Spirited baby on solids

[Haydens mom]

We started solids a couple of weeks ago and I feel like everything has gone down hill. Before solids he would go down for naps quite easily and always wake up very happy. He was waking up at random times at night (up to 5 times!) but I know that was becuase he was not getting enough BM during the day. He is a very distractable baby and was on a snacking routine rather than eating full meals.

So when we started food he quickly started sleeping more and even through the night.....for a week.
Now he's back to waking up random times again and having two 45min - 1hr naps during the day. It seems like he is always fussy now and always wakes from sleep crying. I know that digesting new foods can disturb sleep, but what about his mood for the rest of the day? I can't do anything to make him happy it seems. He is not constipated but could be teething although his first two teeth were not like this at all. He absolutley loves food and whines if he can smell it cooking until he gets some.

I just feel really stressed because I think maybe I should give the food a rest altogether for a day or two and start over more slowly to avoid stomach upset but he already loves food so much.
 
Here's our day:
6:30ish -wake, milk
7:30 -I eat breakfast and If he whines a lot he will have a couple bites of fruit or veg
8:00 or 8:30 -nap
9:00 or 10 ish (depending on what time he falls asleep) wake
10:30 -milk
11 -lunch, usually a fruit or veg.
12:30 or 1 -nap
2:00-wake
3:00 -milk
4:00-supper (usually a veg and every other day or so some meat)
5:00 - milk
5:30- bath
5:45 milk (this feeding always takes at least 1/2 hour, I don't know if it's because he's tired or just soothing before bed)
6:15 ish in bed

Does this seem like an ok routine for a 7.5 month old? I feel he is going to bed a bit early but otherwise he will be really cranky, and honestly, I'm really ready for him to sleep by then!

I'm wondering if there are other spirited babies reacting to food this way or is it something I'm doing wrong?

[Mimi 2]

I don't think you are doing anything wrong.  It seems that he really likes eating which is great!  He's on solids for 3 wks and the fact that he's fussy and waking at night now suggests to me that he may need a routine tweak or something else it bothering him (teething is a possibility as each set can be cause different pains) or is he coming down with a cold or did you introduce something new?

Try not feeding him solids for a day or two and see if you can eliminate it as a culprit.  If his fussiness and NWs are still there then we can work from there. 

HTH

[Mimi 2]

How are things going?

[Haydens mom]

Well, we have figured out that the beef liver was causing the digestive upset so we've stopped it. I've also given him prunes and that really got things moving again and he's not nearly as fussy as he was! He is still waking at night a couple of times but it really depends on if he has had a poop that day or not....it seems. Now I'm just worried about when he should need milk at night or not. I know he's getting lots in the day but how do I know if he's hungry or wants to cuddle? He usually wakes at 9:30 which seems like routine waking to me since he goes down between 6 and 6:30, but p.u/p.d is really stressful for me and I eventually end up feeding. What should I do during the night?

[Mimi 2]

So glad to hear that the fussiness has lessen.  As for the poop at night, they go through these phases unfortunately.  Just change in a really dim light and hopefully he will go back to sleep easily.  In the meantime, just give him plenty of prunes to keep things moving during the day.  As the night feeds, is he on formula or bm?  Some bf'ed babies still need a night feed so it's not uncommon at 7/8 mos.  If he is bottled-fed, how much is he taking at night?  If it a full bottle, then he is hungry and you need to move those calories into the day before you can try to wean him.  If he is using it as a prop to get back to sleep (taking half a bottle or just sucking for comfort), then you can wean him by either going cold turkey or slowly decreasing the amount.  Just remember that he needs those calories in the day.

As for pu/pd, I don't have any personal experience with it so I can't be helpful here (I did gradual weanng with ds).  You need to visit the PU/PD boards, the ladies there will be a better source to ask for help.  Also visit the Nightwaking board or the Prop board to get some ideas as well.