I am in love, and tummy sleeping.

Remember when you used to just float through the doorway of your college apartment after a hot date, and all you could think of was how that cute boy looked, smelled, smiled, and oooh maybe even how he touched your hand?

After I put Everett to bed tonight, I felt a familiar flutter in my tummy. I dreamily inhaled the sweet milky scent he left on my shoulder and went in to gush about him to the family. I am in love.



Sorry American Academy of Pediatrics, but a huge contributor to my being in love with this wonderful baby is that he is now officially a tummy sleeper. I originally tried the swaddle plus pacifier, which is what we did with Carson and endured several months of crying, comforting, and misery. The other night, Everett was getting ready to cry himself to sleep again, and I decided I am not going through all that again, especially without a husband this time. I undid the swaddle and flipped him on his belly. Everett stuck his thumb in his mouth, mentally said, "thank you!!" and went to sleep. For 11 hours straight. This is the third night he's been on his belly, and I am in heaven. (Read below for my opinion on why tummy sleeping is not such a horrible thing, if you're interested.)

So excuse me while I go look at pictures of the cutest boy in the world and try to resist kissing the computer screen, but I am just so in love!!

Why I am (now) ok with Tummy Sleeping

:: Almost all babies sleep better on their tummies, and I trust that God knew what he was doing when He created them that way.

:: SIDS strikes in all positions. Babies have even died while in their mother’s arms and many die on their backs each year.

:: More and more babies are experiencing developmental delays because they are always on their backs. The whole concept of "tummy time" came about as a direct result of the Back to Sleep campaign and let's face it, most babies hate tummy time. For thousands of years, babies have been learning to crawl, roll, etc. because they spend so much time on their tummies from sleeping that way, and they didn't need to force "tummy time."

:: I think the studies are way off. Medical professionals tout statistics showing the dramatic decrease in SIDS death with the Back to Sleep campaign. What they don’t tell you is that those statistics are all circumstantial, with no scientific proof that the Back to Sleep campaign is the cause. I tend to think it has more to do with the increasing awareness of the dangers of second hand smoke and blankets in the crib and the fact that suffocation deaths began being tracked separately all in the same time frame.

:: So, I'm not saying that everyone should sleep their babies on their tummies, but I am certainly glad that it's working for us right now. I don't think anyone should feel guilty or like they're doing something wrong for going with tummy sleeping; it's a wonderful thing!!