How do I know if my baby is having a growth spurt, and when do they usually happen?

Growth spurts are common when a baby's 2-3 weeks old, 4-6 weeks, 2 months, 3, 4, 6, 9 and 12 months. Babies grow rapidly during the 1st year. You might notice that during growth spurts, your baby becomes more fussy and wants to eat more. This pattern may continue for 3-5 days and then they go back to their regular routine, sleeping and eating habits. If you're noticing your baby wants to eat more frequently and it's around these ages, then it may be a growth spurt and you should encourage more frequent feedings, because your baby needs extra calories to grow.

If you're nursing, this is the way your body gets the message that it needs to make more milk, because during the 1st month of a baby's life, you make about 2-3oz every 2-3hrs (some a little more, some a little less), and by the time the baby is 5-6 months, you're making 4-6oz every 3-4hrs and your body gradually increased the amount it was making as your baby went through growth spurts and nursed more frequently. The more often the breast is emptied, the more the body gets the message that it needs to make more milk, so when a baby goes through a growth spurt and they nurse every 2hrs when your body's used to nursing every 3, it bumps up supply. This meets your baby's needs as well as preps your body to meet their needs going forward as they grow and demand more calories and nutrients.

If your baby's not sleeping well at night through growth spurts because they want to eat more frequently, try tanking them up during the day. If you're used to feeding your baby every 3-4hrs, then nurse them every 2. I call it the Pitcher Principle. Think of your baby needing a whole pitcher of milk in a 24hr period. If you give them half during the day, they're going to need the other half at night. If you give them the majority during the day, they won't need as much at night. After 3-5 days, they should start to resume normal sleeping and eating habits.

Sometimes they get into bad habits during growth spurts, because if they get up at night and want to eat more, we feed them, it encourages night wakings and they may get into a bad habit. So if, after about a week, your baby is waking up at night when they've previously been sleeping through the night, you can try sleep-training to get them back on a regular schedule. This involves letting them cry, learn how to self-soothe and go back to sleep without help from you. It does pull your heart strings, it's hard to hear them cry, but they need to learn that they don't get what they want most when they cry, which is you or an extra feeding (if they don't need it).

There's a couple of different approaches. One is letting them cry for as long as you're comfortable with it. Cameras in your baby's room have been a game-changer, because you can see them and make sure they're OK, they're whiney and crying, because they want you, but they don't have immediate needs; they're not sick. If you feel like you need to check on them, by all means, do so, especially if you feel like they might be sick, they're teething or they have extra needs. But if all they're looking for is comfort, resist the urge to do it. You can let them cry. It's not going to hurt them. It'll be OK. Your persistence will pay off after about 3-4 nights of being vigilant, not going in your baby's room and letting them cry themselves back to sleep. They'll learn to self-soothe, stop crying and go back to sleep on their own. It works, but there are some babies that are more persistent than others. Sometimes it takes a few more days, even an extra week or 2, of persistence.

There's a more graduated approach if this seems harsh. Give it 5-10min before you check on your baby. When you go in the room, gently touch them on their head or tummy to reassure them you're there, but resist all urges to talk to them, pick them up, soothe them, cuddle them, rock them back to sleep. Turn around and walk out of the room. Some babies respond well to this. Others, it just makes it worse, because they saw you and get more upset, because you didn't pick them up. You can decide which method is going to work for you. If you choose a more graduated approach, give it 5-10min before you go in their room. Next time, wait 15-20min. Next, 30min. Next, 40min. Be persistent and consistent about this for at least 3-4 nights, sometimes a week or a bit longer, and your baby will learn to self-soothe.

The most important thing is that your baby's happy, healthy and gaining the appropriate amount of weight. If you have concerns about your baby eating more frequently, watch the number of wet and dirty diapers you see. Take them to the pediatrician and talk about their weight. If the doctor says they're gaining the appropriate amount of weight, they're having at least 6 wet diapers a day and regular bowel movements, then chances are whatever they're getting is enough.

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