Rolling baby! Need advice.

So, my son rolled over out of anger a few weeks ago but last night he really got the hang of it and did it for the first time on purpose. He only rolls to the right from his back to his tummy and to the left from tummy to back. After he did it once last night, he did it for the rest of the night....back and forth, back and forth. My older daughter never did this. She rolled over one time and that was it.

My dilemma is this: last night, he kept rolling in his sleep. When I checked on him before I went to bed, he was on his side with his face buried in the bumper. While I was eating breakfast this morning, I heard him cry, went in and found him on his tummy, face buried in the bumper again.

What do I do? Do I remove the bumper and continue putting him on his back to sleep? Do I put him to sleep on his tummy so he doesn't roll? Do I buy a sleep positioner so he can't roll? I didn't go through this with my daughter so I'm not sure what to do. He's 17 weeks old now so I'm sure his risk of SIDS has gone down significantly but I worry so much!

OMG, does that bring back memories!  My kids are now 10, 8 and 3, but my husband and I went through that same problem 3 times.  The first two times, we kept rolling the little buggers back onto their backs every time we noticed they were sleeping on their tummies.  Eventually, the babies got so mobile that it was impossible to keep them on their backs, and we just decided that it was impossible to keep rolling them over.  By the third one, we consulted our pediatrician, who said that, by the time they're able to roll over, the danger of SIDS is so small that it really isn't a big deal.  We still rolled him back over onto his back sometimes, but for the most part tried not to be freaky about it. 

Good luck!

Remove the bumper as there have been a couple of studies that they reduce air flow and can cause  suffocation  I never used them for my 3 kids

Spuckine, good point.  I forgot to mention, we also took off the bumper.

first of all bier; your babies are BEAUTIFUL!!!

My doc told me I didn't need bumpers for that sheer reason; and I was going to take them off just for the sheer fact that every time i had to change her sheets I would have to untie them and take them off. If he's rolling around a lot and it makes you nervous; try taking them off and see how it goes. For a while Julia's face would be pressed up a bit when I went to go and wake her up (she sleeps like her momma- DEEP!!) but she also kicks VERY hard on the sides of her crib when she's excited and I didn't want her to hurt her feet on the bars- i think she's going to be the next soccer champ for the USA!! She kicked dead on center her bowl when I was holding it and her food went everywhere- I laughed so hard then she went hysterical!!!! LOL. So, I would take them off, see how things go- but I read that when they are able to turn over; they're strong enough to move if they aren't getting enough air; ie kicking off blankets etc. I had her in a sleep sack up until 4 monhts; but then she became too long for them!!

We didn't use a bumper with our first child but evidently, bumpers are okay to use now as long as they go all the way around the crib, have ties on the top and bottom and at all corners (so I read while pregnant).

I have also read that they cause re-breathing of CO2. Who knows.

Anyway, looks like we'll try ditching the bumper. He may wind up with a bruised forehead but that's better than suffocating!

Thanks, vanessa! My son still uses a sleep sack. He's still in the 0-6 month size and we have a 6-12 month size ready for when he outgrows the smaller one. My daughter was in one until she was old enough to pull herself up while in the crib (about 10 months). I've acutally mastered taking the sheet off the matress without taking the bumper off. It's a lot of physical work but it's great exercise!

Thanks everyone!

This is what I did. I entwined the bumper through the wrungs of the crib. they can't budge it!!!

Oooh. That's a good idea!

You're so smart!

well my third baby has got really chubby legs and like you I didn't want to use the bumper...but she would wake up in the middle of the night and some naps screeching because either her chubby little leg or arm was stuck, so I put the bumper on and wrapped it on the outside of one then on the inside of three and kept follwing that pattern...the only thing is the top and bottom which I just tuck between the mattress and the crib...my youngest is now 14mths and I don't plan on removing them until she goes in a toddler bed.  I hope this is useful :)

There is a thing, but I don't know what it is called. So bear with me while I try to explain it.

It is a little mat, with Velcro strips along both sides. Then, there are little 'bumpers', if you will, that Velcro to the strips. You place the baby in between the bumpers and it keeps them from rolling. The bumpers are only four inches high, and made of a sturdy yet soft foam (?).

I don't know how to help you find it, though. I will do a little googling, and let you know if I find it.

Eta: Okay, they are called 'sleep positioners' and there are many different types. Here is one example.

Eta again...I missed the last sentence or two of your post. So, you already know about these. Oops!

lol, kelleigh! Thank you so much for the work in finding these for me (even if I did already know about them)! I have never used one and don't know if they're worth the money.

I worked in a daycare for a while, and there was a little boy who had surgery and his mom didn't want him rolling around until his incision healed (don't ask me why he was in daycare so soon) so she brought one of these. It worked pretty well.

Don't know if you have enough advice yet or not but my ped told me that as long as we have a fan going in his room that, that would reduce the risk of SIDS.  My son is 11 months and he would never sleep on his back from the time he was a couple weeks old.  I was really worried but the ped said that as long as he's moving it means that he can move himself if he feels like he can't breath.  I also removed the bumper but had to put it back on when he fell and hit his head hard on the crib. 

Try a positioner, but if he's strong enough to roll he'll probably get mad and roll out of it. That's what my little guy did.

Try moving the bumper down so that there is only an inch or two above the edge of the mattress. This way he still gets some protection, and there is less chance of his face getting smushed up against the pad and getting too hot. I had a scare once. My MIL had given me a beautiful fleece blanket, and I put it over my 3 month old baby while he was sleeping and then started to get ready for bed. I heard frantic crying and I ran into Ethan's room. The stupid blanket had wrapped around his head when he rolled! I had forgot to tuck the thing in! He was all hot and sweaty! I felt so bad.

i have 3 kiddies my youngest is 5mths with all of mine i took the bumper of the cot and wedged 2 towels down each side of him, to stop him, if that fails you can buy these wedge shaped foam which you put under them to stop them rolling

Well, the bumper is no longer the problem. Every time we put him down on his back, he immediately rolls to his tummy. He will NOT sleep on his tummy. I had to stand next to his crib last night and keep rolling him onto his back. He was so angry! He just kept getting upset when I'd roll him back and it took a good 15 minutes for him to finally fall asleep (once he's down, he's normally out like a light). I guess it doesn't help that his second tooth popped in yesterday and I think he's coming down with a cold. Poor guy! His whole world is upside down right now!

Thanks for all the great advice! I think we're just going to have to try a sleep positioner since it's not the bumper that's the issue.