5-9 months · 4 min read
Starting solids without wrecking sleep
Around 6 months, new food and new sleep patterns collide. Here is how to keep nights steady.
Food is not the fix for night waking
A very common hope at 6 months is that solids will stop night feeds. They usually do not. Milk remains the primary source of calories for months after the first tastes, and starting solids too aggressively can cause gas and discomfort that fragments sleep.
The order that protects sleep
Offer solids in the morning and at lunch first - never as the last thing before bed. New foods at dinner mean any reaction lands at 2am.
Keep the bedtime feed exactly as it was. Do not replace it with a puree.
Watch the 7-9 month nap shift
Solids often arrive at the same time as the 3-to-2 nap transition. If sleep gets worse, change one thing at a time: hold the food introduction steady for a week before you touch the schedule.
Solids at breakfast and lunch, milk at bedtime, one change at a time.
Guidance only, not medical advice. Every baby is different — adjust to your baby's cues and talk to your pediatrician about any sleep concern.