Jan wrote, also:
<< So it isn't *just* an empty stomach that signals hunger -- otherwise
 breastfed babies would never go beyond an hour and a half or whatever the
length of
 time is for the milk to leave the stomach, and formula fed babies would never
 eat any more often than 3 or 4 hours or whatever time it takes for the
formula
 to leave the stomach. >>

I also wonder if not having an empty stomach for so much more of the day is
actually detrminental to healthy growth. When the GI system has to work harder,
or longer, and gets less rest between feeds ( let's say the stomach is
emptier for LONGER percentages of the 24 hour cycle with human milk, perhaps)
perhaps that also changes energy requirements, and what may be left over for healthy
growth, and happy sleep. We have no idea if, like older kids and adults,
babies have more nightmares on formula, as we might when eating too close to
bedtime, esp. certain junky or hard-to-digest foods. Sleep may be more or less in
terms of uninterruptedness, but do we have any idea about the quality or
comfort of that time spent sleeping?
Just more musing,
Judy LeVan Fram, PT, IBCLC, Brooklyn, USA

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