Infant feeding cues and their importance

Newborns are a bit of a learning curve, we can all admit it. One question that comes up for parents with newborns is how to understand when a baby is hungry vs full. Understanding hunger cues can be vital for new parents when bringing baby home.

Newborn infants are typically being fed on demand (or at least every 3 hours) and eat often. You should expect to feed them 8-12 times per day. As you get to know your baby, you will find that crying is typically the LAST cue that they are ready to eat. Learning babies hunger cues can be super helpful to avoid a fussy baby and having an easier, more effective feeding.

Early cues: 

• Turning head

• Stirring

• Opening and closing their mouth, puckering lips

• Sucking on hands, fingers, clothing, etc

Active cues:

• Stretching

• Positioning towards the chest of whoever is holding them

• Squirming

• Fussing noises

Late feeding cues

• Clenched fists

• Moving head from side to side

• Agitated and crying

If your baby has gotten to the late cues phase then you want to ensure you calm your baby before attempting to nurse or bottle-feed them.

During the first few weeks of your baby’s life, they may be sleepy and not give you obvious feeding cues.  It is important to ensure that they feed a minimum of 8 times (about every 3 hours) to ensure adequate milk intake and breast stimulation for building a plentiful milk supply.  In this case, you may need to wake your baby to feed.  Undress them, do skin-to-skin and gently wake them for feeding.  

If you would like additional help with feeding your newborn, please contact us at The Breastfeeding Center to set up an appointment with one of our Board Certified Lactation Consultants.