Will Starting Solids Help My Baby Sleep Longer?

We have all heard this one, often passed down from a well-intentioned family member from a place of love:

“Put some rice in baby’s bottle to fill her tummy!” “Once you start solids he will start to sleep longer stretches!”

How helpful, true, and safe is this particular bit of advice?

First of all, let’s all just agree to set aside the comment about rice in the bottle since both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Center for Disease Control have deemed it not only unhelpful, but also risky. Moreover, recent recommendations suggest waiting until around 6-months before introducing solids- so it is very likely that some of our mothers and grandmothers have outdated information. Tactfully tell the source of that gem, “thanks but no thanks.”

But what about solids under the advice of your pediatrician at the appropriate age? Will purees or nibbles on strips of table food improve your little one’s sleep?

I hate to crush your dreams, but the short answer is: no, solids are not the magic milestone that lead to better sleep.

Now that your hopes are dashed, let me reinstate a little hope for all of you deliriously tired moms out there:

If your child is waking because of hunger, then sure! Solids might just stretch out sleep. If they are not getting enough daytime calories, then some solids may do the trick. Is it a leap? Is it a regression? Why won’t my baby sleep?!? None of the above should affect sleep for more than a few nights at a time. Even teething pain should not disrupt sleep for more than a handful of nights!

Okay, so if not solids, then what?!

What we need to do is get to the root of the sleep problem.

More likely than anything is that your child is either on an inappropriate schedule for his or her age or they are dependent on some sort of prop to fall asleep. These typically include nursing, bottle, rocking, bouncing, swaying, or some other movement.

If one of the above sounds like the culprit, it could be time to start working on setting an appropriate schedule and routine, and removing the sleep prop. Easier said than done, I know! But that’s what I am here for!

It is never too early to start working on independent sleep! Yes, even newborns! You can download my newborn sleep e-book here or, if your baby is at least 12 weeks, I am available to walk right along with you toward better sleep. The first step is asking for help, and I can take it from there!