Babies Fed Solid Foods Early Sleep Better, Study Finds

Babies Fed Solid Foods Early Sleep Better, Study Finds A study published in JAMA Pediatrics proves what many parents already assumed: A baby belly full of both liquid and solid food equals a better nights sleep. The current pediatric recommendation in the U.S. and U.K.  is that mothers exclusively breastfeed their child until the age of six months. For this study, 1,300 babies, all three-months-old, were recruited and their families separated into two groups. One group of mothers was instructed to incorporate solid baby foods along with their breastfeeding regimen. The result? The group that incorporated solid foods experienced a greater than 50% reduction in the number of severe sleep disturbances in their babies. The study also found that introducing children to solid baby food at three months was associated with fewer wakings throughout the week. The sleep improvements even continued throughout the first year of infancy and beyond.