Understand what the baby wants. How to tell if a newborn is full of milk while breastfeeding

A loving and caring mother gives herself to her baby through the main ability given to her by nature - breastfeeding. With the birth of a baby, mothers are concerned about one of the main questions: what if the child does not get enough breast milk? What to do in this case?

In the first hours after childbirth, a woman's breasts may not produce enough milk, but when correct behavior, already on the second or third day lactation returns to normal. The actions of a nursing woman should be guided by the needs of her child. Due to ignorance, fear, and inattention, women begin to take care of stable lactation late. To avoid this problem, you need to monitor whether your baby is getting enough breast milk.

Main signs of malnutrition in infants

Hungry cry - every mother can determine by the nature of her baby’s cry what he needs;
Low child activity, lethargy;
A sharp reaction to the approach and smell of the mother;
Restless sleep or lack thereof;
Insufficient number of acts of defecation and urination. Normally, a child is able to wet up to 20 diapers per day. Stool after each feeding is also a sign that the baby is full and that milk is well absorbed;
Thumb sucking, diaper edge sucking, tongue or lip smacking;
Low weight gain or loss. Determined during control weighing at the pediatrician. The exception is the period of stay of the mother and child in the maternity hospital for 3-5 days, when weight loss is considered natural within 10%.

Breast milk is both food and drink for the baby. More than 80% of it consists of water. Excessive dryness skin a baby may also be a sign that the baby is not getting enough to eat.

Causes of lack of breast milk

Understanding that a baby is hungry after feeding is easier than finding the reasons for this. They are usually identified in a complex manner. Conventionally, they can be divided into general (environmental factors), behavioral (determined by the mother’s behavior), and physiological (depending on the child’s condition).

Common reasons why a child does not eat enough:

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difficult psycho-emotional situation in the family, misunderstanding, lack of support, reluctance of other family members to accept new rules of life and rebuild;
irrational organization of the place where the child is fed and where the mother rests.

The group of behavioral factors includes:

insufficient and unbalanced nutrition of the mother - (list of products);
low motor activity, lack of fresh air;
lack of sleep, fatigue;
improper attachment of the baby to the breast, violation of feeding technique;
the presence of flavor in milk due to the consumption of spices and seasonings;
psychological unpreparedness of the mother to breastfeed, rejection of the feeding process itself, postpartum depression, pain,;
medical indications (flat nipple).

The child’s physiology also influences the process of satiation. The baby's significant weight at birth (more than 4 kg) coupled with delayed lactation rates in the first days after birth is the main cause of malnutrition. A runny nose, oral injuries, uncomfortable body position, and colic make sucking difficult and the baby does not get enough to eat.

Very common cause what a child cannot get enough of is an excess breast milk caused by excessive breast pumping. Hyperlactation occurs.

Human milk consists of fore and hind milk. Hind milk is fattier, more nutritious, and thicker. Foremilk replaces the baby's water. A woman’s breast produces as much optimal quality milk as her baby needs each day. age period. Pumping artificially increases milk production. By consuming a significant amount of foremilk, the child does not receive enough nutritional components, quickly absorbs it and remains hungry.

Solution

What should I do to ensure that my baby is fully fed? — Strictly follow the rules below:

regulate your diet - eat by the hour, at least 3-5 times a day, balance your diet: ;
drink enough fluid, incl. milk teas are suitable for stimulating lactation ();
exclude products that affect the taste of milk -;
walk in green areas away from roads;
get enough sleep and rest whenever possible;
involve loved ones to help care for the child;
master the correct technique for attaching a baby to the breast -;
be sure to feed at night;
adhere to the feeding regime, but do not deny the child milk on demand;
If necessary, supplement the baby with expressed milk from a bottle, spoon, pipette, avoiding pacifiers outside of feedings;
take care of breast hygiene - wash with warm water, lubricate cracks with special creams, rinse with chamomile decoction or furatsilin;
do self-massage of the chest.
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Often young parents are faced with the fact that at first they cannot understand the behavior of their newborn: what does he want, is it time to feed him, and why is he screaming.

Observation of a child allows us to identify three conditional stages of hunger (it should be noted that in children in the first weeks of life, these stages can occupy the entire waking time, that is, the child is either sleeping or wants to eat).

The first signs of hunger. The child becomes more mobile, opens his mouth, turns his head. It is best to put the baby to the breast at this moment: the mother will have some time to find a comfortable position,
Obvious signs of hunger: the baby’s movements become much more active, he tries to suck on everything that is near his mouth. In this case, it is necessary to attach the child immediately, without waiting for the third stage.
The child is hungry and overexcited: he cries, body movements are more convulsive, the skin turns red. In this situation, you first need to calm the child down (put him on your shoulder, rock him, stroke him) and when he calms down, put him to your chest. Try to avoid entering this stage.

My child constantly sucks his fingers and hands. Does this mean he is hungry all the time?

If the child is on breastfeeding and feeds on demand, then thumb sucking is not necessarily a sign of hunger. The child gets acquainted with his body, hands, mouth. To make sure your child is not starving, check

Breastfeeding poses serious questions for new mothers, one of which is how to determine if the baby is not getting enough breast milk.

This problem is especially worrying in the first month of a baby’s life and does not lose its relevance until the end of the first half of the year, when liquid and healthy nutrition often remains the only source of energy for the child.

A lot depends on the correctness of the mother’s actions, because sometimes a woman, misreading the signs of malnutrition, transfers the baby to an artificial formula, depriving him of the ideal product and the necessary tactile communication.

According to some mothers, the most telling signs of infant malnutrition are as follows:

constant crying that is not associated with other possible causes;
weakness of the child, low activity;
restless behavior that occurs as soon as the baby approaches the mother's breast.

Despite the general knowledge of these facts, a nursing mother should not take them too seriously. Of course, they really talk about children's problems, but not that the baby is hungry, but that he has problems with the intestines.

If all these symptoms are observed, then the baby probably has colic. In this case, he additionally presses his legs towards his stomach and cries after latching on to the chest.

Another common parental mistake is weighing the baby too often, for example, after every meal. Seeing that the weight gain is small, parents begin to get nervous and ultimately decide to supplement with formula feeding.

Symptoms of malnutrition in a newborn often include difficulty falling asleep and restless behavior during sleep.

For example, the baby may feel maternal nervousness, was simply born overly anxious or was a little sick. It is important for a woman to find out accurate information about the “sleepy” standards that are relevant for each month of life and try to put the baby to bed at the appropriate time intervals.

Checking wet diapers

Breastfeeding experts say there are only two accurate ways to determine if a baby is not getting enough breast milk: checking wet diapers and assessing monthly weight gain.

Another sign of being hungry infant– smacking lips, tongue, sucking a finger, fist or the edge of a diaper.

In addition, since mother's milk is considered both food and drink for the baby, excessively dry skin can also be a sign of malnutrition.

So, you have determined that the baby remains hungry throughout the day, now you need to identify the reasons that interfere with optimal lactation and lead to malnutrition. Since both mother and baby are involved in feeding, the nutrition process needs to be considered from all sides.

The reasons for the lack of milk are often due to the incorrect behavior of the mother (or her environment) during the lactation period:

Another one probable cause– too frequent, leading to an overabundance of this product. In general, milk secretion can be anterior or posterior. Foremilk is thinner and contains less fat (“empty”), which is what is produced during frequent pumping.

Hind milk is fatty, which means it is more nutritious and filling. The baby can only get enough of hindmilk, because fatty foods are not digested so quickly and leave a feeling of fullness for a longer period.

The baby may remain hungry if the feeding process is interfered with:

colic that worsens while eating;
nasal congestion or damage to the oral cavity;
incorrect latching of the chest.

The following experiment will help to detect feeding deficiencies: when you give your baby the breast, listen to how he swallows. The normal ratio is two or three suckings interspersed with one sip (in the first minutes of feeding, the baby should do a lot of sucking to increase the flow of milk from the breast). If there are few swallowing movements, the baby will remain hungry.

If a child does not get enough breast milk, he begins to be capricious, irritable, and also grows poorly and lags behind in development. If you discover that your baby does not have enough food in the first month, do not be nervous, as nervousness will only worsen the situation.

By listening to the following advice from breastfeeding experts, you can improve lactation and properly manage your baby’s feeding:

Try. With natural feeding mammary glands allocate optimal quantity milk in response to the baby's stimulation of the nipples. That is, the child should eat whenever he wants.
How to understand that a child is full? A well-fed newborn releases the nipple on its own, which is why it is not recommended to interrupt your food intake at your request.
Make sure you are applying the crumb correctly. Correct position: the mouth is open, the child should grasp both the papilla and the areola, only swallowing can be heard, there are no other sounds.
Set up a couple of comfortable feeding positions so you can alternate between them. The correct position is that the back of the child’s head, neck and back are located on a straight line. To prevent the baby from turning his head and reaching for the breast, the nipple should be close to his mouth.
Try feeding from one breast at a time so that the baby can suck both the foremilk and the hind milk.
Don't be afraid to wake your baby to feed. During the day he should not sleep more than three hours in a row, at night - more than 5-6. Before eating, the baby can be washed with cool water or undressed to activate all processes.
Avoid bottles for at least the first month of your child’s life. It is better to give expressed milk using a spoon or pipette. This is necessary so that the baby does not get used to pacifiers.
Give yourself a break, while there is such an opportunity - the child is sleeping, or relatives are babysitting him.
Review your diet, including more carbohydrate and protein foods. Avoid foods that may affect the flavor of the milk. It is also necessary to drink the required amount of warm liquid.
If there are any signs of trouble, be sure to show the baby to a specialist.

To make the feeding process easier, you can purchase a special pillow. This device helps to properly attach the baby to the breast and reduce the load on the mother’s back.

A cozy feeding procedure, a comfortable pillow, and pleasant music will create a comfortable atmosphere for eating and enjoy the procedure itself.

Inexperienced mothers often listen to the advice of girlfriends or simply common myths regarding breastfeeding, and decide for themselves that the child is not getting enough to eat. And this is already fraught with the wrong choice, which can harm the baby.

If it seems to you that your child is not eating well and has not eaten enough for 24 hours, be sure to consult a doctor. He will most accurately determine the likely factors that provoke malnutrition, recommend ways to improve breastfeeding, or suggest choosing the optimal milk formula for supplementary feeding.

The most important thing in such a situation is not to worry in vain, but to maintain positive attitude, which will definitely be passed on to the baby!

Older babies can tell you that they are hungry, but babies and newborns cannot do this. At least they cannot express it in words. But they can communicate their needs to you in other ways. At first, you may not notice signs of hunger in your baby, but as you get closer to each other, in the days and weeks after birth, you will learn to recognize the signals that will indicate that your baby is hungry and wants to eat your milk. .

How does a baby signal the desire to latch on to the breast?

Circular movements arms and legs;
-attempts to suck a finger or put a fist in the mouth;
- tongue smacking;
- frequent turns of the head from side to side;
-attempts to latch on to the breast while in your arms;
- making various sounds: whimpering, grunting, crying;
-change of facial expression;
- restlessness, arching of the body

Most likely, you have already heard that a baby communicates hunger by crying. Yes it's true. The baby cries when he is very hungry. However, crying is one of the signs that appears last. By the time the baby starts screaming, he is very upset and experiences a strong feeling of hunger. That is why it is so difficult to calm him down in this state. Also, the baby spends a lot of energy screaming: he gets tired quickly and may suck at the breast worse. Try to put your baby to your breast before he starts crying, especially if the baby has just woken up and is giving you signals.

What to do if you think your baby is hungry after breastfeeding?

If you listen to your baby's signals and don't feed according to a schedule, you will find that your baby asks to eat literally every hour (or a little less often). Do you think your baby is hungry? Try to attach him to your breast, even if feedings occur frequently.

Sometimes feedings occur in clusters: the baby is often attached to the breast for a short period of time. Or there may be a jump in development, which also affects the frequency of feedings. During such jumps, it may even seem that the baby is “hanging” on the chest all day, but at the same time is constantly hungry. This can last for several days until milk production increases significantly due to active breastfeeding. Just continue to latch on to your baby as required.

Newborns and babies who sleep a lot

If your baby sleeps a lot, you may not notice signs of hunger. However, the absence of such signs does not mean that the baby has enough nutrition. Typically, newborns are latched to the breast at least 8-12 times a day. Don't be afraid to wake your baby if more than 3 hours have passed since feeding. If it is difficult to wake your baby, try placing him on your chest. Some babies feed well even in their sleep.

Do you think your baby is not getting enough breast milk?

Count the number of times you urinate per day and contact a lactation consultant or your pediatrician.

Translation completed
Borina Ksenia
Lactation consultant, Moscow

It should be said that the above signs are not always evidence that the child is hungry. He can cry for a variety of reasons: from longing for his mother (what if she didn’t take him in her arms for a long time?) to the fact that, God forbid, something hurts him. Make “am-am” with your mouth or suck the pacifier greedily - because he is about to start teething or wants to poop.

So how do you understand what your child wants to eat?

In fact, there are no universal recipes here. Some babies show that they are hungry by sticking out their tongue, others by strong continuous crying, and others by both at once. Fourth - by putting fists in the mouth or sticking out the tongue. You just need to learn to understand your child. Or you can try another way: go up and stroke his cheek. If the baby turns his head towards the hand and opens his mouth slightly, it means it’s time to feed him (this is how the sucking reflex is triggered).

How can you tell if your baby is full?

This is very easy to do. If he is full, he will:

spit out the breast or bottle nipple and turn away from it,
fall asleep immediately (as an option, start smiling);
Calmly withstand long breaks between feedings (up to 3 hours).

By paying attention to all these signs, you can learn to understand when the child wants to eat and when he does not want it. Love your little ones, feel all their needs with your heart and be happy!