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 Ask Dr. Jana
Connection between Sleeping Better and Starting Solids | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Dr. Jana,
This is Desperate Mum from Malaysia and many thanks for your help. You mentioned that my 4-1/2-month-old son's problem could be due to the way he is put to sleep. For the last two months, he has been sleeping on his own without sleep aids like rocking or feeding, even during nap times. When he started crying out from his sleep, we did pick him up initially but found it very difficult to put him back down again so most times we left him to try to sleep by himself, and that is successful 99 percent of the time.
In the last two weeks however, he seems to be better at sleeping longer and has less frequent wakings. This coincided with him starting solids. Could there be a connection? Again many thanks for helping.— Desperate Mum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | | | ANSWER |
May 10, 2001 | | | Dear Desperate Mum,
Thanks for writing in to let me know that my advice helped! I am glad to know that you and your son are both getting more sleep.
As for whether or not starting solid foods has anything to do with improving a four- to six-month-old's sleep habits, I will tell you that it may well play a role. Quite often, babies this age give us signs that they want to be fed more by starting to wake up earlier and seem hungrier. However, as you know, there are many factors that effect how well a baby sleeps, not the least of which is simply the fact that as babies mature, they develop a better ability to sleep longer stretches and go longer periods of time between feedings.
Hope you and your son continue to enjoy each other.— by Laura Jana, M.D., F.A.A.P. |
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