Breastfeeding and Growth Spurts
Sometimes your breastfed baby will feed a lot more than normal and will appear to be extremely hungry and even unsatisfied.
This often signifies a growth spurt and it can last for three or four days. This can be extremely tiring for a new mum, particularly if there are other siblings in the home.
By breastfeeding more regularly, the baby is letting your body know he requires more milk and your body will begin to feed that demand within a few days.
Be assured that things will settle down again. Try to remember that the increase in demand for milk will increase the supply. It is the only way that your baby can signal that he requires more milk.
With every feed the hormone prolactin is produced which lets your body know it is time to produce more milk. Interestingly, prolactin levels reach a peak in the early hours of the morning and it is advisable to feed your baby on demand particularly at night-time for this very reason as higher levels of milk production will occur.
Within a few days you will notice your breasts are fuller than previously and a more acceptable feeding regime will resume.
Growth spurts commonly occur when the baby is around 3, 6 and 12 weeks old.
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