Can they really ALWAYS be hungry in the evening?

Good morning ladies,

So I have a question on feeding. We are doing about 50/50 pumped breast milk and formula for feedings. Our boys are around 11 lbs and just turned 6 weeks, so they’re fine weight wise.

But they ALWAYS seem hungry – more so in the evening than any other time. From 4-10pm it feels like we’re just constantly trying to keep up with their appetite. It’s definitely not every 3 hours like it is through the night...more like every 45 min!!! How is this possible? I guess I thought that the rooting and crazy hand-sucking always meant they were legitimately hungry, but are they really not hungry and just want to be soothed?

I’m confused. Any insight?

 

I've found that sometimes the hand sucking and rooting means they just want to suck on something. The way I can really tell if my little ones are hungry is if I give them their binkies and they spit it out and continue fussing, that means they're genuinely hungry.

Then again with my little girl if she spits her bink out and continues fussing and I make her a bottle, she'll just smile and not drink it. LOL! If your instinct tells you they're hungry, they very well may be just going through a huge growth spurt.

Good luck!

 

I am going through the same thing right now and I also do 50/50 BM & formula. My twin girls are 10 weeks (6 weeks adjusted), 11 lbs and they want to eat every hour in the later afternoon/evening. I think it must be a growth spurt. They are also waking up every 2 hours at night wanting to eat and a couple of weeks ago, they slept 4-5 hours at night.

 

It sounds like they are cluster feeding through their 6 week growth spurt.

 

QUOTE(DATJMom @ Apr 23 2009, 12:06 PM) [snapback]1285598[/snapback]
It sounds like they are cluster feeding through their 6 week growth spurt.



Exactly what I was going to post. Sorry, no advice.

 

OK, this is good advice. I guess my only concern was that if they're always eating a little bit, then maybe they're never actually getting completely full.

I remember when my oldest son was four he was going to the bathroom to pee ALL THE TIME. We finally figured out that he was never emptying his bladder fully because he was in such a hurry to get back to his movie, toys, activity, etc. So he kind of always did have to pee.

Could it be something similar?

Should we make them wait for a bit and then feed them a nice big feeding to see if that help? Or is that just mean?

 

QUOTE(DATJMom @ Apr 23 2009, 09:06 AM) [snapback]1285598[/snapback]
It sounds like they are cluster feeding through their 6 week growth spurt.

this is what I was giong to say.

I woudl try to feed them a little more frequently during the day and see if that will help the cluster feedings but to be ho nest, sounds totally normal.

 

Ditto the cluster feeding, it's normal and no, don't try to space their feedings out Give it a week, maybe 2, and they'll get into a more predictable schedule. The 6 wk growth spurt is one of the biggest/longest ones they have!

My babes are 8 wks and around 10-11 lbs and they are finally in a more predictable feeding pattern now.

 

Personally, I would hold off a little and see if they'll eat more at a time. It's not what everyone would choose but I did that with my boys and it seemed to help. (They need time to digest anyway; it takes 2.5 hrs for the stomach to empty its contents.) I also did--and still do--the "binky test" to see if they are hungry or just want to suck.

 

QUOTE(DATJMom @ Apr 23 2009, 01:06 PM) [snapback]1285598[/snapback]
It sounds like they are cluster feeding through their 6 week growth spurt.


:good:

 

Oh I totally do the binky test too, just in case! Mine won't leave them in if there is a real "problem" (hungry, hot, cold, wet, dirty..etc)

 

QUOTE(DATJMom @ Apr 23 2009, 12:06 PM) [snapback]1285598[/snapback]
It sounds like they are cluster feeding through their 6 week growth spurt.

Same thought here. Mine did that and still will take two full bottles closer together right before bed time. Now, I use the binky test and have learned hunger vs. sucking/soothing. One of my girls is a thumb sucker and the other is a paci-queen!

 

Definitely cluster feeding! They are trying to tank up for the night. It is totally normal. Frustrating for mama tho, but once they are on solids, that cluster feeding seems to wane a bit and before you know it, all they want to do is play and not eat.

As for the eating only a little bit, yeah, try and distract or try and pacy to see if they are really hungry or just bored or maybe tired. I know my boys take a small early evening nap before all the cluster feeding starts. That nap only lasts maybe 1/2 hour - an hour long. My boys are 3 1/2 mos and are 12 and 14 lbs and eat 4 oz at each feeding.

 

Sounds like a cluster feeding and a growth spurt like a lot of the pp said.

Also I find that the evenings just tend to be worse. My mom always calls it the witching hour or arsenic hour. (although, to be honest it's more like witching several hours or arsenic several hours!) Like you said, from 4-10 you're doing nothing but trying to calm fussy babies. Mine are 7 months and we still run into this. I BF so I usually just plug them in and ride it out. But to answer your question, yes I think they can really always be hungry. Haven't you ever had a day where you just couldn't seem to get enough to eat? I know I have. Follow you're gut and do what works. GL!