Newborn Always Hungry? Let’s Talk About Why

Newborn Always Hungry

Congratulations on your newborn!  What an exciting time in your life. 

I know it seems like your newborn is always hungry, but over time it will calm down, I promise.

When it comes to breastfeeding or bottle feeding, I know there is some controversy and you know what, you do you!  It is your baby and your decision.

I have experience with both and now that my kids are older, no one can tell the difference between which of my kids had breastmilk and which had formula.

No matter what, just remember that is just a phase and you can get through it.  

Perseverance and patience, mama!  You got this.

Newborn Constantly Hungry and Crying

Have you ever looked up how many times a day a newborn is supposed to eat?  I have and everything I read told me 8 to 12 times a day is normal. 

So, this evens out to your newborn eating about every 2 to 3 hours.

Compared to you or me eating 3 meals and maybe a snack a day, this is all the time!

It may seem like always to you if you are new to this.  But it makes sense right, with how tiny his stomach is and all.

When your baby is born, his stomach can only hold about ½ tsp (which is about the size of a small cherry).  And that will get digested pretty quickly.

Start watching your baby, he is moving often and it is hard work.  Try and do everything he is doing and you will see just how hard he is working and burning through those milk calories.

By the time your baby is about a month old, his stomach can hold about 3 – 5 ounces (which is about the size of an egg).  He will still need to eat often but his overnights will probably calm down a little bit.

As for why your baby is crying all the time, this is the only way he can communicate to you that he needs something.  

He is trying to let you know he is hungry, tired, gassy, or needs a diaper change.

Newborn Hunger Cues

You can help your baby as he is getting hungry by watching for hunger cues.

Your newborn will show hunger cues every single time he is starting to get hungry.  By paying attention and recognizing these cues, you can help minimize fussiness and crying with your baby.

If he gets to the fussy and crying stage, he has been hungry for a while as these cues always happen last.

It takes practice to watch for these newborn hunger cues, but I know you will get the hang of it in no time.

Here is are the hunger cues you need to be on the lookout for.

• Your newborn will move his hands to his mouth.
• He may be sucking on his fists and fingers.
• His head may be turning to look for the breast, also known as rooting, and it happens whether you nurse or not.  

Since I tried breastfeeding with all 4 of my babies, I recognized this early hunger cue the most.

• You may find your newborn smacking his lips.
• He may be opening and closing his mouth.
• Some babies become more awake and alert right before they want to eat.

If you missed all the hunger cues above, your newborn will let you know he is hungry by being fussy and crying.

• Keep an eye on the clock too.  

If it seems like it has been about 2 hours since the start of the last feeding, it may be getting close to eating time again.

Why is my baby so hungry at night?

Your newborn’s feeding schedule is around the clock.  They can’t fill up enough on a bedtime feeding to make it through the night. 

Small stomach capacity, remember?

Sorry to break your heart, but your baby won’t be sleeping through the night until he is at least 2 – 3 months old. 

There is a reason you hear that people with babies are so tired.

And at that point, sleeping through the night is about 6 – 7 hours.  That will only happen if you work on sleep training.

Yep, sleep training is a real thing, and don't let anyone try to say it isn't.  Your baby has to learn to do everything else, and getting on a sleep schedule is no different.

It will get better though, and you will get to sleep through the night again.  And it will be glorious!

Newborn Feeding Schedule

For some newborns, it is really easy to hop on a feeding schedule.  "My baby eats every 3 hours like clockwork", boom baby!  This never happened to me right away.

Please don't think that it is going to happen to you as it isn't the norm.  Just be pleasantly surprised if it does.

With newborns, you will want to feed them on demand.  You know, when they are hungry. 

This means that you need to be flexible with their feeding schedule.

I talked before that your newborn will want to eat every 2 to 3 hours.  Sometimes he will want to keep you on your toes and take a long nap, throwing off his eating schedule.

Other times he may want to cluster feed, which is when he will want to eat every hour for a few hours in a row. 

If this seems to be the case, feed him.  He is probably going through a growth spurt and just needs more milk at that time.

Basically, you need to be flexible when it comes to your baby eating and listen to him.  He will let you know exactly when he is hungry.

Newborn Always Hungry Tips

Here are a few tips that I learned if it seems that your newborn is always hungry.

• If you are nursing, try nursing more frequently.  

It is more demanding on you so make sure you are eating healthy snacks and drinking more water to compensate for it.

• If you are bottle-feeding, pay attention to how much milk is left in the bottle.  

Is your newborn finishing the whole thing?  If so, he is still hungry. 

There should always be a little bit left in the bottle.  That is how you know your baby is full.

• Sometimes your baby might seem hungry but maybe he is just very oral.  

If this is the case, look at using a pacifier.

3 of my babies loved using this pacifier.  That 4th kiddo, he just didn't want one at all.

Newborn Always Hungry and When To Talk To Your Doctor

If you have any doubts about what is going on with your newborn, talk to your doctor.  They are there to help you.

I have 2 examples for you.

Personal Experience 1

With my 2^nd baby, I thought that everything was going fine with feeding and it was for a short bit. 

But he ate all the time.  Every 2 hours around the clock for 3 months. 

Talk about being exhausted.  My husband had to practically push me out of bed at night because I couldn’t hear him cry for me anymore.

When he was pretty young still, like 2 months, my family (I have a lot of sisters/mother hens – 6 to be exact) started telling me that he looked pretty small.  I couldn’t see it, hard to tell when you see it every day you know.

I took him in to see his doctor and she said, let's try breastfeeding for about a month longer and then come back to do a weight check. 

At the next appointment, we found out that my milk wasn’t what he needed to grow.  So just like that, he went on formula. 

That was exactly the ticket.  He gained 6 pounds in 6 weeks, and that was just the start of it.  He started sleeping through the night, so I got to sleep again – praise the Lord.

Personal Experience 2

With my 3^rd baby, it turned out that my milk didn’t have enough fat in it.  Like it was 1% or skim even, and he needed whole milk.

There were a couple of things I noticed to let me know something wasn't right with his feeding.  First of all, he ate all the time just like my 2^nd baby but he was growing better.

Then something alarming happened.  He didn’t poop.  And most young babies poop once if not multiple times a day.  Especially when they are breastfed.

Nope, he didn't poop for like 6 days.  We ended up giving him a suppository which cause the great poop explosion of 2015.  It was everywhere.  And to make matters worse, we were on vacation in the middle of nowhere.

When we got back, we saw his doctor right away and she told me about my milk.  I had to go on a pretty crazy high-fat diet if I wanted to continue to nurse him. 

It was every day for the next 9 months of a whole avocado, a huge bowl of ice cream, and lots of heart-healthy nuts.  Pretty intense for me and a huge conscious effort.

But you know what, that was what he needed.  He grew like crazy and didn’t have any more constipation problems.

Congrats again and I hope you enjoy every minute with your newborn.  They grow so fast.

This post is all about why it seems your newborn is always hungry.

Let me know in the comments below if you have any other questions or just need a mama friend to chat with.

I look forward to hearing from you and thanks for stopping by.