5 Month Old Waking up Because He Can't Roll Back over onto His Back.

Hi N.,

They usually say once they are old enough to roll over on their own you don't have to worry about SIDS, so much, but when you say that you find him face-down in the mattress it is a little concerning. Is this an every day occurance? Does it seem to be getting to be a habit? Can you just keep an eye on him, without him knowing it, and maybe he will soon learn to roll back over on his own, or maybe he will just drop back off to sleep.

Do you give him tummy time when he is awake? The more tummy time he has the sooner he will learn to roll back over on his back. Most babies would rather sleep on their tummies, so it surprises me that he is waking up, and getting upset, because he wants to roll back over onto his back. Babies are so smart, once you start doing something, they don't forget, so it concerns me that you are starting a bad habit that you will then later have to break....do keep an eye on him though.

C.

I say help him out until he can do it himself. When he is playing I would let him struggle longer. During play help him learn to roll over.

I have an almost 5 month old son doing the exact same thing. We roll him back over at night when he starts fussing that he is on his tummy & it wakes him up (usually only once or twice a night, so it isn't really disrupting sleep to much). Then we (and caregivers) are working with him during the day to help him learn to roll from is tummy to his back. It's been almost two weeks now, and he is getting better during the day at getting onto his back. We don't let him fuss as long when he its night or nap time so I'm not sure how long it will take to teach him to roll himself back over at night. We plan on helping him roll over for as long as it takes. Hang in there.

N. for Gods Sake do continue to help him out and check on him often to make sure that his little face is not planted into the mattress. As you said yourself, sometimes when he gets exhausted you find him with his little face planted into the mattress", if his little face stays planted into the mattress for too long he could stop breathing. So keep an eye on him, okay. Children die everyday because they cannot roll back over and their little faces are planted into the mattress and they cannot breathe. So whatever you do please keep an eye on him and helping him to roll over is only teaching him how to do it himself. He will continue to wake up, but the most important thing is that he continues to wake up. He will eventually figure it out and be able to do it himself. All my best to you and the baby. From a mom who knows.

i would definatly continue to help him at nite. during the day you can let him try more and once you know he got it down then he should be fine at nite, but definatly help him at nite. he is still tired in the middle of the nite so probably not as strong to roll himself over onto his back. he will grow out of it soon.

Our doctor said once they can roll over on their own, they are strong enough to hold their head up and control their breathing. He's most likey face planted into the mattress because he is trying to figure out a way to get back over. My son went through this, and it was a traumatic thing for me. I would try and try and try to roll him back over, but he would consistently roll back to his tummy! Reasoning with him didn't help either. :) Honestly, I don't think this phase (one of many you will go through) lasted more than a week and a half. Give him time each time this happens, and see if he can get back over on his own. As another mom mentioned, teach him how to roll over when he's up. If he hates his tummy as much as mine did, he'll figure this one out and you'll forget it was ever a problem! They're resourceful, these little ones!

Like MOST of the other posters, I agree that you should help at night and work on it during the day. This is just a milestone that he needs to work through. You do not need to call the doctor, there is nothing wrong with him that need to be addressed.

I would keep getting up and turning him back over when he is in his crib. During the day time, let him have tummy time on the floor on a blanket and that is his chance to work on rolling back. You can put a boppy pillow or even a rolled towel under his chest to help him keep his head up. If he gets to that point where he's just crying and not trying to turn over anymore, go ahead and help him even during the daytime.

Hi N. u said ur son is 5 months old. Anywayz i think u should continue helping him out on his back because he is young and i also think u should take him to the doctor and get him checked out to see what the problem is.

You can bypass risking SIDS and having to make him "figure it out on his own" by cosleeping with the little guy. That is the best way for a baby to learn to sleep on his own. The rhythm of your heartbeat and the warmth the cosleeping arrangement provides a safe and secure sleeping arrangement. Cosleeping is a safe and healthy way to help your little one establish very good and life-long sleeping habits. If you are open to trying, look for the cosleeping safety guidelines in the Baby Book by Dr. Sears.

hello, I would help him roll back over and call your pediatrician in the morning to talk about this and what they recommend.

I think what you are doing is perfect: letting him try on his own for a few minutes, and then flipping him over. Before you know it, he will be able to roll on his own and this issue will be resolved. No need to call your pediatrician!

The risk of SIDS decreases once the baby is strong enough to roll around.

During the day, let him struggle with it. That is how he will learn to do it, and grow strong enough to do it.

N., no we should never help our kids, of course you can help your child when in need, he is probably just gettting frustrated cause he knows he wants to do it but cant, its ok to help our children when they cant do things, however when they are in school and cant do their homework and you do it for them is a different story,but even then they need help, they have been given parents so the parent helps the child till they are fully capable to do it on their own, help your child, i used to help my kids flip over, it did not hurt them at all, it just reinforces them how to do it, and during the night, they sometimes cry face down, not due to sids but they are tired and cant keep their little heads up, just be a loveing caring mom and things will be fine, and enjoy life, D. s

My daughter had that exact problem (couldn't roll back, would lay face down). I admit I had her sleep in a bouncy chair until I thought she was good enough at rolling herself back over (she got lots of tummy time during the day). I couldn't get any sleep worrying about her and getting up to roll her back over all night.

A warning: I think sleeping in the chair did give us sleeping problems later.

I am having the same problem with my 7 month old son. He can flip over from his back to his belly but now he is choosing to sleep on his stomach and that scares me because a couple of nights ago like you I found his head in the mattress and I then put him on his back and he woke up. I am constantly watching him though because my middle son died last year from SIDS. Hopefully, he can flip himself over. Good luck

Jenn

He's only 5 months old? That's scary!! I have a 4-mo old girl and that would make me really nervous too (because of SIDS). He is still so little, I'm sure he doesn't have the strength to pick up his head, or turn over. Luckily, my little girl isn't flipping over yet. How often does it happen in the night? Maybe you should get one of those things that the baby lays in with sides on it to hold him in place. Do you know what I mean? Then he couldn't flip over. I would let him try to flip over on his own if it's daytime and you're watching him, but not at night when you can't see him! Good luck!