2 "mini" growth spurts instead of 1 big one ???

[Deb_in_oz]

this is not just bottle feeding so not sure where growth spurt questions shoudl go ...

dd2 is 6 months old today.  about 5 1/2 mo (Aug 7) she started what we thought was her 6 mo growth spurt - it lasted  4 days  and basically she took a little more food but the key thing was that she was crying for food at 3 - 3.5 hrs instead of 4 (when normally at 4 she still was not too fussed sometimes)

then the next week or so she dropped right off with her food intake (also think she is teething so not sure how much that is playing into it) including dropping her Df back to 3 oz (90ml)

yesterday she was eating a little bit more and then today we seem to be back in growth spurt territory.  she usually sleeps until 7-7:30 and is in no rush for food (except a few 6:45am starts) and today she woke at 6:15 and was crying for food.  we finally fed her at 6:30 and she jumped on it.  she barely made it 3 hrs before starting to fuss for food again so i fed her at 3.5 hrs (was caught off guard) and she took 240ml (8 + oz)  for a kid who has mostly been taking 3-5 oz lately this is a huge increase!

so - is it possible for 2 mini growth spurts or did teething/ something else interrupt her growth spurt??  what is normal length for a GS?

TIA.

[Katet]

Deb, With Aiden I never really had a point at which I could say he had his 3 month or 6 month growth spurt, there just seemed to be a period of about 2 weeks where he would want to feed heaps more for 1/2 day & then settle down for a day or 2 & then do it again.
It seems like Liam is doing much the same & yesterday I actually did a 1/2 day work shop with one of our former early childhood nurses who now has set up her own business ( really good value). We were mostly discussing toddler issues  (manging behavior, toilet training etc) as Liam is such an angel baby I didn't have much to talk about for him ask about our feeding routine & pooing etc... Liam just went 11 days without a poo, but was never unsettled & Nicole said growth spurts don't have to be a short consistent thing, like 2-3 days but could well be like Aiden (& now Liam) had particularly if they are at the bigger end of average & Liam is certainly at the BIGGEST end of average... I'm betting he is as big as Olivia & half her age!
So all that said, she probably split her growth spurt & did a bit & then decided she was ready to do a bit more... as you would well know there is a broad range to make up the average!

[Deb_in_oz]

thanks Kate.  she is a big girl too - she was 8.3 kg at 5 1/2 mo!! the people at tresillian definitely weren't subtle about accusing me (and another mom) of overfeeding  :shock:  i guess if her height matched her weight they would not have as much of an issue with it (she is a big roly poly girl but very strong and sitting up great)

i guess i will just try to keep her feeding regularly but don't make her wait 4 hrs if she is clearly getting antsy because of hunger. i do worry about regressing in terms of how often she feeds.  with Alex i was BF  and never aimed for a 4 hr anything. but when she had her 3 mo GS she was nirsing for ages in the evening and at 4 mo i was still doing it (i had not realised i woudl have to be the one to end her GS  :roll: )

[Katet]

Deb
I can't believe people accusing a mother of over feeding... I get comments like you really should feed that baby, or if I say he is due for a feed... oh he really looks like a hungry baby. I used to stress about Aiden being over weight... Aiden was 7.9kg at 3 months but only 64cm tall & was 10.5kg at 6 months, but was still that at 10 month. He is big now, but not huge... one would say solid & as he takes after my dad, that is to be expected!
Anyway I kept getting told babies are great at self regulation & don't over feed, but that may only be related bf, but I can't really see that their could be a great distinction.
All I know is I am really good about eating & drinking heaps (including too much chocolate) while bf & if Liam can be big on 5/6 feeds a day that last 5-10mins in time, then that must be how mother nature intended...Liam was 7.7kg last week (2.5 months), but he is also 68cm tall.
I was saying to Nicole, that wouldn't it be great for mums to have a full on 1/2 of day of help every 3 months, there are so many things that we muddle our way through & a bit of guidance could make life so much easier. I guess this is part of the demise of the global village, not being able to be taught by our mothers & community, which is why I love BW so much
BTW Nicole was great cost me $120 & she stayed 4.5 hours ( I think I got a longer visit as we sort of hit it off when I used to see her in the clinic), so I think I might endulge myself of her services again if I have any 'issues' with Liam further down the track.
He biggest push was I will cope better with my toddler if I actually take some me time... I got told off for the fact I have had only had 10mins of Kate time since Liam was born! & I do know it is an issue, but well a million excuses! At least I get my 5 mins of BW time periodically through the day, when I sneak away from Aiden!!!