In breast milk clinics, the two most common questions asked by newborn families are:
1. Is there a feeding schedule that can be referred to?
2. If the baby is sleeping, should he wake up to feed?
To find the answer to these two questions, we must first understand the magic of newborns
When the baby was born, his stomach was no bigger than the size of a tiny pea.
Such a small stomach capacity, three meals a day, is far from meeting the needs of newborn growth.
Since it is not enough, how often is it reasonable to feed it?
On average, breastfed newborns eat about every 2 to 3 hours. At least 8 to 12 times in a 24-hour period. The newborn's stomach is very small, and breast milk is easy to digest, so although the mother is very hard after childbirth, she still needs to feed the baby frequently. Especially colostrum, which is the most precious first dose of vaccine for babies.
While some babies feed every 2 to 3 hours, there are actually many babies who have a focused feeding time. For example, some babies may want to feed multiple times in a short period of time, and then he may sleep for a while longer.
There will also be some babies who are very sleepy in the first two days, up to 3-4 hours do not wake up, then this time, especially in the first few days of birth, when this happens, you need to take the initiative to wake up the baby to breastfeed.
The above patterns are normal, as long as the baby's growth and development dynamics are normal, there is no need to worry.
After explaining how many times the baby should eat every day, a mother came to ask again.
Do I need to feed my child on time?
For breastfed children, feeding according to hunger signals is the most reliable.
Instead of insisting on feeding every 3 hours, be flexible and feed when your baby looks hungry. It can keep your baby comfortable and safe, and it can also help increase milk intake to meet your baby's growing nutritional needs.
Let's learn new skills and learn to judge your baby's hunger signals.
Here, to correct a common mistake made by many newborn families, it is to "feed when you cry", crying is not necessarily hungry.
We divide hunger signals into three parts: early hunger cues, mid-term hunger cues, and late hunger cues. If moms can feed their babies as soon as the early hunger signals are displayed, the feeding will go more smoothly.
Let's take a look at how to correctly identify your baby's hunger signals:
Early hunger clues:
Lick your lips.
Suck hands, suck lips, clothes, toys.
Mouth closed.
Stick out your tongue.
As if he were looking for something, he moved his head from one side to the other.
Mid-term hunger clues:
Try to suckle by pulling your clothes to your chest.
Whoever is holding it will turn their head to the breast.
Increases leg and arm movements.
Breathe fast or start babbling.
Squirming or restlessness.
Wake up from sleep and fall asleep in quick succession.
Shows discomfort, making whimpering and grunting sounds.
Constantly punch your chest or arm.
Rapid eye movements while sleeping. If he hasn't been breastfeeding in a while, now is a good time.
Even after completing the first bottle or first kiss, a hungry baby may continue to show interest in sucking. This shows that more is wanted.
Babies over four months old may even smile when breastfeeding, indicating that they still want to continue feeding.
Late hunger clues:
Frantically moving from side to side.
Finally kept crying. These cries are usually short,fervent cries.
Every baby is unique, and we can't stereotype when he feeds and when he sleeps according to a certain conclusion.
We can only learn to understand his requests and respond positively.
I believe that a baby who can get a response and be satisfied in time will be a cute little angel.
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