What are growth spurts in children?
Growth in children is never regular, but characterized by real peaks called growth spurts. From a phase of normality, all of a sudden the child seems to have lost his habits, until the moment in which he autonomously regains the lost balance.
Consider that the baby already grows very quickly during the 9 months of pregnancy, find out in this video how big a baby is month by month.
What are growth spurts?
If as a parent, in the first months of the child's life, you realize that he is restless, more irritable than usual, he asks for cuddles, and is always hungry, it could be due to growth spurts, a moment that turns out to be both demanding and tiring. children than for parents.
But what are growth spurts specifically? How long they last? Should we worry?
A growth spurt is a period of usually two to seven days, during which the child gains weight, length and head circumference at a faster than normal rate; it is a completely physiological phenomenon that is repeated several times during the first year of life and can be accompanied by a series of symptoms.
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Growth spurts: symptoms
Some children have very noticeable symptoms typical of growth spurts, while others seem to have nothing, apparently. Each child experiences his growth spurt differently from the others, however here are a series of symptoms that can appear with greater frequency and probability. Among these we find:
- increased appetite: whether the baby is still taking breast milk or is being breastfed.
- impaired sleep: the child may sleep much more hours than normal or much less.
- restlessness and irritability: the baby cries much more than it should and has a tendency to continual whim.
- desire for pampering from parents even more than usual.
- willingness to be picked up even more than usual.
Growth spurts in bottle-feeding babies
In the period relating to the growth spurt, as we mentioned, the child is hungrier than usual and also all the children who are fed through the bottle, therefore with infant formula, after the established dose, are still hungry and would immediately take another bottle.
True, their milk needs increase during the growth spurt period, it is likely that the amount of infant formula will need to be increased as well: however, to know how much extra milk to give to your baby, you need to seek the advice of the child. pediatrician who will be able to indicate the correct doses based on the age and weight of the child.
Growth spurts in breastfed babies
Growth spurts often create anxiety and worry in moms, because on some days their babies continually ask for breast milk. This situation can become quite stressful, especially for women who have little milk and cannot guarantee more than one feed per day to their child. From here a question arises: but will breast milk be enough? Why does the baby continue to feel hungry after feeding?
We specify immediately that breast milk is completely sufficient to meet the needs of a baby, even during a growth spurt.
While babies are hungrier on growth spurt days, and it is true that their needs will be catered for, feeding them on demand will increase your milk supply in no time, so there will be no problem.
Some parents, to understand if their child is growing up, weigh it every day, in some cases even doing a double weighing which, however, in most cases, is only a source of anxiety and concern.
To understand if breastfeeding is going well, just weigh the baby once a week: babies who are exclusively breastfed should increase by 140 or 200 grams every week, up to the third month of life. From this point on, about 80 grams will increase every week; finally, from the sixth month onwards, the increase in losses will be significantly less pronounced.
To get immediate feedback and understand if our child is growing up and eating enough, we can try to count how many diaper changes we make in a day. In the first weeks of life, babies should be changed about 6 times a day, with a nappy appearing quite full.
While it is well known how difficult life with a young baby is, breastfeeding mothers should consider increasing their water intake on growth spurt days to encourage breast milk production accordingly. Eating healthy and resting often are other tips to keep in mind and put into practice.
If it seems to us that the child is gaining little weight, that he is urinating little and that he exhibits a constant feeling of hunger, it is necessary to contact the pediatrician who will help us understand if we are worrying excessively or if, in fact, it is necessary to intervene.
How to manage a growth spurt
The first thing to do to manage a growth spurt, even if taken for granted, is to stay calm. They will be stressful days, but with a little patience, within a week, everything will be back to normal.
Another thing to do to better manage the growth spurts, is to satisfy the requests of the little one: if he wants to be constantly held in his arms we try to please him, perhaps helping us with a band to tie on the back or chest, so as not to get tired.
If he wants to stay on the breast continuously, let him do it so that the milk production is adjusted according to his needs: children often ask for the breast not only out of hunger, but also to feel reassured by the proximity of the mother.
Let's give them some extra care, avoiding stressful environments (parties, crowded places) especially if we see that they are particularly irritable.
True and false growth spurts: how to distinguish them?
Are we really sure that this is a growth spurt? How can we distinguish a real growth spurt from a fake one? It should be borne in mind that true growth spurts:
- they do not cause fever
- they do not cause exhaustion
- they do not cause vomiting in the child
All these and other symptoms could instead be due to a virus and it is necessary to contact the pediatrician to investigate the causes.
Final information and useful tips
To make a recap on the topic of growth spurts, let's start by underlining that these can occur at any time during the development and growth of the child. A growth spurt tends to be more likely to occur:
- two weeks old
- to three weeks
- at six weeks
- at three months
- at six months
The growth rate of each child is different, so you should not be frightened if the growth spurts occur at different times from those just described or if they do not happen at all: the important thing is that your child continues to grow regularly and his curve growth rate is monitored by the pediatrician during routine visits.
Finally, we want to remember that the growth spurts are completely physiological, they don't have to worry us, but we must try to stay calm by following the child's requests as much as possible.
It is also important to keep in mind that not all children show growth spurts, or they do it without having obvious symptoms: if they continue to grow well, there is nothing to worry about!
