Growth spurts - how long did yours last?

[laughingeyes2013]

5 month old waking for milk every 2 hours round the clock, exhausting the whole household (who are woken with the cries).

Previously he had managed to go every 3 hours overnight because of combined feeding, but this has now stopped working.

How long did your baby growth spurts last, and how often did you get them?

I started weaning my baby at just over 5 months with 1 tea-time meal, as milk feeds didn't seem to sustain him long. An hour or so with a breast feed, 3 hours with a bottle feed. Plus he showed other signs of being ready to wean - trying to grab food and put it in his mouth himself.

I seem to remember I also tried to introduce an extra bottle around this time too (up to 4 from 3 bottles), in case he wasn't getting enough breast milk. They do spend an awful lot more time being interested in the world and looking round at 5 months, so getting them to stay on the breast long enough to have a full feed can be a challenge.

He has on average 7-8 feeds during day, usually 5 breast and 2 formula or expressed milk. The length of time varies a bit but I'm not really going by the length of time because it's more the quantity of intake than time, especially as I think my flow can be quite forceful.

I've bought some baby rice today to see if that helps.

Are you saying the times you feed are linked to growth spurts or simply that it might be time for the next milestone (ie weaning).

I know a lot of people don't wean until 6 months, but my baby seemed to be showing the signs of being ready to wean at just over 5 months, and very happily accepted solids (mashed banana first) for 1 meal a day. He slept a lot better too, as soon as we started solids.

If you think there are other signs of him being ready (sitting up, watching you eat intently, reaching for your food) it could be that he's happy to try solid food.

But you are right it could just be a growth spurt. If you aren't sure maybe just give him a few more days of extra milk feeds and see if that seems to satisfy him.