Growth Spurts?

[bessmum]

Do growth spurts really exist, is there any evidence? Every time I feel that I'm struggling to keep up with BF someone suggests that it is due to a growth spurt and advises me to stick with it until it improves in a few days. This strategy has worked so far, and I've appreciated the encouragement but I do wonder whether "The Growth Spurt" really exists or is a convenient phrase to cover all sorts of temporary feeding setbacks. (I also wonder the same about the term "colic" and bouts of crying). What do you all think?

Bessmum - I'm a believer in growth spurts both my bf babies had days when they would feed almost continually and then suddenly go back to every 3 hours or so. Your baby is growing at such a rate that its not suprising that occasionally they need lots of food.

yes, I do believe in them. I think it may be over-used, but if you look in books and things most will give the average ages of babies when they have their big growth spurts.
both of mine matched these.
the 16 week one ws a killer

DS has def always grown in spurts. And even now when he is 2.9, he will suddenly start eating for England, and shoot up in height. And go back to normal eating again

CMOT - my dds still have these (at 8 and 5) and they change what they eat as well. Dd1 who doesn't like milk normally will start drinking milk at bedtime, eating yogurt like it is going out of fashion and big chunks of cheese. A week or so later - when I've sussed out what is happening to everything in the fridge and have stocked up she stops and I'm left with a fridge full of calcium rich food!

Sundew - that's interesting that they change what they eat. I'll see whether DS has a particular focus on the next spurt

Very interesting observations and quite reassuring, especially "the 16 week one was a killer!!!" - think I may have just got through that one. If they do exist then I feel better about those days (like today) when despite struggling to do anything but feed I still can't keep DS happy.

Yes I think these exist. 16 weeks was a nightmare - it was like having a newborn baby again. After almost 48 hours of me constantly thinking 'he can't possibly STILL be hungry', I just sat down and fed him for a day - problem solved.
DS had another one at about 30 weeks - fortunately solids buffered us through that one a bit although he BF'd more than he had been as well for a couple of days.