Too many "opinions" Now WE cant sleep

We have a 2 month old baby boy. Overall he's been very cranky and colicky ever since day one, but in the last few weeks he seems to be sleeping a little better.

We've all heard about SIDS, and read about it extensivley. So we're familiar with the causes. But Im still not 100% on the belly sleeping thing.

Today we brought him in to get his shots, and like we suspected from the books, the doctor diagnosed him with acid reflux (just based on the symptoms). He said he couldnt get a clear view on the severity of it w/out taking an x-ray. I just didnt want to do that again after being in the ICU when he was born for a nuemothorax, (but thats a whole other story)

So I mentioned that he was sleeping on his belly. Because this is really the only way he will go to sleep. He's strong for his age, he picks his head up easily, and he rolls himself over already. So he's never had a problem getting himself comfortable.
The doctor immediatley tells us its dangerous, and due to the vomiting (acid reflux), he could easily choke. He was VERY adamant about this. He gives me this panflet on "parents guide to safe sleep" I get home and read it, at the bottom it says in big bold letters "KNOW THE TRUTH, SIDS IS NOT CAUSED BY IMMUNIZATIONS, VOMITING OR CHOKING"

So I guess what Im asking is if this is true. Today was hell. He usually takes 4-5, 3 hour naps, today he slept 1/2 hour not even. We tried the wedge, on his back, on his side. He just wants to be on his belly dammit! Im screwed either way, if he's on his stomach Ill be too nervous to sleep, if he's on his back he'll scream all night.

Anyone have any advice?

My second son (now 11 months old) has horrible acid reflux.....after many trips to emerg, medication blah blah.....we were at our GI specialist and I asked her "ok, so without thinking I am going to report you or right this down....would YOU let him sleep on his belly?" Her reply "yes, but I cannot say that as we are in support of the back to sleep program"...she explained to me the stats on SIDS, the fact that no one knows what causes it and the importance of him sleeping for his growth AND his ability to eat well......I let him sleep on his side at first and then he would roll on his belly.....

Just my experience...in NO means meant to be instruction as everyone knows this one is complicated!

I don't know...I think you have to make the best decision for YOUR family. What's right for one person, might not be for another, you know? I always put my kids on their back to sleep, but as soon as they could roll over every one of them would sleep on their belly from there on out and I let them.

I agree with the above ^ ^. Laycie sleeps on her tummy as her chosen position but I did put the kids on their backs when they were little. They never had acid reflux to deal with though so I can't say I wouldn't have changed how they slept if they did.

I let my kids sleep on their tummies once they could get there and back to their back themselves....at that point I had no choice

I don't know what I would have done in your shoes, it's a tough call to make and I'm sure you could find opinions and statistics for either choice.

Good luck, not sleeping is hard on everyone

eta: I don't usually advocate letting them fall asleep in the swing, but will he do that? Just for the time being, it might get you all some relief until you can get the acid reflux straightened out.

This post has been edited by luvmykids on Mar 2 2009, 06:10 PM

Have you tried letting him fall asleep on his belly, then SLOWLY turning him onto his side once he well asleep? That's what I started doing with Waylon when he was about 2mths and it's worked great. Now he'll even go to sleep just on his side. Just an idea....

I had 2 tummy sleepers. What gave me peace of mind was our monitor. It's one of those AngelCare ones that has a monitor board that goes under the mattress. If movement stops (i.e. breathing) the monitor will go off in less than 5-10 seconds. It really helped me relax some, although I did do often checks for the first couple weeks, until I got comfortable with it.

ETA: I have no experience with reflux; however, so I'm not sure if that makes a difference with sleep positioning.

This post has been edited by lesliesmom on Mar 3 2009, 08:03 AM

It's funny, when my mom had my sister, the doctor's told her to have her sleep on her tummy and now they tell this generation to sleep on their back. I think since they reallydon't know what causes SIDS all they can do is make suggestions on ways to decrease the possible risk of SIDS. I think you need to follow your gut and make the best decision for your family.

Right now, cosleeping is not highly accepted, but that is what is best for my family and that is what I do, each family is different and there is a lot of opinions on how to do things in your family, you just pick what is right for you.

All you can do is choose what is best for you, your baby, your family, and most importantly, your sanity

If your baby can roll from back to tummy and tummy to back easily, than what more can you do aside from the wedge??? If your baby can do that and truly doesn't sleep any other way and nothing else is working for you, than you need to think long and hard.

I used a wedge and put my kids on their side. Lexi wanted on her belly and as soon as she could move she went there and I never really had a choice. Raygen slept in what ever postition I put her in.

There is a 10 yr span between my oldest and youngest child. With the oldest, I was instructed to put him to sleep on his stomach, and that's what I did, as my mother and her mother before her did when we were babies. We're all here to tell about it. With my dd, I was told in no uncertain terms to put her to sleep on her back, and I complied, though truth be told, she never slept as soundly as my son. My point is, what's held as gospel today may very well be seen as dangerous and harmful tomorrow. You need to think on the fly as a parent--you're given guidelines, based on statistics and studies, but you are not obligated to obey every suggestion to the letter. You need to reconcile it with your own child and lifestyle. For example, co-sleeping is not recommended by the APA, (or my relatives, lol) and yet, that worked for us as a bf on demand family.
I would imagine the mild pressure on your baby's belly gives him some relief from the reflux, which is why he seems to prefer that position. Is it better for you to keep him (and you) up all night, miserable, just so you can follow the guidelines to the letter? Only you can answer that. But I think the more experience you garner as parents, the more you'll be able to look critically at all the info thrown at you, and modify it or ignore it, based on what's best for your own kid.
And fwiw, I would think it would be just as easy, if not more so, to choke on vomit when lying on your back, simply due to gravity. At least on your belly, you have gravity working in your favor. If you're really worried about the vomiting angle, I'd recommend either a monitor like the one mentioned a few posts above, or having your baby sleep in a sidecar/in your room.
Good luck, and welcome!
Btw, what exactly is neumothorax?

Does his startle reflex wake him? have you tried one of those snugglies? that really helped because I wasnt good at wrapping my son tight enough in receiving blankets. also if he is refluxing it might be the burn waking him..have you tried to get him to sleep in the swing? or car seat?

He may have a sensitivity to cows milk maybe soy formula may help GL

I have always thought this too.

As the parent of a refluxer we were advised to have him sleep on his belly. On his back he would throw up and be miserable. Car seats made him throw up instantly and he hated the swing from day one (at 2.5 he still hates going on swings) we tried elevating his bed and every other reflux trick but truely he needed to be on his belly. We decided that we were comfortable to ignore the guidelines and follow the GI's suggestion of letting him sleep on his belly.