[mkat]

My DS is almost 5 months old. We have not started solids yet... he doesn't even seem interested in food. However, we're having some sleeping troubles lately, which probably have multiple causes, but one thing I've heard is that night sleeping troubles can be related to babies being hungry and ready for solids. What have you heard/experienced?
Let me also say that the last thing I want to do is introduce solids before DS is ready. I am planning on following his lead... I just want to make sure I am tuned in to all of his signals.
Thanks~

 

[babygrant]

but one thing I've heard is that night sleeping troubles can be related to babies being hungry and ready for solids. What have you heard/experienced?

absolutely not. starting solids before babe is ready is just going to make sleep worse.

 

[alegna]

Nope. Doesn't work that way.

No solids until:

6 months
sits unassisted
no tongue thrust
can pick up food and move to mouth

THEN I believe in letting babies self self-feed. That way they can regulate their own intake.

-Angela

 

[josybear]

once dc is meeting all the requirements that the pp listed, filling that little belly with solids might help you get more sleep. it depends on the kid. it worked for us but not our friends. so give it a shot when dc is ready.

 

[twins10705]

I have 10 month old twins that do not sleep through the night -- some days they eat quite a bit of solids. A friend of mine has an EBF 2 month old dd that sleeps 7-8 hours per night. It totally depends on the child and has nothing to do with solids IMO/E.

 

[momtoNatalee]

I agree.. I don't think solids have anything to do w/ how long a babies sleep.

 

[rzberrymom]

More food didn't equal less waking for us. In fact, I think it made it worse--the more we fed her at a young age, the more she got all stuffed up and gassy, and she actually slept worse.

 

[Maggie'sMomma]

Didn't work here either. Actually so far it seems the opposite is true. Before solids she was sleeping from 8:30pm-5am. Now, she's awake at 1am and sometimes 3am- pooping!!!! Seems that solids have brought on more poops. So, we've laid low for a little bit w/ the food and seems a little better.
If sleeping through the night is a reason for you starting, I would say wait.

 

[honeybee]

I believe this myth came from the old ff days. Putting cereal in a bottle supposedly made babies sleep longer. It may have worked: babies bodies had to completely shut down so all their energy could be focused on digestion. By the same token, ff babies tend to sleep longer than bf babies. However, sleeping longer does not = healthier or better for baby.

 

[LeAnnie]

My 8 month old ds self feeds (mostly tastes) a few solids and what he has experienced is some gas and constipation, which made the nighttimes more sleepless! He usually wakes 2 times and night to nurse and go right back out, but the gas and constipation have made those night wakings uncomfortable. Just something to think about!
I do agree that the sleeping longer with solids is some kind of a wives tale. Perhaps it would be true for older babies who can actually eat a decent meal of whole foods with protein, but come on, would a few spoonfuls of rice or carrots really help anyone sleep better? Not me, that's for sure.

 

[NannyL]

Babies tend to start sleeping for longer periods of time between 4 and 6 months, which also happens to be when many people start solids (yes, too early, IMO). But just because two things happen at the same time, does not mean that it's a cause and effect.

Your babe can get all the calories and nutrition he needs from BM, no need to start solids too early, especially since it won't solve the sleep issues.

 

[mkat]

Great replies, thank you!!
I am in no rush to start DS on solids and you all have helped me be even more confident in that decision. I guess sleeping issues just come w/ the territory... this, too, shall pass, right??

 

[Ammaarah]

Every baby is different, but you may be surprised at how very little food your baby eats at first. I started out spoon-feeding and she rarely ate a teaspoon over the whole day. Then I chucked the spoon and started letting her feed herself and she still barely ate a thing. Even at 11 months, she has days when she barely eats any solid food. I haven't noticed any change in sleep (not surprising!)

 

[selendang]

I agree with the others up there, it's more of a personality thing. ds is 6 1/2 old. He is a really good night time sleeper, but when i tried giving him his first meal, it made him so gassy that he woke up frequently feeling very uncomfortable for at least 3 nights until all the food was out of his system.

 

[LolaK]

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/so...ids-sleep.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract

"There was no statistically significant trend or a consistent tendency of one group to have a higher proportion of sleepers than the other. Therefore, feeding infants rice cereal in the bottle before bedtime does not appear to make much difference in their sleeping through the night."

 

[Jaydens_mom]

when my son was old enough for solids i would give him a bowl of pablum and a bottle before bed.. this usually gained me an extra hour or 2 of sleep... however like someone said already, it really depends on your child.. some sleep longer, some don't

 

[alegna]

Cereal is just filler that slows down digestion- actually a very bad thing to do. They sleep because their whole little bodies are trying to process a food that they're not designed for.

-Angela

 

[aisraeltax]

my son is 7.5 months old and just now eating more than a bite or two of food. he loves to play with sweet potatoe fries, mangos and avocados but i dont really think he's getting much inside him.
and a few nights he has been gassy, so it hasnt helped sleep.
and like others have said, cereal is the LAST (well, maybe not last.i can think of some things worse) that you want to give him.
you probably have at least another month (or 3) before you will be giving him food sufficient to replace any bm. at least that is the way it is with my babe...his food intact has not affected his bm intact at all, thus I don't consider it significant.
hope you get sleep soon..but like you said, this too shall pass!

 

[spughy]

My DD is nearly 9 months old, has been eating solids for 4 months, and I have noticed only a small correlation between her eating a good dinner of solids and sleeping better at night. Yesterday she ate 2 meals of solids, nursed every two hours, ate a pretty decent solids dinner immediately after a nurse, followed by 3 more good nursing sessions and she still woke up to eat every 2-3 hours. Yet, when she was 3 months old, she slept through the night. When she was 3 months old though, she was an inactive little lump. Now she is jumping and dancing and crawling and cruising and super-active all day. She just needs to replace all the calories she burns, nothing I can do about that!

I think it's important to recognise that sleeping through the night is NOT A VALID MEASURE OF DEVELOPMENT it is a convenience for mum. Sometimes things you do that might make a baby sleep more are not necessarily good for the baby. And sometimes telling myself that actually makes a difference.

 

[turtlewomyn]

I would say no.

Have you considered other reasons for night waking? Teething, hitting a new developmental milestone? Maybe a growth spurt, but then you would want the babe nursing more to increase your supply.