Growth Spurts: When Your Baby Wants to Feed Every Hour

What Is a Growth Spurt?

In a breastfed baby, a growth spurt is a period when your baby suddenly wants to feed much more often, sometimes making it seem as though they are never satisfied.

These periods can be exhausting for new mothers and often raise many questions. They can sometimes even lead to breastfeeding ending earlier than planned.
Without the right information, a mother whose baby continues to cry shortly after feeding may mistakenly think she isn't producing enough milk and decide to stop breastfeeding.
Yet this situation is perfectly normal and—importantly—temporary.

• Why Do Babies Have Growth Spurts?
• Signs of a Growth Spurt
• Growth Spurt or Low Milk Supply?
• When Do Growth Spurts Happen?
• How Long Does a Growth Spurt Last?
• How to Handle a Growth Spurt
  • Offer the Breast as Often as Possible
  • Offer Both Breasts at Each Feed
  • Take Care of Yourself
  • Try to Relax
• Frequently Asked Questions
  • Growth Spurts and Breast Pumps
  • Growth Spurt or Teething?
  • Growth Spurt or Reflux?
  • Growth Spurt or Colic?
  • Can a Growth Spurt Cause a Fever?
  • Growth Spurts and Sleep

Why Do Babies Have Growth Spurts?

At birth, a baby's stomach is about the size of a hazelnut. By around 10 days old, it is closer to the size of a golf ball, and by 6 months it can hold around 800 mL.

As your baby grows, their nutritional needs naturally increase too.

Of course, the amount of milk you produce also needs to increase to meet your baby's growing needs.

As you probably know, milk production works largely on a supply-and-demand basis.
If your baby feeds less often over several days, your body may gradually adjust by producing less milk.
On the other hand, when your baby feeds more frequently, your body receives the signal to increase milk production—but this adjustment isn't always immediate!
It can take some time for your body to adapt to the increased demand, during which your baby may want to feed very frequently.

This transition period is commonly referred to as a growth spurt.

Note: Bottle-fed babies obviously go through periods of increased appetite too. These phases may simply cause less concern for parents, as they can increase the amount of milk offered in the bottle as needed.

Signs of a Growth Spurt

Your baby seems hungry. Even after a feed, they may continue to ask for the breast more often than usual, even when your breasts feel softer than they normally do.

This unfamiliar and uncomfortable feeling can make your baby express their frustration.
At first, mild hunger may simply make them grumpy (rather like your partner when lunchtime is running late...).

As your baby wants to feed more frequently, they may become increasingly frustrated if the milk doesn't seem to come as quickly as they expect. Their irritation can build until they sometimes cry at the top of their lungs to express their dissatisfaction.

These moments can obviously be difficult for any parent, and we'll look at how to manage them further down.

Growth Spurt or Low Milk Supply?

Your breasts feel soft, and your baby never seems satisfied... Naturally, you may start wondering: Am I producing enough milk?

To find out, you may be tempted to express your milk using a breast pump. Seeing the bottle fill up might seem like a reassuring way to put your mind at ease.

However, expressing milk with a breast pump is very different from breastfeeding. Being unable to express more than a few millilitres does not mean that you aren't producing enough milk.

Some mothers who breastfeed their babies without any difficulty struggle to express milk with a pump. So try not to jump to conclusions—or reach for a bottle out of fear that your baby isn't getting enough to eat.

The good news is that you don't necessarily need to determine whether your baby's crying is caused by a growth spurt or low milk supply: the advice for both situations is largely the same!

If you'd still like some clues, looking at the calendar can sometimes be helpful. Babies often go through periods of increased feeding at certain stages of development.
If your baby's behaviour coincides with one of these periods, it may simply be a temporary increase in feeding needs.

When Do Growth Spurts Happen?

Here's a simple visual guide to some of the key stages your baby may go through.

7–10 days, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months... You may notice that the time between periods of increased feeding often becomes longer as your baby grows.

Of course, every baby develops at their own pace, and it's impossible to predict exactly when these periods will occur.
These ages should therefore be seen simply as rough guidelines, which may help you identify a possible growth spurt.

If you happen to look at the feeding guidelines on the back of infant formula containers, you'll often notice that these stages roughly coincide with changes in the recommended amounts for bottle-fed babies.

How Long Does a Growth Spurt Last?

Don't hesitate to give yourself the best possible support to get back to a more comfortable rhythm as soon as you can!

How to Manage a Growth Spurt

Here are some practical tips to help you get through these challenging periods.

Offer the Breast as Often as Possible

This is one of the most effective ways to support your milk supply: the more often milk is removed, the stronger the signal for your body to keep producing milk.

During this transition period, you may sometimes feel as though you're offering the breast for nothing. Your breasts may feel soft because they haven't had much time between feeds—but that doesn't mean they are empty.

You may then be tempted to distract your baby, perhaps by offering a pacifier to soothe them or giving a supplement. But before doing so, consider what is causing your baby's increased need to feed.

More frequent feeding may not provide immediate relief from your baby's frustration, but it can play an important role in helping your milk production adjust to the increased demand.

And don't forget that this can be a confusing time for your baby too. Close contact can help comfort and reassure them. Even if you feel that offering the breast yet again won't make a difference, remember that frequent feeding is temporary, and things often settle down again soon.

Offer Both Breasts at Each Feed

This advice may seem unnecessary: faced with your baby's seemingly endless hunger, you'll probably think of offering the other breast... at least the first time.

But after the seventh feed, you may no longer feel it's worth offering the other breast, especially if it feels desperately soft.

You may be right that there isn't much milk available at that moment—but once again, the stimulation can still be useful. Frequent milk removal helps signal to your body that your baby's milk needs have increased.

And sometimes, offering the other breast may simply give your baby another opportunity to feed and find comfort. If they eventually drift off to sleep, that welcome break may be just what you both need!

Take Care of Yourself

With the exhaustion and your baby's constant demands, your own well-being can quickly take a back seat.
Yet taking care of yourself is particularly important during this time.

And above all, try to get as much rest as you can. Exhaustion and stress can make this already demanding period even harder to manage.

In other words: taking care of yourself is important too.

For more ways to preserve your energy during periods of frequent feeding, discover our 10 anti-fatigue tips for new mothers.

Try to Relax

Make the most of those long feeding sessions to relax. Listen to some music, a podcast, or anything else that helps you unwind.

You can also use this time to watch that series you've always wanted to see. Keeping your mind occupied may help you get through this challenging period with less frustration and stress.

Frequently Asked Questions

Growth Spurt or Teething?

Most babies get their first tooth between 6 and 12 months. By this age, solid foods have usually been introduced, and an increase in appetite can simply be met by increasing the amount of solid food offered.

However, some babies start teething very early. Is your baby grumpy and crying a lot? You may be wondering: Is it a growth spurt or teething?

Watch your baby closely. Are they drooling a lot, crying, and chewing on everything within reach?

Take a look at their gums and you'll soon have your answer.
If they are red and swollen, your baby may simply be getting a head start on the teething schedule—ready to sink their teeth into life a little sooner!

Keep in mind that teething can also cause a slight rise in temperature, which may already help you rule out a growth spurt.

Growth Spurt or Reflux?

Gastroesophageal reflux (or GER) occurs when the contents of the stomach flow back into the esophagus, causing varying degrees of discomfort.

Babies with severe reflux often experience intense crying, particularly around feeding times. This may lead you to wonder—especially during the 7-day growth spurt—whether you're dealing with reflux or a growth spurt.

However, many symptoms associated with reflux cannot be explained by a growth spurt, which can help clear up any doubts:

• Frequent spit-up or vomiting accompanied by discomfort (although this isn't always present);
• Poor weight gain (if you're concerned, refer to the WHO growth charts for breastfed babies), or even weight loss;
• Refusing to feed;
• Arching the back and neck in an attempt to relieve discomfort in the esophagus...

As we've seen, a growth spurt is a short period lasting a few days, occurring at roughly predictable stages. Reflux, on the other hand, tends to improve over time as your baby's digestive system matures. This generally makes the two easier to tell apart.

Need more information about reflux?
Here you'll find everything you need to understand and manage reflux in your breastfed baby.

Growth Spurt or Colic?

The term colic generally describes episodes experienced by otherwise healthy babies, usually between a few weeks and 3 months old, involving intense crying, irritability, and apparent discomfort lasting for several hours at a time.

A baby suffering from colic may feed frequently, then cry in apparent pain and pull away from the breast, only to start crying again moments later.

This behaviour can obviously resemble that of a baby going through a growth spurt: hunger brings them to the breast, but frustration at not getting enough milk can lead to crying.

Because colic often appears around the same time as the 3-week or 6-week growth spurts, it can sometimes be difficult to tell whether your baby is experiencing colic or going through a period of increased feeding.

The main difference may lie in how your baby behaves between these difficult episodes.

A growth spurt can make your baby continuously irritable, with an almost constant desire to feed.

A baby with colic may cry for several hours in a row—often around the same time of day—but be perfectly calm, content, and even smile happily at other times.

If you're unsure, offer the breast as often as your baby wants and give it some time.
If things settle down within 72 hours, you'll know that the growth spurt has passed.

Can a Growth Spurt Cause a Fever?

A growth spurt does not cause a fever.

Some illnesses with no obvious symptoms at first (such as a runny nose or cough) can easily be mistaken for a growth spurt if they happen to occur around the same time.
In both cases, your baby may become grumpy before clearer symptoms appear, and may ask to feed more often—if only for reassurance in the face of unfamiliar sensations.

If your baby has a fever, it should alert you that something else may be going on: a growth spurt is not the cause.

Growth Spurts and Sleep

Like most human beings, babies often find it difficult to fall asleep on an empty stomach. Hunger can wake us up at night—even as adults.

Your baby's sleep may therefore be significantly disrupted during periods of increased feeding, which can of course affect the quality of your own sleep too.

As we've mentioned above, it's important to get as much rest as possible during these demanding periods. If frequent nighttime feeds are exhausting, consider finding arrangements that allow you to respond to your baby's needs while getting as much rest as possible, following safe sleep recommendations.

Close contact can also help your little one feel reassured during this challenging time.

Want to get through this growth spurt as quickly as possible?
Discover our 10 tips for increasing your milk supply.