Rough Nights

Yes, I can definitely relate. I’m a worrier anyway and I worried about my firstborn who was not a refluxer. I worried myself sick about my refluxers and nights were hard because I was afraid they’d choke and die on me. I put them on their sides at night which I think is much safer than on their backs. Also, I put one of those cameras with video monitors in their rooms so I could check on them all night long without going in and disturbing them. I still have them in my girls’ room and in Myles’ room.

Maybe something like that would help you feel better and sleep at night. Or, is he sleeping in your room?

I do think it’s pretty rare for a refluxer to choke and aspirate, but I worried about it too. The AAP does recommend tummy sleeping for babies severe reflux, but I wouldn’t consider that without an apnea monitor because he’s so little.

I can totally relate. Kaelyn would choke on her spit up and turn blue. It used to scare the living daylights out of us. She ended up hospitalized for observation and they sent us home with a pulse oximeter so we could monitor her breathing and heart rate. However, she’s an extreme case. Several people that have posted on here in the past have used the Angel Care monitor. It has an alarm that goes off it the baby stops moving (including breathing). It might help you be able to get some sleep.

Oh, I forgot to mention something about side sleeping. It’s very important to alternate sides because putting them down on the same side all the time can cause plagiocephaly (flattening of the head) and torticolis (a stiffening of the tendons in the neck). Both of these problems can become severe enough to require physical therapy or the use of a helmet to correct a mishapen head.

My firstborn had both of these problems because I didn’t know any better and I always put her down on her right side. With my other two I was careful to alternate positions. Just thought I’d share that with you since you said he sleeps on his left side.