We’re super lucky to collaborate with a diverse range of experts across all aspects of children's health and wellness, ensuring we provide you with comprehensive insights into your child’s well-being. We recently sat down with paediatric naturopath, Lisa Moane to learn a little bit about how starting solids can impact your bub’s sleep. We all know that sleep is crucial, but let’s first explore how it supports overall health and development. 

Quality sleep plays an important role in a variety of essential functions in the body. It’s crucial for immune function - helping to ward off illnesses - and maintaining a healthy appetite (if you’re dealing with fussy eating, you may want to consider whether your bub is getting enough sleep). It also plays a key role in cognitive functions such as memory, learning, decision-making, and problem-solving. Poor or insufficient sleep is linked to difficulties with emotional regulation and mood, and over time, can increase the likelihood of anxiety. 

Do calories impact your little one's sleep? 

In the early days, many people will tell you that moving to solids will likely help your little one sleep better. But does it? According to Lisa, the relationship between food, gut health and better sleep is closely intertwined. Here’s some little tips... 

When transitioning from breastmilk or formula to solid foods, it’s important to note the significant difference in calorie content. If you’ve just started solids and notice your bub isn’t sleeping as well, it may be because they aren’t receiving enough calories to sustain them through the night. Lisa points out that many of the first foods we feed our little ones are quite low in energy. A whole carrot steamed and pureed, for instance, is approximately 25 calories while 180ml of breastmilk is 135 calories. She says that “if you go too hard too fast with solids in the hope of filling up your baby and getting them to sleep well, you might displace high-calorie breast milk with low-calorie solids and end up with a hungrier baby.” As many of us know and understand, a hungry bub doesn’t sleep well.   

Lisa’s advice? During the early stages of introducing solids, prioritise milk as the main source of nutrition. At this point, solids should complement rather than replace milk, and by balancing the two, you can ensure your bub stays well-fed and well-rested.  

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LittleOak has been nourishing children for many years and feeds millions of infants, babies and children across the globe each and every day, in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. In the US, we're proud to have our FDA compliant Toddler Milk available for families.