sleep dramas on solids?

[ozzysmum]

we started ozzy on baby rice at just over 4months and he stopped sleeping through the night. i tried various other mushed foods like potato and pumpkin and he still didn't sleep through - he was prior to starting them. so we stopped for a week and within 2 days he was sleeping through again. i thought maybe i'd been a bit ambitious as he LOVES to eat so maybe i was giving him too much and i was feeding him in the afternoon. this week, after a week's break, we tried again - really runny farex, tiny amount, 2 teaspoons. last night he hardly slept at all :( he really enjoys food and i don't want to deny him, he gets soooooo excited when he sees anyone eating with a spoon and is reaching out for it!
has anyone else had a similar problem? i always thought solids were supposed to help baby sleep, not stop it!

[poshBecks]

Do you give him food in the am or pm? I'd be inclined to do it in the am & as u increase the amount of food start giving it to him later then. Are you only giving him 1 teaspoon to start with?

[addictedtobabe]

Just wondering why you started him on solids? I started DS at 5 months but that was because he was very hungry and stopped sleeping through the night.

Why not wait until he is 6 months as is recommended if he is not hungry before? If not then I too would switch to mornings..

[poshBecks]

must admit I was thinking that too..... :rolleyes:

[ozzysmum]

i started him because he was trying to grab food from me when i was eating, had shown interest in it for 3 or 4 weeks and he didn't have the tongue thrust thing - i know it was early compared to the recommendations but he's quite a big baby (long, not chubby) and he did seem very ready. he's nearly 5 months now and i suppose i'm also concerned that if i try again in a few weeks i'm going to have the same problem. i did try feeding him in the morning and encountered the same probs as when i fed him in the afternoon so have given up for now and gone back to just breastfeeding. he seems perfectly happy but is still obsessed watching people eat and reaches his little hands out towards anyone with a spoon!

[taiyasmum]

I had the same problem with Taiya.

She was sleeping through the night and once we started solids (5 months) she stopped. I founf that she was getting constipated from the rice cereal and she was going to the toilet (#2) about 5 times a day. This seemed to be waking her up.

Anyway 1 month on and she has started sleeping thru the night again. She is no longer constipated and is not doing #2s as often.

I figured it was just her tummy getting used to food.

Good Luck :o

[cwsmum]

he seems perfectly happy but is still obsessed watching people eat and reaches his little hands out towards anyone with a spoon!

If he is reaching out for the spoon, then just give him a spoon to play with :) If he is happy with just being breastfed then I'd leave the solids for a bit longer. Maybe he thinks a spoon is a toy, thats why he reaches for them :D

[Imsooverit]

OzzysMum, Don't feel bad about feeding Ozzy at 4 months. From what others have said I'd be feeling pretting dreadful. The recommendation is 6 months BUT not that long ago it was 4 months. My DD's Doctor (who specialises in babies and children) actually asked me why I hadn't started the solids with my DD at 4 months. She has a chart in her surgery showing when to start solid feeding. If Ozzy is ready, he is ready. Obviously he is more advanced than some other babies. If he wants solids (spoon grabbing, watching other eat etc) feed him.

Try his first feeds in the morning or at lunch. That way his body will get used to it before the big sleep at night.

I tried rice cereal on my DD late afternoon and found she was getting grumbly with it and waking during the night (and she was 6.5 months). It can take a little while for their systems to start digesting something with more substance than breast milk.

If Ozzy seems to be in pain after his feed (or is upset by something you've eaten) I've lucked onto a Oral Liquid called "Marina Infant Mixture". You buy it from the shelf at the Chemist (near the colic relief/gripe water). It's basically a pepermint liquid and it calms their tummies within about 2 minutes. I've run this past a couple of Doctors and they've all said it's fine and a Doctor and Nurse have both said they've used it and couldn't have lived without it. I know I couldn't!

So feel good about feed Ozzy early - if he's ready, he's ready!

[ozzysmum]

thank you stormT :) i will buy some of that marina mixture in case that is the problem. he never seems to be in pain after eating but it might be worth trying to see if that is the problem and he's just got no way of telling me. he also doesn't seem to be constipated, but as you and taiyasmum said, i suppose his little tummy is just getting used to processing the food. i'm going to try him again next week when my DP gets back from overseas - that way it's not always having to be me getting up every hour if ozzy wakes all night
thanks again for the advice :)