My baby, now coming up on four months, recently figured out on her own how to roll over from her back to her tummy. Yeah! But Yikes! She is becoming mobile without any of my encouragement I might add (well, I did make her do tummy time). In a matter of three days she has decided this is her new favorite thing to do. She rolls everywhere she can, all the time. Putting on a new diaper is a battle. Her naps have me baffled!
What once were decent naps and restful nights have now become frustrated. My little infant likes to roll on her side, arch her back, and cock her head back as far as it will go. It looks terribly uncomfortable and I would let her do it except she doesn’t seem to sleep as well. She wakes up periodically, crying for a few minutes each time. I have guided her body back to a comfortable position while she is asleep but she cries until she moves herself back into that arch on her side. I tried wrapping her in a blanket but she wriggles out.
Then, I tried a boppy pillow. I laid a blanket over the pillow and tucked it underneath so she wouldn’t get stuck, then stuffed her between so she can’t roll. Note: I feel like this is more evidence that babies don’t always do the things that are good for them. Parents are needed to guide them. Sleeping on her side in this way at an early age (never mind the awkwardness of her position) doesn’t seem as safe. Plus, she doesn’t sleep well that way either. Well, that sort of worked. She would cry when I put her down for a nap until she fell asleep. I ended up scooting her down so she wasn’t propped up and her head was right between the sides but she wouldn’t be able to move her head far enough down to not breath. When I would check on her she would be moving her head all around in her sleep like she was trying to get comfortable. And, she woke up a few times not very happy.
Finally, I remembered a sleeper blanket my dear cousin gave to me. It zips up and has arm holes but it also has straps that Velcro across the chest (meant to keep them from sliding around inside the sleeper. I strapped them around her arms instead of sticking them through the arm holes. This way she can lie down without anything else in the crib but because her arms are stuck at her side so she can’t turn. It also seemed to calm her down. Wonderful!
Who else has had funny and/or frustrating moments with babies rolling?
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