Your baby crying after feeding, still seeming hungry, can mean they genuinely need more milk (check latch/nipple flow, offer more), have gas/reflux, are overtired, or are seeking comfort/fussing due to stimulation, not just hunger, so try burping, soothing, or checking for discomfort (wet diaper, temperature) alongside offering more food.
Try a warm bath. This calms some babies instantly, but makes others cry even more. Sometimes too much rocking and singing can keep your baby awake. You might find lying them down after a feed will help.
At 2.5 weeks, babies often go through growth spurts, and it's not unusual for them to seem hungry even after what feels like a full feed. The cues you're seeing--rooting, hand-to-mouth, crying--can mean hunger, but they can also be signs of needing comfort, being gassy, or even just wanting to be held and soothed.
Features of colic may include: Loud, hard crying that may sound like screaming or being in pain. Crying for no known reason. Colic crying is not like the crying a baby does when hungry or wet.
Signs of overfeeding a baby include frequent spitting up/vomiting, fussiness, gassiness, a tight belly, and changes in stool (loose, green, frothy, or explosive). While babies often know when they're full (turning away, falling asleep), signs of overfeeding often involve discomfort and digestive issues, sometimes with rapid weight gain or a very full, hard tummy, especially if fed past fullness cues.
Watch for signs that your baby is full (slowing down, spitting out the bottle or unlatching from breast, closing the mouth, turning away from the breast or bottle) and stop the feeding when these signs appear. As babies grow, they begin to eat more at each feeding and can go longer between feedings.
The "4-4-4 rule" for breast milk is a simple storage guideline: fresh milk is good for 4 hours at room temperature (up to 77°F/25°C), for 4 days in the refrigerator (39°F/4°C or colder), and up to 4-6 months (or longer) in a standard freezer (0°F/-18°C). It's a handy mnemonic, though some organizations like the CDC recommend up to 6 months in the freezer and the AAP up to 9 months, with deeper freezers offering even longer storage.
The "Colic 333 Rule" is a common guideline for identifying infantile colic: a baby cries for more than 3 hours a day, for more than 3 days a week, for more than 3 weeks, in an infant who is otherwise healthy and well-fed. It helps differentiate normal crying from colic, though parents don't need to wait three weeks to seek help if they're concerned, and modern criteria may vary slightly.
Try these tips to soothe your baby:
Newborn reflux
Some babies will make gurgling or gulping sounds during or after feeds. Reflux can cause newborn fussiness, back arching and a lot of spit up.
The hardest week with a newborn is often considered the first six weeks, especially weeks 2-3, due to extreme sleep deprivation, constant feeding demands, learning baby's cues, postpartum recovery, and a peak in inconsolable crying (the "witching hour"), making parents feel overwhelmed as they adjust to a new, exhausting routine. While the first week is tough, the challenges often intensify as the baby becomes more alert but still fussy, with major developmental hurdles like cluster feeding and increased fussiness peaking around 6-8 weeks.
It's perfectly normal for newborns to seem like they're constantly hungry, especially during the early days when their nursing sessions are part-feeding and part-stimulating more milk. So, if you find yourself questioning whether your baby is a little foodie in the making, you're probably right!
The 7 key danger signs for newborns, often highlighted by organizations like the WHO, are not feeding well, convulsions, fast breathing, severe chest indrawing, lethargy/unconsciousness (movement only when stimulated), high or low temperature, and jaundice (yellow skin/soles) or signs of local infection like an infected umbilical stump, requiring immediate medical attention.
A colic cry sounds like a loud, intense, high-pitched scream or wail, often coming in sudden, painful-sounding bursts that are very hard to soothe, with the baby often going red in the face, clenching fists, arching their back, and pulling up their legs as if in severe pain, usually starting in the late afternoon or evening for no obvious reason.
Symptoms
Colic and the witching hour are often used interchangeably, however colic is more defined. Babies with colic tend to cry for more than 3 hours per day, for more than 3 days a week, and more than 3 weeks in a row.
Signs of overfeeding a baby include frequent spitting up/vomiting, fussiness, gassiness, a tight belly, and changes in stool (loose, green, frothy, or explosive). While babies often know when they're full (turning away, falling asleep), signs of overfeeding often involve discomfort and digestive issues, sometimes with rapid weight gain or a very full, hard tummy, especially if fed past fullness cues.
The 5-3-3 rule is a loose guideline for structuring a baby's sleep schedule: 5 hours of wake time before the first nap, 3 hours of wake time before the second nap, and 3 hours before bedtime.
Colic usually starts when babies are about 3 weeks old. It gets worse when they are between 4 and 6 weeks old. Most of the time, colicky babies get better after they are 6 weeks old, and are crying for less than 1 hour per day by the time they are 12 weeks old.
Reflux. Reflux and colic are closely related and are often confused. Reflux can also be caused by oversupply and both are more often a problem when a baby is given large feeds with long gaps in between. A baby who has reflux often spits up milk and cries more when he is lying down or is in a car seat.
Sometimes a baby with colic will find it soothing to suck on a dummy between feeds. If you decide to give your baby a dummy, it's better to wait until breastfeeding is well-established and he is gaining weight well. You will also need to follow manufacturer's guidelines on cleaning and replacement.
What causes colic?
At around 6 weeks, many moms introduce the pump and follow the Magic 8 method — pumping 8 times in 24 hours to help build and maintain milk supply.
As newborns get older, they'll nurse less often, and may have a more predictable schedule. Some might feed every 90 minutes, whereas others might go 2–3 hours between feedings. Newborns should not go more than about 4 hours without feeding, even overnight.