Insatiable appetite while breastfeeding, anybody?

Question

Hi! I've been breastfeeding and I'm constantly hungry...I was told before being discharged from the hospital that I need 300kcal more than usual every day, but I eat a big high calorie snack (things like peanut butter sandwiches, toast with cream cheese, mango and yogurt, oatmeal, etc) every time I feed my baby, which is around the clock... i definitely eat even more than when I was pregnant. Anybody experiencing the same thing?

Answer

Yes! When I was exclusively pumping every 2-3 hours I could eat an entire bag of chips or popcorn in the evening and still be hungry!
I ate so much all the time!!

Answer

Yep! Caloric demands are higher while breastfeeding (500 extra a day) vs pregnancy (300 extra a day during third tri). And in the early days it's even higher because of just how much your body has to work to ramp up milk production. I found I got extra hungry during each of her growth spurts too. Just for fun I tracked my calories during and after the 8 month growth spurt (a really big one) and I was eating 1,000 extra calories those three days! Just follow your hunger cues and you're doing great with healthy snack choices

Answer

Totally! I was ravenous when my daughter was little and needed to eat so much. She’s 4 months now and it’s eased a bit but I still need more than usual or I lose too much weight

Answer

Good to know I'm not alone!! I guess I'll enjoy the perfect opportunity I now have to eat anything I want any time. :)

Answer

Yes! For the first 2 months, I literally couldn't get full!! Since then it's started to die down so I'm (finally) able to not eat everything in sight

Answer

My second son only ever nursed for 5 minutes. I had an oversupply so that was all he needed. My daughter though will sometimes nurse for 2-3 minutes or sometimes 20. I think it depends if she’s nursing because she’s hungry or for comfort.

Answer

I was starving the entire time I breastfed, I ate constantly it felt like! I was way hungrier than I was when pregnant.

Insatiable appetite while breastfeeding, anybody?

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