Solids Sleuth

Last week, Baby's sleep was terrible.  It took forever to get her down for naps.  She stayed up way too late at bedtime.  She woke up several times all night long, frequently refusing to be put down.  Then she woke up early.  It was a beat down.  I hoped whatever phase it was, it would quickly be over.

Things finally started to improve on Friday.  She went to sleep a little faster for her naps.  She slept a little better at night.  Thank goodness, I thought.  We survived it, I cheered!  I was proud that I had really held it together. I was patient.  I was flexible.  I was calm.  I didn't lose my patience or my temper until Thursday night.  I'm only human.  I patted myself on the back.

Saturday as we were preparing lunch, I had a thought.  "What if she was sleeping so poorly because of the avocado?" I asked my hubby.  "Oh no, I don't think so?" he responded as he placed a bowl of avocado next to Baby's oatmeal.  We shrugged at each other and sat down to eat.

Now, it seemed unlikely that the avocado was really causing all these issues because she only ate it on Friday.  The other avocados ended up being bad, so she went a week and a day without any more encounters of the delicious, green kind.  So I figured we were probably fine to feed it to her again.

The nap battles and horrible night that followed begs to differ.  Apparently, it was the avocado.  And so now we are in another week of Notorious Naps. (Dun dun dun.)  It's strange, though.  The banana caused a definite reflux reaction: rasping, spitting up, hiccups, arching.  But the avocado caused a reaction--though extremely mild in comparison--that is similar to what happens when baby has even the slightest trace of dairy: general discomfort that overwhelms her when distractions fall away and it's time for sleep, resulting in massive sleep battles, frequent wakings, and extreme nighttime discomfort that prevents her sleeping at night without being constantly soothed.  Oh, and hiccups.  Now that I think about it, there was some rasping as well, but I thought it was just because of the cold we were all fighting.  Sickness always seems to exacerbate her reflux.

Perplexing.

The battle to feed baby solids continues...