Can solids have a negative impact on sleep?!?

[Sungrl]

Hi there,

My DD Zoey just turned 6 months the other day, but we have tried off and on to offer some solids for a few weeks now.  I thought Zoey was ready for solids because she is VERY interested in food and has been reaching out for our food, opening her mouth when we offer a spoon, etc.  She was also BFing more frequently at one point so I figured I would give solids a try.

I tried avocado as her first food.  She ate some but was not overly enthused about it.  I then tried organic whole grain rice cereal.  Some days she will eat this, others she is totally uninterested.  I also tried an oatmeal and rice mixture, and got the same reaction as with the rice cereal.  Both of these she prefers when mixed with BM over boiled water.  Today I tried offering sweet potato and she really did not like that at all!

I haven't been feeding her much (most of the time about a teaspoon is all she will take), just offering the various foods every 4 or 5 days to see if she likes them.  I noticed when I first started with solids, she was VERY restless at night while sleeping, and seemed to wake more frequently, and even earlier in the morning.  When I stopped altogether for a week, she was better but this week she seems to be sleeping poorly again (and I have offered the cereal again).  Could the solids actually be making her sleep poorly?!?  If so, is it just too soon for solids for Zoey or do try a different food or keep trying what I have been? 

Thanks!
Shannon

[EsMum]

Hi Shannon,

We just went through this.  I was exclusively BF my LO until she was about 5 months old, when I decided to try introducing formula (just a little at night so I could go out from time to time!).  From the first day I did this she started waking 1 hour after going to sleep at night.  When I stopped, so did that wake-up.  Same thing when I started solids.  We dropped the 3rd solid feed for a while and then reintroduced it, and even now I don't give her too much for dinner.

I don't think it's too soon for Zoey to start solids, Ella was just over 5.5 months when she started.  We just did rice cereal mixed with BM exclusively for the first week or so, starting with breakfast every day.  After a week or two we added cereal for lunch.  We just stuck with the cereal for a while until she got used to "solids" and then started adding a little fruit to the cereal, one new one a week.  A teaspoon sounds about right while she gets used to it.  I know it doesn't seem like much!

HTH,
Michelle

[binxyboo]

Welcome Shannon, I was wondering when we'd see you over here.

When babies first start out on solids, it can take a while for their little tummies to get adjusted. Cereal for a lot tends to cause gassiness, constipated,restlessness etc. The nutritional content of cereal is also debateable. So, if you wanted to try another cereal, or bypass it completely, that would be fine too.

Some babies do really well with what is called the babyled approach to solids, I will post a link for you.
http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/vast_voedsel/rapley_guidelines.html
 If she is interested in what is on your plates, such as fruit, veg, you could try her with those. It took Riley a long time before he took in substantial amounts of solids. But he was healthy and thriving on nursing. He did tend to eat a bit more if he ate with us, as opposed to mealtime alone in his chair. He enjoyed the whole social aspect of it more than anything.

What times are you trying her with the foods?

[Samuel's mum]

Sam was much more restless at night after introducing solids. He woke up more often and stayed awake for longer. I could sometimes hear digestion going on (and we're not talking cauliflower here but rice cereal and pears). He didn't seem to be having a dodgy reaction and several of my friends who started solids reported the same thing. Cereal did seem to make it a little worse though. After a couple of months things settled down a bit.

[binxyboo]

How is little Zoey doing, Shannon?

I haven't seen you around the boards in forever, hope things are good with you xx

[Sungrl]

Hey Michelle, thanks for asking!  We bought a new house and moved recently so I've been crazy busy.  Zoey is suffering from major separation anxiety and some other anxiety that includes not allowing me to put her down, so it has been VERY challenging to get anything done while she is awake.  Her nights are still not great and today she decided to get up at 5am for the day so I'm just totally beat!!!!   

She still has not taken to solids at all.  I had her eating a bit of cereal every day and then was offering her some banana and apple in a mesh feeder.  At first, she LOVED this but then after a few days totally refused to take it.  I've also tried offering her pear, apple puree, squash, sweet potato, etc.  She does not like any of it!  She has had a cold all last week and has not really eaten any solids at all, but has been BFing a lot more.  I offered her a bit of formula for the first time today because I am worried about her not getting enough iron, but she only drank about an ounce and then just chewed on the bottle.  Little monkey!

[binxyboo]

Good to hear from you! Hope things go well in your new house. I wouldn't be concerned about introducing formula at all, Shannon. BF is perfect for her. Some babies take a lot longer to warm up to solids than others, I know it can be frustrating at times, because Riley was just like that.
When do you offer foods? Is she any more motivated to eat if she joins in with family mealtimes? Will she touch the food and try to pick it up on her own?

[Sungrl]

I have been offering her solids after her first nap - around 11am, and then again around supper time.  Some days she seems more interested, others not at all.  I have been experimenting with some finger foods too, but I am VERY afraid of her choking.  I have given her rice rusks, which she seems to like...I think because she likes to bite them and hear the noise they make!  They don't appear to be overly nutritious though.  She LOVES to chew on a carrot stick but since she has no teeth (I would not offer her a carrot stick if she had teeth) she doesn't actually EAT any of the carrot.  I also gave her some small pieces of banana today to see if she would feed herself, but she ended up just mushing most of it around on her tray. When she brought it to her mouth she made a yucky face.   

Yesterday she was extremely excited about some defrosted frozen mango I gave her in her mesh feeder.  Today, she hated it.   

It doesn't seem to matter what the food is, she reacts as though all foods are VERY strong in flavor, and very distastefull.  It is as though she is eating lemon; she makes a shocked face and even flinches and sometimes makes a little cough noise like she is eating something really really strong or sour.  Odd...

[Tanners Mom]

Hey Shannon!
I just peeked in on this post since my LO is having sleep issues.

I was also worried about Tanner getting enough iron and so I talked to his pediatrician about it this week. She said that he is getting plenty from my breastmilk for now and then once he's taking more solids - to make sure I give him good food with iron but not to worry about it right now. Just thought I would pass that along!

Good luck with the solids - I read somewhere that some little ones take up to 10-15 times of trying a food before they like it.

HTH
~Jaci