The Ideal Sleeping Position For Your Baby

There are some sleeping positions that your baby will prefer over others. You will discover this immediately. The more comfortable your baby feels, the less he will move and try to get you to change his position.

The key: combine comfort with security

Notice your baby’s body language. If he starts bouncing, whining, complaining or crying, it means he feels uncomfortable or insecure. When this happens, it is important to stay calm and try another position. Show your baby that everything is okay. Show that you understand what he is trying to tell you.

It is also important that you as a mother feel comfortable so that you do not exhaust yourself when trying to get your baby to sleep.

The key for both of you is to combine comfort and safety. Little by little, you will find that both your baby and you will adapt when these factors are taken into account.

So, what is the ideal sleeping position for your baby when he needs to sleep?

Face up: the ideal sleeping position

Getting babies to sleep on their backs has always been one of the most popular ways to get babies to sleep. 

Although this position became unpopular with parents for a while, today it is one of the most recommended positions of pediatricians. This is the ideal sleeping position for babies.

Today we know that it is one of the safest positions in case the baby vomits during the night. Since the child is horizontal, the mouth is completely covered, and can therefore completely expel the liquid.

When your baby is lying on his back, he has a much wider area where he can see. That means he can look at you and move around. He can also kick with his legs in response to the stimulus that is in the environment around him.

Your baby will feel more comfortable in this position. He has the opportunity to stretch his arms and touch what he wants. However, be careful: over-consumption of a single position can lead to positional head bias. 

Other possible positions

On the side

Another way to put your baby to sleep is on the side. In this position, babies feel comfortable. They can also excrete vomit without the risk of swallowing it or suffocating in it.

Infants also have the ability to move and look around if they wake up when lying on their side. Furthermore, babies do not feel suffocated in hot weather when lying in this position.

Some experts say that by sleeping this way, they are imitating the fetal position that they had inside the womb. Therefore, they feel comfortable in this position and it can be the ideal sleeping position for your baby.

Be rocked

There are many babies who can only sleep in his mother’s arms. Mothers tend to hold their baby in their arms with their face up while gently rocking them.

In this position, you can place your cheek against the top of your baby’s head, and whisper to him until he falls asleep. The position is warm and cozy, and strengthens the bond between you. The only risk is that your baby will get used to sleeping this way.

We should take into account that to a certain point, babies need to learn to fall asleep by themselves. If you always rock your child to sleep, you will not do anything good for him in the long run.

Some parents also put their child in a crib, stroller or a special hammock. It allows them to rock their baby gently until he closes his eyes. It’s a good technique, but try to use it in moderation.

These positions are great for getting babies to sleep. Especially because they strengthen the bond between mother and child. The baby feels closer to his mother, just as he did when he was lying in her womb. 

Other sleeping positions

• In your arms with your face up while you hug him, kiss him and watch him sleep.
• On your chest. Your baby will be stable and you will be able to keep an eye on him.

• Lean up on you. That means he has his head on your shoulder, which supports the weight of his body. This is also an ideal sleeping position for your baby.
• On the back of your thighs with your head on your knees. It works best if you put a blanket under his head so he feels comfortable.

What about the face down?

It is not recommended to put babies to sleep with their face down until they are at least a year old.

However, some parents find that no matter how much they try to prevent it from happening, their baby ends up in this position when he sleeps. Some parents even find their child sleeping with their face down, their head on their side and their knees under them.

Sleeping face down is not the ideal sleeping position. It is actually seen as the least suitable position. This is in hint to the fear around that it may increase the risk of sudden unexpected infant death. 

For this reason, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that if babies sleep with the front facing down, it should be supervised.

Sleeping face down strengthens the baby’s muscles. It helps them keep their heads up, and makes it possible to get fine psychomotor skills earlier. However, it is best to avoid this sleeping position when your baby is sleeping alone.