Hi, my son Nick (and first child) is now 6 months old & has been begging w/ his eyes & hands for food for over a month now. With doc's OK we started w/ baby cereal last Thurs. He slept fitfully that night & woke several times (normally he only is up once at night); the next night he pushed the spoon away & would not eat much of the cereal at all & his sleeping was more disruptive & he was more upset & cranky. We decided that perhaps he was intolerant of the rice cereal since he had most of the symptoms (from what we can tell) that are noted online. On Saturday night we tried Sweet Potatoes & YUM YUM did he love them & eat them up, no problems for 4 hours after eating (w/ rice it was almost 2 hrs exactly after he ate that he started having issues) he woke up screaming & was nearly inconsolable for 4.5 hours. Do you think these reactions are from his food or could it be b/c he is cutting his top 2 middle teeth right now...the bottom 2 are in & he's rubbing & digging at the top area now so I know they are coming but not sure how soon. I am at a loss & don't know what to do. For now I have stopped the baby food & he still had a rough night last night, but better than Saturday. Please help...and thanks!
I would suspect the teeth. Every kid is different, but by 6 months most kids need solid food. I'd stick with the veggies he likes, and move on from there. Also, see if tylenol helps-- if so, it is probably the teeth.
When babies teeth, their saliva changes and that can be causing some of the problems. If his teeth hurt, everything might as well hurt. The only other thing I can think of is if his intestines are bothering him -- because suddenly he's eating things that are thicker and harder to digest, so be sure he's getting water and pick some kind of juice. I always gave my kids apple juice, but I've heard since then, that some kids react to that, too. We never had that problem, so each of them got it. It'll help things slide through the intestines that aren't used to substance. You may want to call the doc's office and talk to the nurse. Nurses have more training in health, and doc's in pathology -- so you might get more nurtional and food info from the nurse. :-)
We just cut our first teeth last week, and our daughter was the exact same way at night. She would wake up screaming and the only way to console her was to distract her (Elmo movie). That's how we knew it was her teeth. We had a few nights like that until the teeth actually came through. Like the previous poster said, chilling the food has really helped. We also did the Motrin at night and used teething tablets during the day. I hope it works out quickly for you!
L., introduce any new foods during the day so if he gets fussy you will not be awake most of the night. When my son was teething, he would only it if the food was refrigerated. I'm guessing because the coldness was soothing to the gums. Sounds to me like it is a teethin issue. When a child is teething and lies down, it affect his ears and makes them fussy. I would say to try a dose of Motrin about 45 minutes before bed. If this helps him, then it is teething.
i'd only give him solids in the morning and maybe for lunch so you can figure out if its the teeth or the food. i know my son couldn't eat rice cereal...it made him constipated and VERY uncomfortable so that could be it for you too. has he pooped since eating solids? Try to eliminate the solids after lunch to help you narrow down the problem.
be careful with sweet potatoes they can cause gas. they are good but sometimes gas can occur. it sounds like he is getting teeth also which will also distrupt their sleep patterns. give some baby tylenol and teething tablets before he goes to bed. may be give him a warm bath before bed to see if that helps relax him. hylands teething tablets are awesome and will help with the pain and they are all natural. start off with a smaller amount of food and gradually increase it. make sure he is still getting his formula. if all else fails call the pediatricians office.
Hi L., I would maybe try to give foods in the morning or afternoon if it seems to upset his stomach or make him cranky in the evening. I would suspect that it's his teeth bothering him. By 6 months my daughter (who is almost a year now) was eating two meals a day. It was easier to try things earlier in the day in case something didn't sit right with her. She was getting her upper teeth around 6 months as well and it really disrupted her sleep for about 1 week or so. I would give her a half a popsicle or ice cube wrapped in a baby wash cloth with a rubber band around the end to keep it in there and she would go to town on it. She never really like teething rings but would chow down on that wash cloth. She too would have periods where she just didn't seem interested in eating. I would just keep offering it to him and if he doesn't want it that's fine. Have you tried puffs or cherios or even sugar free jello? My daughter loved playing in the jello. It teaches them to use their hands to feed themselves. My little one got to the point around 7 months that she just didn't want me feeding her with a spoon, she wanted to do it herself.
Also, maybe try some tylenol at night and I have also used those hylands teething tablets too. The upper teeth are the worst. Good luck.
A.
My daughter is 7 months now and I started trying the rice cereal when she was 5 1/2 months. The first 2 days she was EXTREMELY fussy, so I stopped and started trying the solids again a week or 2 later and she has been totally fine. Especially if your son might also be teething, I would stop the solids for a week or so and let him get over the teething, then try again.
Hi L.,
What do you think about trying oatmeal baby cereal instead of the rice? He is still pretty young and tiny tummies don't always do well on solid foods. (Even if he has an interest & is "begging"!) I would keep it pretty light. Puffs, cheerios, baby cereal til he starts to adjust & can tolerate it all better. Good luck!
