feeding less - sleeping less - happy less

[melsy]

A short while ago I posted about my dd feeding more and sleeping less. Will now she's doing all the above. She is 17weeks this week and I havent yet started weaning her, as not sure when to start. She has been formula fed from 3 weeks.

Reading the "solids at 16wks" I am even more confused. My sister and close family friend(with toddlers) have all said it will make her sleep through and I should start rice this week???, which my sister says will get her through once on 2 small rice meals a day(4-6 tsp??)this she says will be around 2 weeks from now. She said that draining bottles is not always a sign, but she is not doing that at the mo, maybe one bottle of 6oz is drained, the rest r only 3-4oz if lucky.
She seems more and more unsettled during the night and generally grumpy if awake and knawing at her hands. She refuses many bottles after TINY feeds of 2oz and does not seem to like milk very much anymore. I am seeing a doctor this week with her as she has nasty ezma on her forehead so I will discuss it there to , but he is a junior Doc and I would like some other opinions.

Oh well , MUST go to bed and get NO sleep tonight!!!! Will have to check in in the morning for thoughts and ideas.

melsy, just a thought, but could she be teething? The knawing at hands and being fretful at night and in the day time is just what my 2 are like. You could try some calpol!

Weaning, I believe, does not instantly get them through the night - I think, and please do correct me if this isn't right, that to start with they can't get as many calories from solids as they can from milk, so they 'fill up' on less satisfying food. But as they eat more, their calorific intake increases.

The other possibility I can think of is wind - if she has wind, then offering a feed may make it worse. Could you try spacing the feeds out more, but giving more at each feed?

Good luck!

Hi musica

We thought teething was a possibility , have been gving her chamillia powder and disprol. It seems to help for a little while, so may be thats all it is.

I didnt think that the weaning would get her sleeping instantly , as I am aware that it may take a few weeks before she is on enough food to make a difference. I am just not sure when to start, as it looks as if she will knever drain bottles, it may be weeeks yet, but according to Pis's info on the other thread ,I should start due to aneamia?????

meant to say chamollila, not sure of spelling withought looking at box!!!

Melsy - the sleep thing is a myth. If you can, take a look at this (not sure if it is on line):

Heinig MJ, Nommsen LA, Peerson JM, et al. Intake and growth of breast-fed and formula-fed infants in relation to the timing of introduction of complementary foods: the DARLING study. Acta Paediatr 1993, Dec; 82(12): 999-1006.

Anyway, this is a big study which looks at all sorts of infant feeding aspects, and they found introduction of solids was not linked in any way with sleep.

Gnawing at hands is a normal part of infant development.

Of course, not all babies match the evidence/research - they're all individuals. Some babies may be happier with solids, for whatever reason (probably not plain and simple hunger, as you can increase the formula if this is an issue).

HI Melsy ... I ahve been dreaming that starting solids may make DD sleep longer at nights too ! Remind me again how yr DD sleeps at night ? Sounds as if you are as tired as I am ...

I just posted a new thread under sleep and need advice ! DD seems to also be disinterested in her bottle even though she shld technically be hungry !