Sleep and Eating

Dear Alison,

Your daughter sounds perfectly normal, though it does sound like some of her new foods aren't agreeing with her little tummy. A lot of fruits can be very acidic, something babies -- even toddlers -- can't always handle. For what it's worth, my son was very disappointed by solid foods until we tried him on some mashed/strained peas when he was about 6 mos. Those got us a huge smile and an "mmm" and helped get him on track to being a relatively unfussy eater, for a toddler. No guarantees of course, but I've seen and heard of other good results w/ babies and peas.

And your daughter's motor development sounds perfectly normal. The "back to sleep" generation of babies is reaching physical milestones at a slower rate -- less time on the tummy means slower motor development, esp. when it comes to crawling and creeping. As much as we all want our children to excel at everything, every child has a different developmental trajectory. I'd be concerned about a 6-month-old who hadn't reached 2- and 3-month milestones (holding up head, grabbing for objects, etc.), but your daughter sounds fine.

And please don't worry about her being "behind" on food. She'll wind up with a much healthier diet if you wait to introduce food until *she's* ready for it.

I really wanted to reply because of you, though: it sounds like you might be going through a little bit of a rough patch. Have you considered seeing a dr. for postpartum depression? It's incredibly common and can strike many months after a baby is born. And it's compounded because many women have trouble asking for help, or they feel guilty b/c they don't spend 100 percent of their time in a state of dreamy maternal bliss. If you think you might have some PPD symptoms, I really recommend looking into treatment. My best friend did, and she says it was the best decision she ever made, b/c now she can really enjoy her son.

Take care!

Mira

When my daughter was 6 months old i couldn't get her to touch a fruit or veg. She is 8 months now and still only likes oatmeal and sweat potatoes. Nothing else. It all comes in good time. Every child is different. As for the sleeping, mines up at all hours still.

Dear Alison
It seems your 6 month old is not digesting her night time cereal which causes her stomach to be upset. I would suggest using the Beechnut "good Evening" cereal it has something in it that helps them digest the cereal better. My girl friend had a similar problem and it seemed to work for her son. Also remember that every baby develops differently. I would just encourage the rolling over when you play on the floor by dangling a favorite toy just out of her reach so she will try to grab it and hopefully roll over w/out thinking about it. As for the sitting up usually by now they can only sit w/ support and for a few seconds. Just keep sitting her up and her stomach muscles will develop soon. Good Luck!

Hi! I have raised ten babies! I usually start the cereal wit fruit. Mix applesauce and rice cereal and stay with that for awhile. Then just fruit at lunch, the 9 and 6 feeding time sounds right to me. Maybe, the cereal alone is too hard to digest? They can also have fruit juice once a day, and I did give my kids some water, I did breastfeed my children and weaned near a yr give or take.

Sitting up and rolling should come soon. Spread out a blanket with fun toys to reach out to and the rolling should come. I do hope it all improves for you and you def have a sibling!!The first baby is so hard in a lot of ways, a big learning curve, second time is so much easier and you get touse all that you have learned!!~D.

Alison Congrats on your baby. You are doing fine, my dr gave me the go ahead to start cereal at 5 mo but my daughter was not interested so there was no point on pushing it so I stopped and started again later at around 6 mo she would take it but not overly eager to eat. She started to truly enjoy and want food at around 7-1/2 to 8 mo, so don't worry as long as she is taking enough milk and is gaining weight normally you shouldn't worry. also for the eating and sleeping it could be that cereal is too heavy for her at night it happened with my daughter, so I just started to feed her the cereal earlier at around 4 since she went to bed at 7. Her tummy is just starting to learn how to digest solids so she may be getting gassy or just plain uncomfortable like we do when we eat too much. In regards of development remember every kid reaches ea milestone at a different pace and it is perfectly normal. It also depends on how many opportunities they have to practice those skills. My daughter sat at 6 mo but my best friend's baby sat at 8 or 9 months b/c she was always on one of those entertainers, I had mine always on the floor. Nothing wrong or right just different parenting styles which yield different results. My daughter is 14 months and she still doesn't talk while my friend's daughter was already talking up a storm at 13 mothns. I am doing everything I can to get her to talk, I talk to her all the time, she has never watched tv, I sing along on the radio for her, I don't give her what she asks for as soon as she points before naming the object like 100 times but still she doesn't want to talk. Every child is different but as new moms we can't help but compare. Whatever you do you are doing the right thing. I used the book What to Expect the First Year as a guide of what should I expect month to month and it was great help. I am sure your daughter is doing beautifully so give her time and don't worry. Hope this helps.

Alison,

If your baby is not sitting up yet or rolling over, she is not ready for solid food. As for starting cereal first, when I was pregnant with my 4th I heard on Oprah some doctor say that it is no wonder that we have a nation of overweight carbohydrate addicts, the first thing we feed babies is cereal. He suggested bananas and avocados for first foods. Since my first 3 were horrible eaters I decided to try it.

My fourth child started with bananas and avocados, I never offered her jar food, and she is a fabulous eater. I decided that it was so easy to mash up the bananas and avocados that I would just cook up fruits and vegetables and blend them. This has worked wonderful and saved me tons of money at the same time.

6 months is a suggested start age, but there is some research to suggest that children's digestive tracks aren't ready for solids until much later. In fact, I know some moms who wait on solids until 2 years of age! I didn't do that, but 6 months was the earliest I started solids with any of mine, 9 months was the latest.

Don't worry about your baby being behind. Each child has their own timetable and no one should make you feel like your baby is behind. Eating at this age is only for practice, not nutrition. Your baby should still be getting her nutrition from breast milk or formula. Definitely do not offer only cereal or any solids in place of breastmilk or formula for any time she would normally have a bottle. This is very important. Breastmilk offers all of the nutrition your baby needs...or if you are bottle feeding, ditto for that.

As for the norm, many babies don't have schedules, they eat when they are hungry and sleep when they are tired. This changes as their growth patterns change. My children have rarely had predictable schedules. This is normal. Some parents get their children on schedules for their convenience, but until they are much older than your baby, it really is not necessary or even healthy. Baby knows best!

I'm sure you are doing a great job with your baby. Don't worry about what everyone else is doing and just enjoy your babies own special routine!

D.

Hi Alison-
I have an 8 month old and when I started him on cereal we tried the nighttime feeding and he woke up during the night. I believe it was because he didn't know how to eat the cereal from a spoon and so he didn't get as much to eat before bed. As a result he woke up. We switched cereal to the morning and he did much better. In terms of sitting up and rolling over, if she wants to she may be waking up in the night because she is working on that skill. From what I have been told, if they are working on any new skill that can cause night waking. I stay at home as well and it is difficult at times. It sounds like your daughter is doing very well! Don't worry about solid feeding. Our doctor told us that really for the first year they don't even need it nutrionally.

Hi Alison,

I think your little one is fine. every child goes through stages and sleep differences and eating changes. They do their own things in their own time. I do not agree with forcing a schedule or "working" with them to push their physical development. Each child does what s right for them. Their bodies and brains work together to develop strengths and weakness. They need you there to support their moves not maintain what you think is right for your child to do.

My little gal will be a year and she scoots around the house on her bottom. She is strong and healthy. She does not crawl or walk. She has alone playtime and kid playtime and family playtime with opportunity for physical advancement (she is on the floor with toys) each week. We started this as a newborn (belly time, side time, and back time) and we would show her toys and talk and sing. Or let her be alone to explore on her own. She needed this time to try to use her muscles and build that strength naturally. She always tried to roll and would get on her belly and not be able to roll back. It was so sad. By nine months she was sitting up fairly well, then she just opened up and started scooting everywhere. She still doesn't have much interest in walking or crawling but she gets around and is healthy and string. She communicates well (babbling and often some words) and laughs often. I answer her signals.

As with eating... sometimes before a growth spurt babies eat so much (like an adult bowlful) you just don't know where it goes. Mostly they eat a tablespoon more or less at 6 months, if that. i have know babies that refused or ate little solids until 10 months and decided not to walk until 20 months (this child is a track star now). He just wanted to be a baby longer, his verbals, and all other signs were normal. He was strong, healthy, got around in other ways and normal.

There is a wide range of normal for children, as each human is unique and different.

My daughter only liked food that I mashed from my plate or pre-chewed at 6 months (she did like oatmeal too, I used a food processor to make the oats smaller when they were dry, I made the oatmeal with breastmilk or water and made it thin to start and thickened it as she got used to it.)

She still nurses at night. Eats little to nothing on somedays and others she doesn't stop eating all day. She always nurses. She doesn't have a sleep/eat schedule because she doesn't want/need one. We have a daily rhythm that helps us each to have harmonious days though. If you want , I can share that.

Good luck and don't stress.
P.

I just wanted to share that my now 13 month old had almost no interest in solids until she was 11 months old so every baby is really different. She still sometimes only eats solids once a day and breastfeeds for the rest. Do you have a la leche league group near you or some other mom and baby groups you can join to get out of the house? I remember the first 6 months being very hard and I was quite lonely. It DOES get easier but make sure you have some support.

Oh Alison...I feel for you! :o) Sometimes, we as Moms set a level of expectation for ourselves and our child that neither of us can live up to. Your daughter is 6 months old and doing well, from the sound of it. It might take a little adjustment on her part to go from a liquid to a solid diet...a couple weeks, at least. It's a big change for her, so bear with her while she adjusts. As far as where your baby is developmentally, do not worry!! ALL babies develop in their own time, and their own way. It does no good to rush the food or the sitting or the walking or the learning of anything through their life. Your baby will let you know when she's ready for the next thing. Our job as parents is to be enough in tune with our child to recognize our child's accomplishments and help them to achieve that next level of independence. If you're stressed and worried and overthinking everything, then you won't be relaxed enough to hear/see/feel what your daughter wants and needs. Just relax, take a deep breath, and ENJOY YOUR BABY...they don't stay little for long, and this should be an enjoyable time for you! TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS...nobody knows what's best for your daughter better than you! :o)

Hi Allison!

Do not feel that you have to start giving solid food just because you got the go ahead, there is no set schedule that every baby must follow. You have gotten a lot of great advice on feeding already, so I'll just skip down to the part where you said you're a little depressed. I've been there too! It's not easy becoming a stay at home mom. You can feel very alone and secluded spending every day at home with just the baby. Try to go out, even if it is just to take a walk with her in a stroller or going to the store, just to get out. You might even want to find a mothers center in your area ( I know there's one in wantagh and one in Bay Shore), you can find one at namc.org . Make sure your husband knows that you are feeling like this- you might even want to try counseling. This will pass, things will get easier. One of the most important things I did was make sure I got enough sleep, even if it meant the housework fell by the wayside. Feel better!

from my experience, fruits are much easier to get them to eat, my daughter REFUSED veggies until they were "real" and not puree! same with the meats (you'll get there soon enough). as for sitting up and rolling over, almost every child is different. my daughter was much quicker then my friend's son, yet my other friend's son was way past my daughter (and the dr. said my daughter was advanced w/ that, so her son must be a genius lol). with my daughter i kinda forced her to sit up on her own. every time it looked like she was struggling to get up, i'd put my fingers out, tell her to grab on and PULL herself up...that worked for me. as for the rolling over, i didn't teach her that at all, just one day i put her down for a nap, layed next to her to watch her (overly obsessive mother lol) and just watched her roll over in her sleep, and once she could do that, it was all the time whether awake or asleep. you can talk to the pediatrician and figure out if there's something you can do to help, like those baby 'gymnastics' (i'm not sure what they're really called) hope this helps.

Everything is going to be okay :)

Don't worry about her being "behind," at 6 months she is still getting most of her nutrition from breastmilk or formula. It's mostly about trying out the new experience of eating solid food at this point. What kind of cereal is it? If it's upsetting her tummy at night, it could be an allergy, or constipation (rice is a binder!). Don't feel married to cereal as a first food. Bananas are good too, and a mild laxative as a bonus.

Good luck! Don't worry!

Alison,

Just wanted to tell you to try not to fret about this stuff too much - you're doing a great job and you shouldn't pressure yourself about this. Even though you have the green light to give her solids, it doesn't mean she's entirely ready for them. Maybe put the cereal away (at least for the pm feeding) for a couple of weeks and then try again later. There's no need to force it, especially if she's still eating normally at meals and getting everything she needs from either breastmilk or formula.

As for rolling over, it seems that anywhere between 4 and 7 month is normal. Lots of kids don't roll over until later now, because they spend so much more time on their backs and there is less motivation to roll over onto the stomach (not as much interesting to look at from the stomach). As for sitting up, lots of infants don't do that until well into 8 or 9 months.

Again, I know it's hard not to worry, but do your best. It sounds like your daughter is right where she needs to be and, at least on the food issue, is giving you a signal that she's not quite ready for it.

Hang in there!

Hi,
I have 3 kids ages 5, 2 and 6 months. I too found it really difficult with my first - so don't worry, you are not alone and certainly not unusual!
I started my kids on cereal at their 10 am feed. Only a couple of teaspoons full though until they get used to it. 2 of my kids point blank refused to eat any solids until I offered them some pureed pear. Anyway once my kids are established on a 10 am feed of solids for about a week I move that ( whether it be cereal or fruit) to around 6 pm and then introduce veggies at 10 am. I try to introduce a new fruit or veggie every 3 or 4 days - so that I have some time to see if they have a reaction or allergy to any particular foods ( none of mine ever have). Usually I try to give them at least half of their milk feed first ( I bottle feed - so this is easy for me to tell!) and then the solids and then offer more milk - at this stage milk should still be their main food source. Remember you could mix fruit with the cereal to encourage her to eat it if she doesn't like it.
My six month old can turn over, but cannot sit up, my friend has a 6 month old who can sit but not roll over - every kid is different. I don't have much advice about the sleeping I'm afraid - except that once you find a feeding schedule that suits her hopefully it will sort itself out - just try to make sure she is drinking enough milk to help her feel satisfied enough to sleep through - cereals, fruits and veggies are just to supplement that at the moment.

Good luck!

First of all every baby is different. There is no time limit that your baby is doing thigs wrong. I use to think the same thing and now thru experience I realized I stressed alot over nothing. I have 3 kids one being 18 and I own a daycare. Since your baby is only 6mos old I would just try cereal once a day midday. Then see how that works, few weeks later incorporate some fruit, etc.
Try and make sure its not to little or to much cereal for your baby. Maybe a bottle at night is all she needs. Just because the dr says its time for food doesn't mean it has to be if its ot working right. The formula is the most important right now. I don't think I fed my son until he was 8 months old! Of course that was 18 yrs ago when they slept on their bellies. Now they even changed that like everything else all the time. So the main thing is don't sweat it!
6 months is a little early to be sitting up, but rolling over should come soon. Talk to your dr again and see wht they say. Unfortunatly sleep patters are going to be constantly changing, nothing is ever "by the book" where babies are concerned! Good luck and enjoy this precious time they grow very quickly! Also nice weather should be here soon, getting out for a walk always helped me on stressful day!

Eating patterns can definitely impact sleep patterns. Maybe you should try the cereal as part of a mid-day meal so that it won't effect her evening sleep. You also may want to try different cereals (rice, oatmeal, barley).

Milestones such as turning over happen differently for each child so don't worry if it does not happen at exactly six months. One day she will turn over and then you will be amazed at how quickly she gets good at it and does it all of the time. I would not worry about "norms" for eating and sleeping each child is different and you have to find the pattern that works for you and your daughter. She won't be "behind" if she starts having fruits a few weeks later.

It sounds like you may need some time to yourself--if you can get a babysitter even for a few hours a week, you could get out alone or even just relax and watch TV. I find that a little time for yourself makes all of the difference! Best of luck to you!

I also have a 6 month old who's only been trying solids for a couple weeks. He wasn't a big fan of cereal and seems yours may not be either! I tried applesauce next and he loves it! Maybe try moving on to something with a bit more flavor and she may like it more.

Unfortunately I don't think I can help with the sleep question. Mine sleeps better when his belly is full so he usually has his solid food for dinner followed by a bottle.

Mine also hasn't rolled over yet (at least I haven't seen him do it but daycare may've once or twice). He's just now able to sit by himself and puts weight on his legs when you hold him up standing. The pediatrician said that was what was important to show he's developing muscle tone. I think he's just a laid back baby and doesn't really mind if he's on his back or belly - he'll just lay there until he gets bored!

Hi Alison-
First let me say that your 6 month old baby girl sounds totally normal to me. I have two kids and although my daughter sat up a bit early - at 4 months - my son couldn't until he was 8 months. The Dr. told me that both of them were within a normal range. Both of my kids didn't roll over until 9-10 months old - a little later than average but it didn't affect them poorly in any way. My daughter crawled at 10 months, my son at 12 months and both walked unassisted at 14 months. I do not think you have anything to worry about if she is not rolling over or sitting up yet.
As for the cereal, I don't know what kind you are feeding but both of my kids could not take rice cereal at this age. They were fine with it closer to 10 months. We used barley cereal as the Dr. told us it was gentler on the stomach. I would suggest you try it in the morning for a week before you try it at night. Also, I don't know how much you are feeding her, but even one tablespoon would be more than enough at this age.
Even though both of my kids at this age ate barley cereal with fruit for dinner, they still needed a feeding at night. Instead of letting them wake up on their own for it, I would slip into the room around 11pm and gently lift them up and feed them a 7-8oz bottle of formula. Whatever they wanted of it. They suck really well when they are relaxed and asleep. No need to burp them or talk - just put the baby back down and get out of there! This usually made them last until morning. My daughter was able to stop this feeding at 7 months but my son kept it until 10 months. Each child is so different and so are their schedules. But, you can set up a routine for your baby girl that you like.
Just for your information at 6 months of age my daughter had a great schedule and since it worked so well, when my son began having sleep problems and such, I put him on the schedule we used for her and it fixed everything.
We'd get up around 7-7:30am, drink bottle around 7:45am and breakfast - cereal mixed with whatever formula they didn't drink earlier and some fruit - around 8:30am. A small, 4oz bottle offered around 10:15am and nap at 10:30am - usually until 12pm or so. Lunch around 1pm - usually a stage one or two veggie like carrots, squash, with diluted fruit juice in a small Dixie cup. Then around 3:30pm another bottle - 6-8oz of formula. Naptime was around 3:45-4:00pm and this one was shorter - no more than 45 minutes to ensure good sleep at night. Dinner was at 7pm - cereal mixed with a little formula and some fruit and then the 4 B's - bath, bottle - 8oz around 8pm, book and bed. then the "dream feed" around 11pm!
You do need to get out and make your days fun. Things will get better by the time she is 9mos-12mos old and really turns into a little person. Eating and sleeping does change so much during the first year. This is totally normal. Every mom you speak to will have a different story and not everything works for every baby. It is amazing how different they all are. Why not try charting your daughter's eating and sleeping for a few weeks to see if she has any pattern? You may find that things are not as up in the air as they may seem. I did chart a lot of my kids' sleep and eating and although I couldn't change some things- like if one only drank 3oz instead of 8oz at a feeding! - it did make me feel a lot better about the situation.
Best wishes,
J.

Try feeding her at 330 pm,

and then sqeeze an extra bottle in before bed,

her belly is probably bothering her,

If my son poo's in the night he wakes up,
and he wakes up every morning with a lovely gift in his pants LOL

You know Breast feeding always seems to make the post partum period last longer for me,

So its probably those hormones still driving you crazy.

I would suggest you call the BIRTH 23 program
http://www.birth23.org/

This is for my state but every state has one,
the sooner you call them the better, PLUS they are FREE
so you can't go wrong,

I have been told that most people wait too long to call, and it makes it harder for their kids to catch up.

My oldest could walk at 8 months,
my 3 year old at 10 months

and my little guy could NOT even roll over at 8 months
the doc kept saying wait a little while longer, but i had had 2 other children and my gut kept telling me something was just not right. Not like he had any real problems but i knew he was developementally delayed compared to my other 2.

So i said what the heck and called them, and I am not kidding you, they had him WALKING by 12 months--so basically 3 months worth of therapy, and he was fine.,

AS far as your depression, you really need to get out of the house, get some fresh air and make friends,this will help you feel better,and help your baby develop and grow, and sleep better.

She should not be napping after 1pm every day, anything later will keep her up at night,

if she is doing 2 naps per day, start at 9am and 1pm

if its just one, then 1130-12pm

you need to maintain a schedule

eg, wake at 7am

breakfast,
Cereal, and fruit,THEN bottle or breast.

Then you change her and wash her up

9am she relaxes, watching TV sprout TV is great.

you buckle her into the seat and then clean up around the house.

10 am nurse her and read her a story,

11am Belly play time and diaper change

1130-12 NAP
Simply place her into the crib with a pacifier, cover her up,
and play some soft music, ( I use the Aqua Sounds from fisher price)

LEAVE the room.

MOM time from 12-2pm

2pm change diapers,
230 go for a walk with the baby in the stroller.
Try and use a stroller where she can either see you OR the street so she doesn't fall asleep again.If she holds her own bottle let her feed her self during the walk,if not nurse her before you leave.

330pm Feed cereal and fruit

4 pm tv time
You can clean up some more at this time.

5pm Tummy time for baby while mommy prepares dinner,
( let her play with some toys and place some just out of her reach, make her work for them,)

6pm story time for baby and nursing

7 pm DADDY and momma eat dinner at the table and baby sits in highchair right next to her family.

( TRY giving her some more bottle or nursing her afterwards)

7:30 pm baby spends 1 hour with daddy while momma, take her shower, and does whatever she needs to do.

830 pm Diaper Change and PJ's and BABY goes down for the count,
Nurse baby in a dark and quiet area,then pacifier in her mouth, into the crib, cover her up, rub her cheeks and nosey, and head, ( DO NOT TALK)
and then leave the room ( talking will stimulate her)

830-930 pm MOMMY can enjoy time with daddy, OR ALONE.

10pm BEDTIME MOMMA leave the rest of the mess til tommorrow.

If the baby wakes in the night, pop another pacifier into her mouth don't talk to her, just get up very fast and go to her room, pop in a stand by pacifier ( I have atlest 3 extras lined up )and rub her head and cheek and nosey, then leave the room she should drift off back to sleep.

remember at first signs of waking , get up and run and pop a pacifier in her mouth, DO NOT nurse her.

She should make it til 645-7am

GOod luck and hope this is helpful

M
Mother of 3

I just wanted to respond as a mother of a 6 month old as well. My daughter is still not sitting up by herself for long. She will topple over after a few seconds. She does roll over and started that at about 5 months. I started her on cereal at 4 months because I felt that she was hungry and needed it. Every baby is different and you have to remember that. She is eating everything now. All veggies, fruits, cereal and I introduced meats this past week. Her doctor said that she can even have juice. I feed her oatmeal in the morning with half a fruit for breakfast. At lunch she eats the other half of the fruit with half a veg and at dinner she is getting half a veg, fruit and some meat. It seems to be working well with her but she is a big girl (22lbs.). If your daughter wouldn't sleep maybe she had gas from the cereal. I would just keep trying because it takes some getting used to on their part. Also I am finding that some nights she sleeps very well and others she is crying out a few times. Since she is rolling over she has started rolling over in her crib and not rolling back over onto her back so she gets frustrated. I guess this is just a phase and they will all go through different phases.
Keep your head up. My pediatrician has always said that babies are all different and there is no right or wrong way because it all depends on the baby.
Good luck-

Don't feel badly, she is growing at the speed of heat now and her schedule will change a lot the first year or so...it will slow after awhile...and yes, eating does effect their sleep. Try a different type of cereal if that one seems to bother her...introduce veggies before fruits, fruits are sweet and baby will like them more and eat less veggies if not already used to them...every third day you can add a new taste...I would add a baby spoonful to the cereal to introduce the taste the first time you try, not so strong a change. Baby will sleep longer on a full belly. There are no scorecards in motherhood....some babies sit up at 4-5 months, others at 9, she's not behind...If you want to encourage her to roll/crawl place toys slightly out of her reach when she is on the ground, if you want her to sit, sit her up with either you behind her or surrounded by pillows...practice...and trust me in a couple of months you will miss when she wasn't moving every second :)

You didn't mention how you found your daughter but did you add the cereal to her bottle? This was how I started all 4 of my children on solid food without any problems. In fact, the heavier food helped each of them sleep longer. Just a couple of tablespoons at first. You have to make the nipple a little larger to allow the thicker formula to pass thru. About the turning over & sitting up, all babies develop at their own pace. As long as she is trying and rolling around at this age, don't worry. Could thing you can stay at home with her as I missed so much having to go back to work so soon. I do part time work now from home but my youngest is now 10.

in my opinion, every change brings on a change in schedule. just when you think you figure your baby out, she will change it up. dont worry about rushing, alot of people start too young with solids, so you dont need to compare. just do what works. the only reason cereal is important is because of iron. is your baby hungry after a feeding of breastmilk or formula? does she watch you and open her mouth when you eat? she might not be ready, so just try every 3 days and see how t goes. also alot of babies truly dont like it. if you havent already, try oatmeal instead of the rice. dometimes that works better. also mix up times you try, she might be too hungry, not hungry, tired, ect. i didnt even try till 6 months and am in no rush with my 2nd. i personally think if you wait until they are ready and eating more, and seem to want it(open their mouths),they end up better than if you keep trying when they dont want it. its also more pleasurable for mom, than forcing it. it will get better.
as for sleeping, she may be having an upset stomach. her digestive system might not be ready. do you breastfeed? are you using BM or formula in the cereal? any other new introduction could also be upsetting. even the pure trauma of eating could upset her enough to disturbed her sleep. or it could be a bunch of coincidences, even a bad teething night. sometimes thhe obvious things arent the cause, kwim.
remember, our parenting has nothing to do with whether a baby sleeps, sits, ect, so dont ever think of being behind. i never propped my daughter on her hands while sitting but one day my sister was doing it with her son and kept falling over. i never knew to do it. so i put her down and she held herself up fine. i just thought i would sit her up and she would stay, not realizing it was a progression. for rolling over, i believe in attachment parenting, and had lots of time to hold my daughter, we cosleep,and swaddled her to 9 months. these things meant she wasnt laying down as much to roll over. no big deal, she did it a month later than her cousin. there is such a broad spectrum of when babies do these things. but also some babies are naturally stronger or are left in condusive situations for them(in a crib alot)
it always is hard with your first. it gets easier, it takes a little longer for some moms to adjust than others, but it will get easier. remember, you are a great parent or you wouldnt be concerned about things. we have all been there.
as for having more, i have no idea what you went thru, or your reasons, but IF you did decide and were able to have a second, its much easier. you are much more confident(esp if the first was high maintenance like mine) and get to enjoy the baby more instead of worrying sll the time. just wanted to let you know.