How long do growth spurts last for?

[Stefka]

My DS is 5 weeks 2 days and I think is having a growth spurt. He has gone from feeding for 10-20 mins every three hours to feeding for an hour every hour and a half. I am stressed about it because I am trying to heal cracked nipples and feeding is very painful at the moment. I had been expressing to give him one bottle a day of EBM to give myself a break but today there is not enough milk to express.

There probably is no answer to this but just wondered if anyone had an idea how long this will last for? It's making me pretty stressed.

6 weeks is a notorious time for growth spurts - it may last a good few days then things should calm down.....then they will start again...my dd is nine months and is going through another one...which I am glad of because she spent a few days not really eating much!!

Try, if you can to go with the flow (pardon the pun)....once you start weaning you may find things easier to cop with. x

about 15 years, for girls, longer for boys!.......

(sorry - couldn't resist)

LOL Wisteria...

Hi Stefka

Really glad to hear from you and that you're getting through it!

Yup, sounds like one of the old growth spurts/frequency days to me... Anything between 24-48 hours usually but my current baby seems to do it in a different way - picks a period to up the supply, feeds like mad for a few hours for a couple of days, couple of days later, picks another period - crazy!

Don't worry - it will be over soon, you just have to give into it and stay on the sofa well stocked with phone, drinks, snacks etc...

If your nipples are still sore though you might need a bit of extra support- back to those phone lines maybe for advice?

It's the pain I am worried about and loosing the bottle I am giving him. It means my boobs don't get a rest at all and the pain builds up throughout the day. I also don't want the healing to be set back.

Are you still lathering up with Jelonet and Lansinoh? Is the thrush now sorted? If it is, it might be time to get to that baby cafe, breastfeeding group or get the BFC out just one more time since as it's still hurting you and worsening through the day, you might still need to work on that latch.

(FWIW I'm 13 weeks into my boy now - 3rd one though so I've never quite cracked it! - and I'm off to see a BFC next week cos I want some face to face advice on positioning... For some of us, it's just bloody difficult...)

The thrush is gone thankfully. The pain is getting better - it's just the cracks need to heal I think. They get irritated. Still using the jelonet although they are being funny about me getting it on prescription so I had to buy some. Thought it was a bit weird - it's not addictive or anything.