Baby growth spurts: How to support your growing baby

You might wonder how long growth spurts last and whether babies sleep more during these developmental changes. We know you have questions, so we've covered everything here so you can learn and help your baby in the process. Wondering when your baby's babbles will turn into proper words discover our Baby's first words guide to first words and milestones.

What are baby growth spurts?

"A growth spurt is when your baby grows in both weight and height quite quickly over a relatively short period of time. While your baby is continually growing, these are rapid periods of growth, it can feel like your baby grows almost overnight!" explains our expert GP Dr Philippa Kaye.

Growth spurts are one of those unpredictable things that happen with your baby — often just as you think you've got some feeding patterns sorted.

During a growth spurt, your baby may suddenly be extremely hungry, drinking more milk than usual and more often. They may also sleep longer — or less! There are no hard and fast rules with growth spurts, except that your baby's likely to have them.

Growth spurts differ slightly from developmental milestones, which are all about the actions or skills your child displays as a sign of growing maturity at a specific stage. These actions and skills include motor skills, cognitive and thinking skills, and social skills.

A growth spurt however is all about rapid change in your child's height and weight.

When do baby growth spurts happen?

Between birth to 6 or 9 months, babies grow quite fast and may have moments of more rapid growth (growth spurts). After they reach 1 year, this rate of growth slows down.

There are often around 4-5 growth spurts in your baby's first year – but this can vary from child to child. Typically speaking though, growth spurts in babies can happen at:

2-3 weeks
6-8 weeks
3 months
6 months
9 months

However, you'll find that different experts will predict growth spurts at slightly different times. If your baby seems to have a different pattern of growth spurts, don't worry. Every baby is unique and this is very normal.

Growth spurts don't just happen to babies though, your child will experience rapid moments of growth throughout their whole lives. These changes will occur from when they're a child through to teenage years and early adulthood.

Common signs of a growth spurt in babies

Depending on how your baby responds to growing pangs, you may be able to catch onto various telltale signs. For some parents though, you might totally miss the cues. "You might not notice any signs of a growth spurt apart from perhaps the most obvious, that they are getting bigger!" says Dr Philippa Kaye.

Here are some of the most prominent signs and symptoms of growth spurts in babies:

Increased hunger

The first sign to look out for is that your baby will be much hungrier than normal. They may be more difficult to satisfy for around 3-4 days or maybe even a week. This can be an exhausting time, both trying to keep your ravenous baby satisfied and having to get up more often in the night.

"You might notice that they are hungrier than usual, perhaps cluster feeding where they seem to be hungry and feed more often than usual. They may wake up more in the night for feeds as they feed to meet their needs" shares Dr Kaye.

If your baby is hungrier, start to increase the amount of milk you give them. Listen to and respond to your baby's cues—even if your baby is settled into a set feeding routine, it will let you know if it needs feeding more often.

Remember, this is only a phase and it will last only a few days. It can be exhausting though so be easy on yourself. If you can, you may want to head to bed earlier or postpone an activity that you have planned for the day. Growth spurts can affect you, just as much as your baby.

For breastfeeding mums, we suggest getting prepared for your baby’s next growth spurt by expressing some milk and freezing it ready for when you feel your baby needs extra.

Night waking

Another telltale sign is that your baby wakes through the night more frequently and feeds vigorously. When your baby is having a growth spurt, babies who have been sleeping through the night may start waking and will readily feed, taking a good amount of food.

Of course, growth spurts aren't the only reason your baby may start waking again at night. Having a small amount of milk, snacking or not being that interested in feeding is more likely due to a sleep disturbance than genuine hunger or a growth spurt.

Clinginess or being more fussy

"Some babies also appear more unsettled and cry more before or during a growth spurt – lots of cuddles are needed! It isn’t clear if it is the increased crankiness or the growth spurt itself but they may be more tired than usual and sleep more. Don’t worry a growth spurt isn’t painful for your baby!" says Dr Kaye.

The best thing to do is to continuously be there for your baby – comfort and soothe them with lots of cuddles and kisses during this transitional period. A warm bath, baby massage and soothing music could be helpful for baby too.

Being more tired than usual

As a knock-on effect, if your baby is fussy and wakes up more at night this can leave them feeling more tired than usual. If your baby has a bedtime routine, we suggest sticking to that and limiting any stimulation before bed. This could help them be less fussy and fall asleep better.

How long do baby growth spurts last?

"Baby growth spurts tend to only last a few days, until the next one that is! Each baby is different though, so it may last a little longer or shorter," shares Dr Kaye.

Typically, a baby's growth spurt lasts around 2-3 days or up to a week for some babies. Aim to be as flexible as possible and adapt to your child's needs as they experience these big changes.

Growth spurts by age: What to expect

"Babies develop differently so a growth spurt can actually occur at any time, though there are some times when it is more common," shares Dr Kaye.

"It is usual for babies to lose a small amount of weight after birth in the first week or so and this is generally regained very quickly, before the first growth spurt at around 2-3 weeks old. Growth spurts then typically occur around 6-8 weeks and then at 3 months, 6 months and 9 months of age. Growth then tends to slow down after one year of age though growth spurts still do occur."

If your baby is 6 months or older, they will be having solid food as well as milk. This means growth spurts can be less obvious. Growth spurts that occur after 6 months are rarely noticed as most babies vary what they eat in terms of solids on a daily basis.

So again, be led by your baby and do the same as you did with a younger baby. If they seem particularly hungry simply let them have more food. If your baby or toddler is on solids, offer them extra nutritional food (not milk) if they still seem to be hungry.

When to be concerned about your baby's growth

Growth spurts are a natural part of your baby's development. They can’t do your baby any harm contrary to what it may seem if they're unsettled.

However, if a growth spurt seems to last for more than a week and your baby seems continually hungry, isn’t satisfied by their feeds, or is crying much more than usual, do talk to your health visitor or GP. These symptoms might be due to other things such as colic, teething or something else which your health visitor or GP can diagnose and advise on.

"Babies putting on weight and growing is a good sign of health so if you are concerned that your baby isn’t gaining weight then please seek medical advice," shares Dr Kaye.

"To help your baby during a growth spurt, if they seem hungry then feed them, and that might mean cluster feeding especially if you are breastfeeding. A cranky baby needs lots of cuddles, rocking and soothing, though be sure to rule out issues such as being hungry or needing a nappy change first! Try to be guided by your baby, they will let you know what they need."

Pics: Getty

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Janet MtimaDigital Journalist

Janet is a Digital Journalist for MadeForMums and mother to a boy and girl both under 4. With a keen eye and passion for creating online media content, she enjoys sharing her own journey of motherhood, and providing encouragement for new mums.