Breastfeeding - Growth Spurts

Babies don't grow in a nice gradual fashion. They grow in spurts. Whenever they have a growth spurt, their appetite increases. How should a breastfeeding mother handle these growth spurts?

• During a growth spurt, your baby's appetite will increase.
• Your milk production will have to catch up with the baby's increased appetite.
• Your baby will make sure this happens by demanding to nurse more often.
• It is especially important to practice demand-feeding during a growth spurt.
• In a day or two, your milk production should catch up with the baby's appetite.
• Sometime between the fourth and twelfth month of your baby's life (between six and nine months for most babies), breastmilk alone won't be sufficient. It'll be time to introduce solid foods. See the page on solids for more information.

It is important to avoid the all-too-common vicious circle of supplementation, to which many people fall prey during a growth spurt.

• If your baby suddenly starts asking to nurse all the time, and seems dissatisfied, don't give up immediately!
• Try to spend a day or two in bed with your baby, nursing as often as you possibly can. This is the fastest and safest way to increase your milk supply.
• If you give your baby a bottle-feed, your milk supply will not increase, because your breasts are not getting enough stimulation. This often leads to complete weaning.

Many baby care books tell you when your baby will have a growth spurt. I deliberately withhold that information. The reason is the following: if your book tells you that your baby should have a growth spurt at a particular age, but yours doesn't, you might get worried--for no reason. Your baby might have had one earlier or maybe will have one soon. Conversely, if your baby has a growth spurt before the book says it should happen, you might not realize that it is a growth spurt. You might panic about your milk supply and start supplementing, and soon really lose your milk.
    Remember: for a demand-feeding mother, growth spurts are no big deal. You might not even notice them. So, watch the baby, not the clock!

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