh leave him hes fine to sleep on his tummy, you cant keep checking on him all through the night to see which he is sleeping, he will be able to work out when its comfortable for him, they have some funny sleeping positions