I know. It’s 3 am, and he’s awake again, and you’re exhausted. You haven’t slept through a night since the baby was born, and you’re starting to imagine a universe in which a full 8 hours never happens again, and you are so desperate.
Your grandma says to add rice cereal to the baby bottles. Your aunt says that a spoonful of syrup will help. Your grandma-in-law says that she added a spoonful of whiskey to all her babies’ bottles, and they slept like angels.
So when TikTok says to try butter, it might sound saner and less extreme than the other advice you’re getting — but it’s still not a good idea.
What? Butter? For An Infant?
Mary Poppins assured us a spoonful of sugar would help the medicine go down, but parenting influencers on the popular short video app insist that a spoonful of butter, fed to your little one, will help him go down for the night.
What on earth are they thinking? Where do these ideas even come from?
Well, the logic behind adding rice cereal to baby bottles — which was advised by doctors until the risks were better understood — relied on babies digesting the heavy cereal more slowly than formula, and thus feeling full longer, and sleeping longer. There’s still a lot of speculation that formula-fed babies sleep better because breastmilk is digested more easily (though studies don’t clearly confirm this).
Understanding that, it’s easy to see why someone, especially an exhausted parent whose logic circuits are shorting out from overuse, might conclude that giving their baby a food product that’s heavy and fatty would result in longer sleep.
What Are These Influencer Moms Claiming?
I’m not going to link to these moms and their babies, but the videos I’ve seen include a mom feeding her baby butter while explaining to her husband that TikTok told her it would help him sleep; another mom serving two kids a pat of butter each on their highchair trays; and a mom explaining that she’s been doing this every night and her son has stopped waking up for midnight feeds.
These moms rely on anecdotal evidence, or, more often, their own hopes. Many of the videos appear to depict the first time that a parent has tried the butter ‘hack,’ meaning that they don’t even include that parent’s results.
Some of these babies also look too young for routine feeding of solids, although individual needs can vary widely. Just for instance, it’s generally advised now not to put rice cereal in baby bottles, but I’m one of many moms who was directed to do so by my kid’s medical team because of medical conditions, so I’m not trying to second-guess what anyone’ is doing on medical ‘s doctor is advising.
Broadly, their claim is that by giving your child a little butter — advice varies, but most moms seem to be going with a teaspoon or less — before bed, you’ll ensure they sleep all night, which means you’ll finally get some rest too.
What’s Wrong With This Baby Butter Sleep TikTok Trend?
First and foremost, TikTok is primarily an entertainment app.
There are some wonderful, intelligent, and capable people on it, from pediatricians to lawyers, child development specialists, and parents who have learned something valuable and want to share it. Still, it will always require a bit of extra vetting. For instance, I’m going to share a video from a pediatrician with you below. Before doing so, I looked him up and verified his credentials — anyone can claim they’re a doctor on the internet.
Second, unless your pediatrician has advised otherwise, most babies should not have solid foods until around 6 months old, and until they’ve met certain developmental milestones, as explained by the CDC.
Finally, butter is one of those foods that’s perfectly fine for most people in moderation and as part of a healthy overall diet, but eating a lump of it can upset a stomach, and eating too much can cause long-term health problems.
Here’s that doctor I mentioned, Dr. Tommy Martin, along with pediatric neurologist and sleep specialist Dr. Sujay Kansagra, explaining why some food changes can help with sleep, but butter isn’t the ideal way to go about it.
So What Can A Sleep-Deprived, Desperate Parent Do Instead?
First, never give your baby solids before they are ready, regardless of the circumstances. Wait until your baby is around 6 months old, can sit up and control their head and neck, and can use their mouth and tongue to move food to the back of their mouth and swallow it, rather than pushing it back out.
If you think your baby may be an exception (and there are exceptions!) confirm it with your pediatrician or feeding specialist first.
Once your baby is ready for solid foods, it’s great to experiment with the types of food that make your little one happy, the ones that seem to keep baby’s belly satisfied longer, and the ones that entertain his little brain. (The baby food aisle is full of shapes and colors and textures, and if you’re not going the premade route, there’s an infinite variety of foods for infants to sample.)
Introduce foods safely — it’s generally advised to introduce only one new food every few days, so that if there’s an allergic reaction, it’s easier to pinpoint the cause.
Apart from dietary measures, practice a nighttime routine. If your baby wakes at night, keep the environment dark, calm, and quiet to minimize stimulation.
Most importantly, if you ever feel that you’re sleep-deprived enough that your or your baby’s health and safety are at risk, ask someone — your partner, a family member or friend, or a trusted neighbor — for some help.