Introduction:
As the child's growth continues, it also develops a habit of constant eating. This is called cluster feeding. Often mothers are confused and doubt if breast milk is insufficient for the child and find alternative ways to nourish the child. Cluster feeding is a natural process. The growth and development of a baby occur at different stages and levels. At certain age groups, there is an abrupt change in physical development, and such sudden and increased growth changes are called growth spurts.
How Frequently Does a Child Cluster Feed?
Constant cluster feeding can turn frustrating and make the mother tired. On average, cluster feeding in babies occurs every fifteen to twenty minutes or more frequently. It is commonly observed during afternoon naps and can happen anytime the baby awakens. This can continue for days to a week. It is caused as a result of growth changes occurring in newborns. Some commonly observed patterns in which cluster feeding occurs are on day two of life, weeks two to three, weeks four to six, and at three months.
How Can a Mother Prepare Herself for Cluster Feeding?
A pre-education on cluster feeding can help the mother to forsake any wrong confusion due to the child’s overeating habit and as well as get prepared for the other alternative methods to meet the crying baby’s needs. Some of the management strategies are:
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Prepare a nursing place. The mother can create a space to sit and lactate the child easily and comfortably. The place can be arranged with other essential tools handy, like mouth pacifiers, hydrating creams, wipes, nappies, and other items beside it.
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During cluster feeding, the mother can adapt techniques to pacify the baby, like rocking two and fro and switching off lights and other alarming sounds.
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The mother can create skin-to-skin contact with the baby to create a bond between the child.
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A constant twenty-hour vigil is required while nursing the baby. Hence, someone should help the mother carry out the house's day-to-day chores.
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While constantly lactating the baby, the mother should also take care of her breast hygiene. The mother can use moisturizers to keep the nipples hydrated.
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The mother should eat healthily and stay healthy while breastfeeding. Frequent feeding of the child takes away five hundred calories a day. So a mother should keep herself nourished.
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A mother can analyze the baby’s food intake by checking the diaper output and the overall health.
What Is a Growth Spurt?
Every born species grows itself out until it reaches maturity. Human beings also undergo different stages of growth and development. From the time a baby is born, it goes through different visible stages of development like the lying stage, leaping stage, crawling stage, standing stage, and walking stage. The child may seem to be growing at a regular pace, but at certain ages, the child shows a sudden acceleration of growth, known as a growth spurt. Such growth is the result of cell multiplication which is required for the development of tissues and organs. Growth spurts occur in two stages.
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Prenatal Period: This period is when the fetus starts developing inside a mother's womb from conception to childbirth or forty weeks of pregnancy. Factors that influence growth are maternal health, age, nutrition, genetic disorders, and other toxic substances that can interfere with the child's growth.
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Infantile Period: It is the period after the baby is born.
What Are the Different Stages of Growth Spurts?
Different growth milestones are achieved at different stages of life. Such development stages differ from child to child. For example, some babies start crawling from six months of age, but some do not. However, there are still certain growth patterns that occur in children. They are:
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1 Month: The baby starts recognizing faces, especially bold patterns like black and white. The child showcases excitement through sounds and laughter and develops body movements like moving the head sideways.
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2 Months: The child starts recognizing people at a distance and smiles. The child shifts eye movement according to the movement of the object. The baby develops a thumb-sucking habit to calm themselves. The child sometimes shows a fussy character when bored and lifts the head up, trying to move the body when in the tummy position.
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3 Months: By this time, the child can clearly distinguish faces. The child starts making sounds for different needs, like hunger, diaper change, and pain. The baby also learns to fold their hands and express boredom. The child loves playing and moves their head according to the noises made.
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4 Months: The child starts to giggle and laugh, pushes their head, and reaches out for things.
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5 Months: The baby starts rolling on its tummy back, puts toys in their mouth, loves to look in the mirror, makes babbling sounds, and plays with themselves.
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6 Months: The baby starts crawling on the floor, starts sitting without falling back, passes things from one hand to the other, starts understanding words, and responds to names.
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7 Months: The child starts playing simple games, begins to respond by saying no, and finds partially hidden objects.
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8 Months: The child starts crawling and slowly stands and develops a grip to hold objects for some time in hand.
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9 Months: The child does not cooperate with strangers and only mingles with familiar people. The baby starts making different sounds like mama, and baba ba baba, copies sounds and gestures of others, has favorite toys and uses fingers to point things.
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10 Months: The child expresses feelings like throwing and banging. They start standing on their own and move forward by shufflings on the way. The baby sits on its own, starts feeding with little fingers, and develops better hand-eye coordination.
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11 Months: The child understands objects, climbs stairs, makes varied sounds with tones like speech, and develops separation anxiety.
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12 Months: The child responds to requests and commands and responds vice-versa by shaking hands or saying bye-bye. The baby starts using things correctly, like brushing their hair and drinking from their own cup. The child starts walking step by step without anyone to hold them.
What Is an Adolescent Growth Spurt?
The adolescent growth spurt is a rapid growth seen during the puberty period. This is also known as an accelerated growth period. Many hormones are responsible for such rapid growth patterns in adults. The growth spurt period differs in males and females. A female reaches maturity fast and achieves it in eleven to thirteen years. On the other hand, males show growth spurts from fourteen years to sixteen years. Such differences in maturity can also be observed in their mental and emotional maturity. It is also when all milk teeth or mixed dentition period shifts to complete permanent dentition. There is development in sexual organs followed by a change in voice and changes in the hair growth patterns, like pubic hair.
What Are the Physical Changes Observed During Puberty Growth Spurt in Males and Females?
The rapid physical changes during teenage years result from puberty growth spurts that operate under the influence of hormones.
In Males:
Stage 1: Boys gain weight during this period and start developing fat deposition. This is also known as a fat spurt. This is caused due to the production of estrogen hormone by Leydig cells.
Stage 2: This occurs one year after stage one. During this time, boys increase in height and decrease in fat deposition. The development of sexual organs also takes place.
Stage 3: It occurs a year after stage two and is followed by a rapid increase in height, development of facial and axial hair, development of sexual organs, and increase in muscle structure.
Stage 4: This occurs after one and a half to two years of stage three. It is a stage where boys reach full maturation, and the increase in height stops.
In Females:
Stage 1: During this time, the girls start developing breast buds, and pubic hair starts coming.
Stage 2: Development of sexual characters begins. This begins after a year of stage one.
Stage 3: It occurs after one to one and a half years of stage two. It is marked by the beginning of menstruation. The girls start gaining weight during this period.
Conclusion:
Different physical demands a child makes during infancy are natural processes. A mother should be taught about the developmental changes which occur in a child. Most women transform into child-like behavior after spending time with their babies. This increases the emotional bond between them. Similarly, such growth patterns should also be handled with complete awareness during puberty. This helps to understand the growing child’s emotions without being apathetic towards them.
