Should I expect solids intro to cause sleep disruption?

[drsinpa]

DS is just about 6MO.  I just finally completed the transition to 4/4 about a month ago and returned him to his nice long 11h nights.  Ahhhh...   He sits pretty well (with a bit of help balancing), has lost his tongue-thrust, and most importantly keeps steeling food off of my plate!  I thought it must be about time.  It has gone very well.  He eats about an hour after nursing.  We started with less, but he generally becomes very upset if I give him anything less than 2 Tbsp for the last week.  We are doing banana in AM, carrot at lunchtime, and squash in the afternoon.  Everything is homemade because he has a sensitive belly and the citric acid that they use as a preservative upsets him.  We don't do dairy because it causes him to have reflux.  We have always struggled with the 45 min nap monster, but did pretty well getting at least one really good nap in the afternoon (the morning nap is usually broken up and the catnap is a catnap).  With the intro to solids, however, his naps have completely deteriorated and nighttime sleep is beginning to become affected.  He started waking just a little earlier in the morning, but is waking earlier and earlier and having a hard time getting back to sleep.  Is it normal for sleep to be disturbed by the digestive changes or is it more likely that something else going on?  Maybe teething?  Maybe a growth spurt?

thanks,
Danielle

[Chicane]

Hi Danielle,

It could be all those things you suggested...or not! (lol)

Could you post up what a typical day looks like maybe its a routine thing that needs tweaking...the other thing that springs to mind is it sounds like he has taken really well to solids so have you considered that he is still hungry and might need/want more food? the other option is that perhaps there is a food that is bothering his reflux...is he or has he been medicated for reflux or is it just the dairy intolerance that causes it? If you think it may be connected to a certain food you may want to consider doing an elimination diet to try and figure out which it is. But if that's what you think it could be then let me know and I will get some support from some BTDT mums

sending hugs
x

[~inbalance~]

Yes, it could be any one of those things unfortunately. 

I doubt it is a hunger issue TBH.

That is a lot of food and variety for a tiny tummy, most moms start with one meal for a few weeks and then gradually add more.  If you think it's a bit of an overload, you can go back to just doing one kind of food at one meal, then reintroduce other foods gradually.

Sometimes it helps to keep a food diary to try and pinpoint troublesome foods.  Also make sure you are leaving a few days in between introduction of new foods if you're worried about sensitive tummy issues.

It could be a routine issue, in which case I encourage you to post on one of the sleep or EASY boards for any tweaking advice. 

[Chicane]

Yes, Martina could be right there. Perhaps try scaling back the number and amount of foods you are trying?

[drsinpa]

Well, a typical for him looks like this:
7a E - milkfeed, followed by 2 Tbsp banana
A
9a S
11a E - milkfeed, followed by 2 Tbsp carrot/squash
A
1p S
3p E - milkfeed, followed by 2 Tbsp squash/carrot (whichever he didn't get at lunch)
A
5p S - catnap falls anywhere between 4:30-5:30 for about 45m, depending on how tired he is
7p E - milkfeed, diaper change, bedtime

I've been watching the last couple of days and the NWs seem to be dependent on how much activity big sister had during the day.  She had playgroup on Tuesday, for example, and his naps were terrible because of it.  He didn't do so well that night.   Another day, I put her in front of the TV alot ( so that I could spend a lot of time on his naps and he slept 11.5 hours that night.  Maybe it's just hard balancing the needs of the 3YO with those of the 6MO...

[bonjourbaby]

I started my baby girl on solids just before she hit 6 months and then she started waking up twice a night for a week right at her 6 month birthday. It definitely was a growth spurt for her as she went right back to her usual nighttime sleep after it was done. Growth spurt makes the most sense to me!

[drsinpa]

I think you are right.  He's a little over 6MO now and starting to settle down.  I think I need to adjust our routine a little because of the change in mealtimes and that should help, too.

[Chicane]

Hi drspina!

So sorry I never replied to your post! I read it and forgot to check it as unread so it disappeared from my box and I then totally forgot. Then just saw it again with this new post. So sorry! Do you want to repost your routine and tell us where the issues are? I promise to take another look!

So sorry!
x

[drsinpa]

No worries!  I am in the midst of routine tweeking right now, so I'm not sure what to post.  We were trying to stick with the routine that I posted above until the last couple of days - with the exception of the catnap, which he has dropped.  After going back to the book, I am heading toward milkfeeds at 7a, 11a, between 3-4p, and 6:30p and solids at 8a, 1p, and 5p.  The evening feeds have me a little concerned because I worry that he's not taking a full feed at 6:30p before bed, both because of the closeness of the feedings and because he's pretty sleepy at that point.

[Chicane]

cool. I think if you are going to post your routine again its probably best on the EASY board as I am feeling the issues are more around routine tweaking...hope things start looking up..

xo