OK, so being a third time parent of a newborn, I feel like I should know this by now, but when did you let your kids sleep on their stomachs. We've always had really gassy kids, enough that they really don't like to sleep on their backs. We used to let them sleep on their stomachs when we were around, but they always slept so much better on their stomachs than the backs. At what age is it OK to let them sleep on their stomachs. And has anyone really read any of the studies about stomach sleeping and SIDS? Would you feel guilty if something bad happened while they were sleeping oh so soundly on their stomachs?

we started letting the little man sleep on his stomach when he started rolling himself that way- i figured if he rolled himself there, he was strong enough to sleep that way. for us, that was at about 7 months, but he was a late roller. and we're sort of obsessive about not having any fluffy anything in his crib.

same as kommish, when he could roll himself there and easily roll OFF his tummy. Luckily for our boys that was very early, before 4 months rolling both ways.

I feel guilty if my kid gets an ingrown toenail so I'm not the right person to ask that question of.

I echo ruth, who was echoing kommish

8 months. He could roll both ways and the daycare was putting him down on his stomach. That made our pediatrician freak out. But he was sleeping so much better for naps at the day care that we just went with it. Part of the reason we weren't terribly concerned was our conversations with nurses in the NICU about SIDS and its causes.

Ditto, rolling OFF the stomach is a must.

Am I imagining things, or about 20 years ago were babies supposed to be put on their tummies to sleep? I swear that's what the peds told us when we brought my brother was born. But I think we put the other brother on his back. Yes, I'm Mom, jr to them.

I never did back to sleep with either of my kids. They would not sleep on their backs but you put them on their bellies and insta-sleep. I don't know if you'd call it belly sleeping really because they never slept flat on their stomachs they'd always have their legs drawn under themselves ala the child's pose in yoga.

Mamawho, that's the thing. It seems that about the same time they started the Back To Sleep program, they also started the Don't Smoke in the House with a Newborn program. And viola! SIDS deaths went down. Also, they have a bunch more things to call it now. So, even know I (read: wife) want to put the child on her stomach so she can sleep while we do, I (she) is afraid.

At two months I realized that he slept through the night if allowed to be on his stomach. Until then we had to hold him in our arms for every nap (and most of his awake hours) and he'd only sleep in bed with us. One night I had him on my chest and tried to roll him off and onto his back, but he ended up on his stomach and kept sleeping. I figured I'd let him and see how long it would last. It lasted until the following morning!!
The pediatrician lectured us, but I did some research. While sleeping on the stomach does increase risk of SIDS, this risk is still less than 1%. There are many other factors that contribute to SIDS.

I was always such a worrier that I bought these little wedge things to keep my daughter on her back, or her side - because she always wanted to flip to her front. I would swaddle her, wedge her in and then check on her repeatedly to make sure she hadn't wormed her way out.

I think she was about six months old (when the risk of SIDS drops way down anyway) when she learned to scootch herself right out of those wedges and I finally just let her sleep however she wanted.

With my son, I don't think I ever worried about it. I'd always lay him on his back but he was rolling over by two months old and I figured if he could do that on his own, why should I worry.