started solids, sleep is shocking again PLEASE HELP!!

[lotte77]

has anyone got this problem? my little girl has been such a good sleeper prior to introducing solids. she was going through the night pretty much from 12 wks. exclusively bf, waited 6 months to start solids and now its all gone completely wrong i am up every 2/3 hours again with her through the night!! she is having 3 meals a day and am continuing to bf. she seems to be loving the solids, eats anything i give her but despite having alot more food now through the day i would have thought her sleep would be better if anything??!! she is waking in the night wanting milk. am i doing something wrong?? any suggestions please am desperado...feels like she is a newborn again waking so much

Hi Lotte
Sorry to hear that you're having problems.
I completely understand how tough it can be when they don't sleep through, especially after being good sleepers before.

How old is your DD now?
Is she still only 6 months?
If so, it's quite early to be on 3 meals a day.
Many people start on one and gradually build up to 3 by about 9 months.

She's eating happily, which is great, but how does her body seem to be coping? Is she filling nappies regualarly and without any problems?

One big possiblity is that the waking is not related to the eating.
It's quite possible that the timing is merely concidental.
Many babies start waking at night at around 6 months because of teething etc.
Is there any chance that this is the reason in your DD's case?

Also, is she starting to crawl etc now?
If so, it could be that she is very hungry due to the extra physical activity.

Whatever the reason, you will probably find that it is just a phase.
All babies go through them. Those that slept well before start waking and those that used to be awake all night suddenly start sleeping through.
There's not much you can do except wait for the phase to pass, safe in the knowledge that she will start sleeping better again soon.

Sorry not to have more practical advice.
Maybe someone else will come along with something better to offer...

Not much advice, except that a)it's common for babies to get more restless as you're introducing new foods, b) 6 months is a big growth spurt time, cue interrupted sleep and c) it may also be teeth. How you deal with it is up to you. I's stick to my previous routine if it was working well beforehand and see if things settle down. You might want to introduce foods slowly in case she is reacting to specific things - at 6 months she doesn;t need to be eating that much, esp if you're still bfing

Good luck

thanks for your replies guys. she is pooing alot, lots of wet nappies so feel like the food is getting digested ok. i had wondered whether 3 small meals was okay or not. i was just really being led by her but maybe should ease off. it could be teething that's true. no sign of any yet but lots of dribbling has been like that since she was born though...
thanks for your suggestions, much appreciated.
ruthchan your username is the same as what mine usually is (lottechan) did you do a stint in japan by any chance?

thanks for your replies guys. she is pooing alot, lots of wet nappies so feel like the food is getting digested ok. i had wondered whether 3 small meals was okay or not. i was just really being led by her but maybe should ease off. it could be teething that's true. no sign of any yet but lots of dribbling has been like that since she was born though...
thanks for your suggestions, much appreciated.
ruthchan your username is the same as what mine usually is (lottechan) did you do a stint in japan by any chance?

Lotte, I just had the same problem with ds. It seems to have cleared now (7 mo) but at 6mo, when he really started to get the hang of eating, I gave him three meals a day and he started to sleep much lighter and seemed more uncomfortable. I cut back - now mainly solids for breakfast and lunch with a snack late afternoon and the problem seems to have gone.

I think the 'solids help them sleep through' thing may be a bit of a myth.

thats good to know speccie! will maybe try and do what you've done and see if it helps any! thanks alot. i suspect the solids and sleeping thing is a myth too...

Hi Lotte

Yes, I too have hear that it's best to give solids earlier in day, particularly when introducing new foods, as any problems or bad reactions are then likely to occur during the day not the night.

As for the dribbling, yes it does happen for quite a while before the teeth actually appear, but it's still a sign that they are probably on their way.

And yes, I am indeed in Japan.
In fact my husband is Japanese so it doesn't look like I'll be heading back the uk in the near future.
Where abouts were you when you were here?
Considering that I sometimes use the name ruthchan77, I'm guessing that we're the same age too.

hiya! how funny!! yes am a 77 kiddo too. i lived in shizuoka, did the JET scheme it was a while back now though in 1998..whereabouts are you? have you been there a long time?
hope you havent been caught up with the nova drama, what a nightmare!
have dropped the eve feed now and sleep seems much improved so am really pleased about that, hurrah!

my DD is 6 months too and is doing exactly the same thing. She was waking just once a night then suddenly started waking much more. I am trying to wean her but she is not keen so cant really say she is eating 3 meals yet so probably just coincidence. She wakes about every 3 hours for a feed and then from about 4 or 5am onwards is v restless and grissly. I dont think she is hungry necessarily but feeding her seems to be the only way to get her to settle. I hope it is just a phase as I am at my wits end. A growth spurt or teething seem like reasonable explanations.

hi lucia, it;s such hardgioing isnt it!! i have been feeding my dd too when she wakes it does seeem to be the only way to get her back off to sleep again. she gets last solids of the day at 2pm now - that seems to have helped alot although sleep isnt what it was.

Hi
So you were in Shizuoka?
Not far from me, I'm in Aichi.
I came out in 1999. Only for one year, but never quite made it home. Must have liked the place or something!!!
I came over with Geos, so I managed to avoid the Nova problem completely.
Did you do your full 3 years of JET?

this was such a relief to read as i am experiencing exactly the same sleep issues with my little one - also exclusively breastfed and also a previously good sleeper. reckon maybe just a stage or maybe i have introduced 3 meals a day too quickly. if we are all going through it must be something about the age....

The good news is that my dd seems to have settled down a bit. This week I have been trying not to feed her so often in the night and she seems to be have started to accept this and has started to sleep for longer at a time. Last night although she woke 3 times I fed her just once at 2.30am. The other times I walked around with her until she stopped crying and stroked her head until she dozed off. Hope I am not speaking too soon but so far it seems to working. She is accepting solids a little better so I have been giving her something gentle like baby rice & fruit at about 5pm followed by a milk feed and then another milk feed at 6.30 before bed.

Thanks Lucia that pattern is the one i adopted with DD1 so i should attempt to follow it with dd2 i guess. good plan. i will go for it tonight. thanks. all that food cant be necessary in the night. once is prob all they need now...

sorry been away...

lucia glad she has settled down, my dd seems to have too a little. also discovered she is getting a tooth so that may have been part of the problem too!

have been doing the same thing as you, some babyrice and fruit at 5, then milk before bed. she woke last night at 1pm and 4pm as usual but i left her, she cried for 5 mins and then popped back off to sleep again by herself. no milk required, hurrah!

i agree they will be getting plenty of food now maybe its just become a habit thing all the waking...

ruth - i only did one year of JET in the end..it was fun though. i loved japan.