Growth spurt????

[emmakate'smom]

Hi there everyone,
I'm trying to figure out it my lo is going through a growth spurt. she will be 5 months in about 4 days. She has been eating about 36-40 oz a day EBM. The last few days, she has been fussy and needing to eat more, so I went ahead and started her on Cereal. The Dr. said I could start anytime. She seems to be doing well, but she is still acting hungry! Before I began the cereal, I would nurse or give her a bottle at 6:30 every night, and do a dream feed at 11:00. She NEVER woke up between 6:30 and 11. I started the cereal 3 nights ago and for the last 2 nights, she has woken up hungry. I have been careful to make sure that she is still eating the same amount of breast milk as she did before, so that the cereal would be on top of the amount of milk. So,how can she possibly still be hungry?
Does this sound like a growth spurt? Or should I just be prepared for her to eat like this from now on? I'm having a little bit of a problem with my milk supply being able to keep up with all of this!!!
Thanks!

[Katet]

Are you sure she is waking up hungry? Yes it could be a growth spurt, both my boys have had all theirs much earlier than the average times
BUT often the introduction of solids can cause changes to the digestion & "upset" the tummy of a baby & thus cause more wakings... while many Drs recommend it is ok to start solids before 6 months, they often are going on information they received while training (5 years or more ago) & not based on research from the last few years... if it was me I'd actually stop solids for a few days & maybe increase the milk feeds & if your lo settles then it is a reaction to solids.
The other thing is solids can also take a few weeks to take the "hunger" off their appetite, due to the different way they are digested