Q&A Forum

27/10/20

Kate Welch

Hello, my baby is 4.5 months. She has been able to roll back to front for weeks, but only front to back twice. She is able to hold her neck and upper body up with her hands for long periods. She is constantly wanting to sleep on her tummy or side and we frequently wake up to her on her tummy at night. What do we do ? As she cries and stress when she is rolled to her back. Thank you

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Posted a response on 28/10/20

Red Nose Education

Most babies will be rolling over by 4- 6 months. This is very normal as babies grow & become stronger.
Many babies then prefer to sleep on their tummy.
This is not something that needs to be stopped. It is important to make her new environment as safe as possible.

If she is in a bassinet, it is important to move her to a cot & it is time to stop swaddling (or swaddle suit) if relevant. She needs her arms free to roll safely.
Also ensure that the mattress is firm & flat & there is nothing soft or loose in the cot.
Always place baby on back to sleep.
Increasing tummy time when awake may also helpful, altho it appears she is quite strong in neck/shoulder.

Red Nose has the following information now that your baby is starting to roll.

Give baby extra tummy time to play when awake and supervised as this helps baby to develop stronger neck and upper body muscles which in turn enables them to roll back over.
Make sure that baby is on a firm and well-fitting mattress that is flat (not tilted or elevated).
Make sure that baby’s face and head remains uncovered (do not use lambswool, doonas, pillows, cot bumpers or soft toys)

As babies grow and develop they become very active and learn to roll around the cot.
At this time, continue to put them on the back at the start of sleep time, but let them find their own position of comfort.
By this stage it is not necessary to wake during the night to turn baby over to the back position

Do not use any devices designed to keep baby in a particular sleep position.
https://rednose.org.au/article/what-do-we-do-now-that-a-baby-has-started-to-roll-over

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