Will starting solids help my baby sleep longer?
If you are a new parent that has shared your baby sleep woes with an older relative, you may have been told that they will sleep longer once they start solids. Or that “you just need to put rice cereal in their bottle and they will sleep all night”.
And while in theory it seems like this could potentially be helpful, a lot of the advice that is provided from older generations is not necessarily fact-sorry grandma!
But is this claim truly fact or fiction? In short, feeding your child solids will not “make them sleep longer”.
So why do people say this?
Solids are generally introduced sometime between 4-6 months. But the AAP and WHO recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life and beyond. This also happens to be around the time it is possible to start seeing those 10-12 hour stretches of sleep. This correlation between introduction of solids and longer stretches of sleep is often assumed to be the cause, when in fact, these longer stretches of sleep are typically due to developmental ability, rather than eating solid foods.
There was a study done in 2018 called the EAT study that created a lot of buzz because they found that the early introduction of solids (before six months) led to babies sleeping longer stretches in comparison to babies exclusively breastfed until six months. Although these findings might make parents feel tempted to try to feed solids in an effort to get more sleep, the infants who were given solid foods only slept seventeen minutes longer, which is not a significant amount of time, especially considering the risks of introducing solids too soon.
Besides having no significant effect on sleep, introducing solids early may cause problem due to infants digestive system not being mature enough to handle nutrition other than formula or breastmilk, lack of head control and ability to properly swallow solids, and can also result in a decrease in breast milk production due to missed feedings. The purpose of the EAT study was more to focus on the impact of early introduction of solids and allergies rather than the impact on sleep. If parents have a history of allergic reactions in the family or are planning to start solids, it is best to check with your child’s pediatrician and follow their recommendations.
If introducing solids does not help babies sleep longer, can introducing solids make sleep worse?
Similar to how stretches of sleep tend to get longer between 4-6 months of age, there are also developmental changes that take place at this age that can interfere with a baby’s sleep that are more likely to play a role in baby’s sleep changes rather than food.
For example, a baby may be experiencing the 4 month sleep regression, learning to roll over, may begin teething, or could be taking in less milk due to distractibility and greater levels of alertness. Of course, when you do begin introducing solids it is important to be mindful of any sensitivities or allergic reactions, as well as avoiding sugary foods near bedtime to avoid trouble falling asleep.
Typically, you don’t need to worry that starting solids is going to cause sudden sleep disruptions with your baby, but it is important to pay attention to any sudden changes that occur with your child’s sleep upon introducing them.
You also want to remember that it should be a gradual introduction, with only 1-2 feedings of solids per day for at least a few weeks.
To sum it up, starting solids is a fun and exciting milestone related to exploration and learning about new tastes and textures and ultimately do not play a major role in either helping or disrupting sleep.
Some things you can focus on during this time to improve your baby’s sleep are addressing sleep foundations such as the sleep environment, nutritional intake, awake windows and routines. If your baby is over 3.5/ 4 months of age you can start working on teaching your baby to self-soothe as this is the age when they begin to develop the ability to soothe themselves. For further guidance feel free to reach out for 1-1 coaching or take our 4 month class.
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4852987/
https://www.childrenshospital.org/alliance/practices/longwood-pediatrics/patient-education/nutrition/starting-baby-on-solid-food
https://drcraigcanapari.com/will-solids-help-baby-sleep/
https://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/solids-sleep/
Related articles:
Five milestones that might affect your baby’s sleep