solids = night wakenings???

[Violet's mom]

My LO is 5.5 months old.  She recently started waking during the night and staying awake.  The only thing changed is we have introduced iron-fortified rice cereal (at 8am and 6pm) and she has begun rolling over very successfully (rolls all over her crib until comfy).  Should I stop with the solids?  Try something else?  What worked for you?

She used to be:
E 3:30am (back to sleep)
E 6:45am - 7:30am
A 1.75 - 2hrs
S 1-1.5hr
E 10:30
A 2-2.5hr
S 12:30 or 1:00
E 2:00 or 2:30
A 2-2.5hr
S 4:30 (catnap)
E 5:00 or 5:30
A about 2hr
S 6:45 bedtime
E 8:30 (right back to bed)

Thanks!

[PaulsMom]

Hi there!

I think there are a few things going on. 

If she's showing signs of readiness for solid foods you can continue but for some babies the rice cereal is hard on their tummies.  Is your baby ready for solids?. You can try pear, squash, sweet potato,which tend to be more gentle on their tummies.  Also I would start with morning and then a lunch meal rather than before bt as solid food in the tummy may cause more discomfort.  If she's not quite ready yet, then stop feeding solids and wait a 2-3 weeks and try again.

Looking at your routine, her A times are quite low so you might want to bump them out so that she's up for 2.25 to 3 hrs.  Average A times- BOOKMARK ME! .  The other thing that starts to happen around this time is dropping the CN as the A times are increased.  Her nw's may be caused by having too much DT sleep.  All about the 3-2 transition- 5/6 months

Lastly developmental things like rolling will also cause disruption in sleep so give her lots of time to practice during the day and as she perfects her skills, this will be a non-issue during the night!

HTH

[Violet's mom]

Thanks - I thought she was ready - was quite interested in food - but I didn't give her any today and she took two 2 hr naps and a catnap with A times still being about the same.  I will try to push them but slowly otherwise she gets so OT it's like watching someone go through withdrawal...  Even 10 minutes past her sleep window (which usually shows up around 1.75 to 2 hrs).  I was doing am A times of 2 hrs but she would only sleep for 40 mins and then be wide awake.  She just needs a more gradual change I think.  Thank you so much for always responding!!!

[PaulsMom]

The early stages of solid foods doesn't really give them enough calories to make much of a difference.  The fruits and veg are more gentle so I would try those and then do some grains when she's around 6 mo if things are going well.
Keep us posted on how things are going!

[Violet's mom]

Hi Paulsmom!

We nixed the solids and increased her a times to about 2hr 30min and it has really helped - thanks!

I am thinking of starting with sweet potatoes this week... when you said squash is that winter or summer?  I have some fresh from the garden that I would love to have her try but I am not sure if its too soon?  Thnaks for your help!

[PaulsMom]

Glad things are going well. 

Wrt squash, it could be either.  I usually start with winter squash (eg. Butternut) but zucchini is also good.