Signs that your baby needs to breastfeed
Babies suckle to signal their mother's body to produce more milk after each feeding. Newborns cannot speak yet, so crying is the way they communicate with their mothers in the early days, and it is also a way for them to express their need to breastfeed.
When your baby cries, he or she may be very hungry and uncomfortable. Crying is often a late sign of hunger in newborns. Before crying, babies often patiently signal that they need to be fed with a variety of hunger signals. Therefore, mothers should learn to read common hunger signals. Here are some early signs of hunger that your baby may show:
- More alert and active.
- Turning the head as if searching for food. This is the reflex to find the mother's breast.
- Open and close mouths like little birds waiting to eat.
- Turn head towards breast, or smell milk.
- Practice sucking with your mouth (even if your baby doesn't have a pacifier).
- Pursing lips, drooling more or sticking out tongue.
- Sucking fingers, hands or clothes.
- Clench your hands into small fists.
- Stares at mom and follows her around the room if she is the primary feeder.
- Hunger will wake the baby even when he is in deep sleep.
- If your baby sleeps more than usual, use a feeding chart or guide to estimate whether he or she is feeding often enough for his or her age.
Signs that your baby is getting enough milk
- Children gain 100 - 140 grams per week.
- Baby is happy and relaxed after feeding.
- Urinating more than 7 times in 24 hours from the 7th day after birth.
- Your child is always active and happy.
- Children go to the toilet well
Breastfeeding tips for first-time moms
- Breastfeed or pump regularly, about 10 - 12 times/day to increase milk production.
- Respond promptly to your baby's hunger cues by watching for signs such as bringing hands to face or turning head...
- Breastfeed in the correct position, making sure the baby's mouth is wide open, latches deeply and the chin touches the mother's breast.
- Burp your baby after each feeding.
- Massage the breast towards the nipple while breastfeeding to aid milk flow.
- Pumping after breastfeeding can also help maintain milk supply. Hard breasts and leaking breasts can lead to low milk supply in the long term.
