My baby’s still hungry after a milk feed

How can you tell if you have a hungry baby?

It’s hard to pinpoint this exactly as there’s no hard and fast rule but generally hungry babies tend to cry for a feed more often and will feed longer when you do offer them their milk.

At around 6 weeks of age, many babies also go through a growth spurt which can mean a hungrier baby for up to a week so the feeding routine you had may have just gone out the window! It’s worth bearing in mind that that this may occur so you can just increase the frequency or amount of the feed and then allow the pattern to settle back after a few days.

Too early to wean

Lots of mums wonder whether a hungry baby means that it’s time to start weaning them onto food but really this should only happen around 6 months, and definitely not before 17 weeks. Up until 6 months, your baby's digestive system may be too immature for anything more than breastmilk or babymilks and these will give your baby all of the energy and nutrients they need.

Some babies aren’t as hungry as they seem

Some babies also like to suck for comfort and seem to be demanding milk when actually a cuddle or some other response would work just as well.