Why Your Baby’s Sleep is Getting Worse After Starting Solids

Why Your Baby’s Sleep is Getting Worse After Starting Solids

(All opinions, links, and suggestions are those given by sleepadvisor.org.  At Home with Joanna is excited to share their helpful information with you.)

“Slept like a baby” may be a common figure of speech, but let’s be honest: it’s not exactly accurate all the time.

Babies are known for not being able to sleep well and – what’s worse – ruining the chances of getting your own sufficient amount of shut-eye at night, especially when they’re not even a year old.

What’s interesting, though, is that many parents notice a change in their baby’s sleep patterns soon after introducing solid foods – also known as “complementary foods” – into their diets.

So what’s the rub? Is it the solid food that’s causing your little bundle of joy to keep you both up, or is it how you’re approaching the matter?

In other words, is it how you’re introducing the solid food into their diet, rather than the solid food itself?

If you guessed the answer was both, give yourself a round of applause. Or maybe a nap, [the Sleep Advisor gives great advice], depending on how much sleep you managed to get last night.

You could be feeding them solids too soon.

You should gradually start feeding your baby solid foods when they reach 4-6 months. Then, they’ll have more control of their head and neck. They’ll also lose that pesky reflex that causes them to spit food out of their mouth. (Yuck.) Also, you know it’s time to start the solid food consumption when they actually show an interest in doing so. And, y’know, maybe when your family doctor says it’s okay to. Just a thought.

You’re feeding them solid foods without giving them milk first.

When you’re introducing solids, it’s best to use them as a supplement to breast milk and formula only. (Hence why they’re also referred to as “complementary”.) Remember, milk feeding should be a central part of their diet. Give your baby solids thirty minutes to an hour after they ingest the milk/formula so their stomach won’t be completely empty.

You feed them solids at night.

Right before beddy-bye is not an ideal time to introduce new foods into your baby’s diet. Try feeding them solids earlier in the day – like, say, in the AM – when they’re feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed. Trust us: avoid solids around dinner time if you both want to get a decent amount of shut-eye.

The portions you give them are too large.

It’s best to not feed your baby large portions of low-calorie foods that are going to sap their energy or make their little tummies feel achy. Solid foods are known to have a jarring effect on the digestive behavior of infants, providing what can be described as a shock to their systems. Be sparing with your portions at first so they don’t wake up in the middle of the night with an upset stomach and a sleep-disrupting cry.

You’re feeding them the wrong types of solid food.

The types of solid foods that you’re feeding your baby play a role in how their digestion plays a role in their sleep habits, too. For example, feeding them too much rice cereal will constipate them and may expose them to levels of arsenic the FDA discovered in rice products…but that’s a whole different story.

So: what types of solids should you feed your baby, anyway? It’s good to feed them pureed vegetables like zucchini and sweet potatoes, or even guacamole so they can start off slow and their digestive systems can grasp what the feeling of solid foods is like. Basically, anything that’s organic that falls within the realm of fruits and vegetables is fair game – as long as you feed your baby milk or formula first, that is.

Also, for all you carnivores out there, pureed meat is a great option for your baby to eat in order to give them a boost in zinc and iron, which breast milk doesn’t have. Herbivores: lentils and nuts work just as well for this, too.

Their sleep disturbances could be caused by something else…

There is a possibility that solids are not what’s causing your baby to keep everyone up at night. For example, the great and terrible rumors you’ve heard about a 4 month sleep regression are true.

Around this time, babies’ sleep cycles start maturing and transitioning into that of an adult. What does this mean? It means that they can’t access the non-REM deep sleep quite as easily as they used to, which translates to more of that “waking up crying at 3 am” thing that we’ve all grown to know and love.

So if you’re incorporating solids into your baby’s diet shortly after they reach the 4 month mark, it might coincide with the natural disruption of their sleep cycle. Convenient, right?

In conclusion…

As you can see, there are many different variables involved in determining how and why the quality of your baby’s sleep is declining when you start feeding your child solids.

To narrow it down: when introducing solid food to your baby’s diet, it’s best to keep pacing, portions, and timing in mind. These are the three main factors that will help keep your baby stay fast asleep. Well, the ones you have the most control over, anyway.

Now go get some rest. We think you deserve it.