My 16week old son has started moving around a lot in the cot. He can roll from tummy to back during tummy time, but doesn’t do it often. He has only ever rolled back to belly in his cot. He keeps rolling into his side to sleep. Each time I roll him from his side to his back, he puts himself onto his side again. What should I do? I

Dear Amy,

Thanks for your great question!

It sounds like your son is doing everything right on time - from around 3 to 4 months, babies start to become more mobile and start to learn to roll.  Because he is learning, he requires practice; that is why tummy time is and continues to be so important.

While the two of you navigate this stage together, keep practicing as much tummy time as you can. At this age, he should almost be able to (if not already) remain on his belly (supervised by you) for 15 mins at a time, at least 3 times a day. All of this hard work will help to build his muscles up so he can move to a position of safety in the cot space if he needs to.

Make sure that the cot space remains free of anything that could potentially obstruct his airway such as thick, loose and bulky bedding, pillows, bumpers and soft toys.

Continue to place you baby on his back for sleep with his feet at the bottom. As he is not fully able to roll, we would encourage you to continue to replace him onto his back as the side lying position is not a particularly stable position to leave him when sleeping.

We hope this helps! Please call our Safe Sleep Advice Line for more support: 1300 998 698

Jane x