Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Query

Left to her own devices, Maggie has begun flipping over in bed and sleeping on her tummy. I am nervous about the tummy sleeping, because every nurse, doctor, pediatrician, midwife, janitor, and parking attendant at the hospital were so vehement about making babies sleep on their backs to lower the risk of SIDS. My question for the masses is: at what point can you start allowing babies the freedom to choose their own sleep position? I am trying to gain access to Maggie's doctor to ask about this, but he is apparently busy treating other children (the nerve!) and so I am seeking information to tide me over. I have looked online, and I have found a WIDE range of opinions. Some sites say that as soon as they are physically capable of flipping, they are cleared to do so safely, while other sites seem to feel that your college student is still at risk for SIDS if he or she is tummy sleeping. My temporary solution has been to allow Maggie to sleep on her tummy, but to check on her so frequently that I inevitably awaken her and irritate the entire household with my paranoid hand-wringing. While I think that this solution is balanced, informed, logical, and good for everyone, Maggie seems to think that there may be a better option out there. Any thoughts?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Joey started doing this at that age. If they flip themselves over I would not flip them back. I would just make sure you don't have extra bedding that can cover her face or she can burrow in. Love the elephant tank.

Chelsa said...

Yeah, I move all the bedding away from her to make a wall, but sometimes (like in this pic) Max decides that it would be kindly to tuck her in. That elephant outfit is one of my favorites -- I was really afraid that by the time it was the right temperature, she would have outgrown it, but it's perfect right now!