It’s exhilarating to watch your little one growing and learning new skills every day. For most of you, the most exciting milestone that your baby achieves might be him, rolling, and arching his back.
Although watching your baby roll may make you squeal with excitement but this flipping of your baby also adds a new fear in your list that is how to keep your baby from rolling over in crib.
You may notice your baby moving from side to side, rocking himself and enjoying this game. This is the first step towards rolling over. You might soon notice your baby rolling on his tummy.
It is common for some baby rolling over in sleep in 3 months although your baby may learn to roll from back to front at his four-month or onward. As your baby reaches his fifth and sixth month his neck and arms muscles get stronger and he can easily roll from his tummy to the back.
You may swaddle your baby in his early months to prevent your baby from rolling but as your baby grows, they can easily resist the swaddle and can confidently switch to the position they are comfortable to sleep in.
How To Keep Baby From Rolling Over In Crib
Hazards of Sleeping On Stomach
You might have heard that making your baby sleep on his back will make him aspire his vomit making him unable to breathe. This myth has now been busted by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Their guidelines recommend you to make your baby sleep on his back until age one.
It is always advised to make your baby sleep on his back because of the reported cases of babies dying due to suffocation while sleeping on their tummies. SIDS, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is a condition where a baby prone to tummy sleeping dies in his first year of life.
This suffocation is one of the reasons why a baby rolling over in sleep face down might wake up crying. This happens because of the decrease in their blood pressure and less amount of oxygen reaching their brain.
Stopping the Baby from Rolling
There are different devices available in the market such as positioners and wedges that claim to keep your baby at his position. But such devices are never recommended by your pediatrician because they increase the hazard of suffocation rather than helping you out. There should be nothing in your baby’s cot while your baby is asleep.
You may experience your baby rolling over in sleep and waking up crying due to the stuff that you may add in his crib to protect him.
There is no cure for keeping your baby away from rolling. Baby’s rolling is all-natural and by no way, you can stop your baby from rolling. It is also recommended that once your baby rolls over in his sleep do not flip him back onto his back.
According to the National Institute of health’s, Safe to Sleep website it is said that rolling over is an important and natural part of baby’s growth and you do not need to turn your baby to his back. The important thing is, that you start his sleep on his back to reduce the risk of SIDS and that there is no soft object in a baby’s crib.
So, if you find your baby rolling over in crib but can’t roll back, there is no need to panic or turning him. You can adapt different ways to avoid the suffocation hazard for your baby.
Assisting the Baby for a Better Sleep
Rather than focusing on the baby rolling in the crib, keep your focus on a cozy and comfortable sleep of your baby. Make sure that your baby sleeps in peace and have a proper sleep interval without getting up with crying episodes.
The most important thing here is your baby’s crib and its mattress. Invest for the best when it comes to your baby. There are different mattresses available in the markets for this purpose.
Make sure that the crib mattress you are using for your baby is completely breathable and also washable. Look for the mattress that regulates your baby’s body temperature by maintaining a constant temperature inside the crib.
In case, you wake up at night from your baby rolling over in sleep and waking up crying try not to use the sheets in his crib. Also, check the size of your baby’s mattress. It should not be too large or small and should snuggly fit into your baby’s crib. Also, avoid soft beddings in the crib.
If you have hanged toys over your baby’s crib to make him busy, try to take them all out before making him asleep at night. Stuff toys and other stuff such as positioners increases the risk of SIDs.
You can also use a baby monitor. This device keeps track of your baby’s heart rate and the oxygen level. Your baby can wear this device on his foot and you get easily alarmed if the levels are getting low. By this, you can check your baby if he is comfortably sleeping in his crib.
If you are making your baby sleep on his sides then try to switch the position to lay him on his back. According to the studies, there are chances that your baby might turn to his stomach while asleep if he is sleeping on his sides.
Extending one of your baby’s arms while laying him straight in his crib will make your baby less likely to turn roll on to their stomach when asleep. The practice may take a few days if your baby is prone to sleep on his tummy.
Since your baby is learning new things every day you will notice that your baby might wake up in the mid of night from rolling or you may see your baby learning to roll over and not sleeping at all.
To avoid this, you can try giving plenty of time to your baby to practice his rolling at his napping times during the day. This will probably make him tired and help him sleep in comfort at night time.
Final Words
The rolling phase of your baby might dread you and may also keep you awake at night but as your baby is learning a new skill each day and jump to the new skill leaving the old one, this phase will pass with time.
The novelty of your baby rolling in his crib will soon fade away so there is no need to worry about how to keep your baby from rolling over in crib. It will only take a few days or weeks for your baby to change his routine. By that time, you can keep checking him for the comfort level. For now, just be thrilled that your baby has achieved one of his essential milestones and celebrate the victory by keeping an eye on your baby’s sleep.
