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It is not always easy to distinguish between hunger and a need to cry. Every
single baby is certainly different from every other baby and each mother must
therefore learn to decipher and interpret her own baby's signals. Nevertheless,
there are a number of guidelines for deciding whether or not your baby really
needs to nurse.
One guideline that you can use is the amount of time since the previous
feeding, provided your baby has taken a full feeding and sucked at both breasts,
which can take a half hour or more. If your baby then begins to cry less than 2
1/2 hours after the beginning of the feeding, she is not likely to be hungry
again so soon. Perhaps she just wants to be held and to interact socially with
you. If you suspect that she might need to cry, then holding her without nursing
her will allow her to do so.
The time periods between feedings normally increase as babies grow older,
because their stomachs can hold more milk. If your baby seems to want to nurse
more frequently rather than less frequently as she grows older, this could be an
indication that she has a backlog of crying to do, and is beginning to use
nursing as a control pattern.
However, it could also be an indication that your baby is having a growth
spurt, is not getting sufficient milk, or is ready for solid foods if she is
over four months of age. She could also be thirsty because of hot weather, or
prefer small, frequent feedings because of illness. Some babies are "grazers,"
perhaps due to a small stomach. They do not take in very much milk at each
feeding, and may need more frequent feedings.
As a general guideline, however, a normal, healthy baby who is at least one
month old does not need to nurse more often than eight to ten times in a 24-hour
period, provided she is allowed to suck as long as she wants at both breasts at
each feeding. Any fussiness in between feedings is probably not caused by
hunger, and may indicate a need to cry.
Another guideline is the type of baby crying. A true hunger cry generally
does not begin as a cry at all, but rather as moans or grunts of discomfort or a
whine. It builds up to a full-blown cry only if the baby is not fed. This makes
quite a bit of sense because hunger is not generally something that happens
suddenly, but rather gradually, beginning as a mild urge.
Some parents just never hear a true hunger signal from their baby because
they never wait until baby is hungry before feeding her. If your baby is crying
vigorously and loudly in your arms, and it has been less than 2 1/2 hours since
a full feeding, it is probably not a hunger cry.
A third guideline is to observe your baby's behavior carefully after you
offer your breast. If she does not latch on eagerly, she is probably
not actually hungry. If she does begin to suck, but then soon begins to cry
again, this may be an indication that she is not really hungry, but needs to cry
instead. There is no point in trying to insist that your baby nurse. Instead,
you can continue to hold her and pay attention to her.
Some mothers overlook their baby's cues when the baby does not really want to
nurse, and they keep trying to offer their breast. If babies could talk at those
times, they would probably say, "Please stop trying to put that in my mouth. I
need you to pay attention to me so I can have a good cry!" (Note that crying
after starting to nurse can be an indication of nursing problems, difficulties
in getting milk out of the breast, such as choking on too much milk or
difficulty breathing through the nose. (Be sure to check into these reasons
first.)
Other possible signals of a need to cry include squirming, kicking, biting,
grunting, or sucking sporadically and irregularly while nursing. A baby who is
truly hungry and ready to nurse will do so calmly (unless it is hard for her to
breathe, suck, or swallow, or unless there is a lot of noise or other
distractions).
If your baby is not nursing calmly because of accumulated tensions, removing
her from the breast and holding her lovingly will allow her to do the crying she
needs to do. This crying will then be followed by calm sucking, sleep, or happy
alertness. If your baby has problems with sleeping and is crying in the night, you may wish to take a look at the Baby Sleep Solution. It is a superb audio program that in just 35 minutes shows you all the techniques you need to have your baby happily sleeping through the night, every night. It's at http://www.babysleepsolution.com
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