From the time that your little one is born in this world, they need to be fed, and it is a major responsibility for parents, but for new parents this comes with a lot of questions. Questions about how much should newborn eat? How many times a day should they be eating and how to know when they’re having enough feed. You could be feeding them in different ways, from breastfeeding, bottle-feeding or combining a bit of both. But what’s important here is having the understanding of a newborn’s feeding patterns. Think of this as the starting line of learning whether you’re providing them enough nourishment to grow, what could you possibly do better and a lot more.
During the days when you’re still forming their feeding routines, patience and flexibility are your allies. Mobility can also be your lifesaver, between feedings, naps and diaper changes, a tool like an infant travel carrier allows you to remain close to your baby while still making daily tasks possible and done. Keeping them close also allows you to tend to them quickly, especially with hunger cues, which is a crucial part of learning all bout newborn eating from the first weeks of their life.
Understanding Newborn Feeding Cues: Decoding the Hunger Signals
Decoding your child’s cues can be considered a survival skill when you have a newborn. Recognizing the signs before your newborn is starving can save you from the hunger outbursts. Usually if you notice them turn their heads and open their mouths these are early signs that they are already feeling the hunger. Aside from this, they may also do other things to show that they are hungry, it could be sucking their hands or smacking their lips. You might be thinking why crying isn’t included in these early signs, it’s because crying actually is a late hunger signal, it’s like the baby’s last resort to communicating with you that they need feeding.
Once you’ve observed your baby’s body language, you’ll slowly learn what cues are for. Through time you can easily respond to their need. Whether it’s feeding or needed changing, learning their cues makes everything smoother and more intuitive, also helps with nurturing your bond.
The Golden Rule: Why Responsive (On-Demand) Feeding is Best
So, do you know that babies don’t recognize day and night? Well, they don’t, when they are born, babies don’t have a sense of time. This explains why they could be waking up in the middle of the night crying without a care in the world, sometimes because of hunger and sometimes they just want to. Babies also don’t believe in schedules, especially in the early weeks so setting up a feeding schedule for them might just cause stress for both of you. This is also why experts recommend feeding them whenever they want to, this is commonly called responsive feeding. Basically, just offering the breast or the bottle whenever you notice any hunger signs, no matter what time since they last feed.
A newborn’s stomach is tiny, usually only about the size of a cherry on day one and expands to a walnut size after one week. Having a small stomach means they only have small feedings but more frequent. When you’re responding to your baby’s cues helps ensure that they get enough nutrition that they need, it also supports a mother’s milk supply, making enough for the baby to feel full after feedings.
Frequency and Volume: Setting Realistic Expectations for the First Weeks
As adults we usually eat our 3 main meals per day and some snacks every now and then, for newborns in a span of 24 hours they usually eat about 8 – 12 times at most. Now when your baby is breastfed you may notice that they feed more frequently because breastmilk is easily absorbed by their stomachs rather than of the formula milk but remember that both of these milks still provide the necessary nourishment that babies need.
At first, babies only consume about only half an ounce per feed, but this will slowly increase to two or three ounces reaching the end of their first month. Every baby is different, some may feed more, others take time to increase their consumption, but what’s important here is observing if they are steadily gaining weight, producing enough diapers per day and not having any trouble with feeding, they should be fine. Never define your child and stick them to numbers, they’re humans, and each one of us is different in our ways.
Breastfeeding Basics: Positioning, Latch, and Ensuring Milk Transfer
Your success with breastfeeding should start with comfort, the more you’re comfortable with breastfeeding your child the more that this will positively affect your mind and body. The same goes with your baby, if they feel comfortable with breastfeeding they’ll easily learn how to effectively feed and makes feeding sessions more efficient, less stressful and enjoyable for both of you. Now learning how to proper position your baby and a deep latch give the best chances for efficient milk transfer, which also prevents any nipple injury or pain. There are several holds that you could try like, cradle hold, side-lying, and football hold, until you find what works best for you, you can experiment and explore more types of positions.
To know whether they are feeding well, signs of a good latch include rhythmic sucking, audible swallowing and relaxed hands and arms while feeding. You can feel it as well, if your baby seems to be struggling try repositioning. Asking for guidance or reaching out to a lactation consultant is also helpful to identify how you could properly feed your child and provide their needs.
Formula Feeding Fundamentals: Preparation, Sterilization, and Proper Proportions
When you’re using formula to feed your little one, the safe and proper preparation is non-negotiable even for one instance. You wouldn’t want to compromise your baby’s health, right? So, following the manufacturer’s instructions diligently for the water to powder ratio is crucial because too much water can dilute nutrients while too little can hurt your baby’s kidneys, which we want to avoid.
Keep the bottles, nipples and rings well sanitized and sterilized before and after each feeding. This is especially important during the newborn stage. Doing so prevents any bacterial contamination which could cause illnesses and other diseases which we do not want our child to catch. To warm their bottles, it’s better to place them under a running hot water than microwaving them which usually creates dangerous hot spots.
Always keep in mind that whether you’re exclusively formula-feeding or supplementing breast milk, make sure to be consistent with their feeding patterns and really observe how your child’s going to respond after each bottle.
Recognizing When Enough is Enough: Signs Your Baby is Full and Content
When it comes to knowing when they’re full, newborns are experts on this. What they usually do when your newborn eating is already full, they slowdown in sucking, turns away from the breast or bottle sometimes they push them away, or they usually just sleep. Since they know that they’ve already had enough, when you try and feed them more, you’ll end up on a bad spot, aside from feeling the discomfort they also spit-up a lot when overfed.
Babies who are well-fed and contented are calm, their limbs are relaxed and sometimes during peaceful moments they slowly drift to sleep. Noting these cues helps you build confidence that you’re providing enough for your little one, it also prevents overfeeding or create unnecessary worry on your end.
Monitoring Intake: What’s Normal for Wet and Dirty Diapers
Guessing if your newborn is feeding well won’t get you far. So, to effectively determine if they’re feeding well, one way to do this is to monitor their diaper output. Generally, after the first week they should be producing:
- 6 – 8 wet diapers per day, this means they’re well hydrated.
- 2 – 5 bowel movements daily, usually lesser for formula fed ones
Keep in mind that the color, consistency can vary, but it usually is like a mustard yellow for breastfed babies a bit tan and greenish for formula-fed babies. If you noticed they aren’t making as much and any other signs of dehydration, bring it to the attention of your pediatrician.
When to Call the Doctor: Identifying Potential Feeding Problems or Concerns
In taking care of a newborn, your pediatrician is also your partner, and their input and expertise can be a lot of help especially for first time parents. Bring this to the attention of your doctor immediately if you notice:
- Your newborn isn’t regaining their birth weight by two weeks, or they are visibly losing excessive weight.
- They can’t latch properly or just stay awake during feeds
- Frequently vomits or doesn’t want to feed at all
- Visibly dehydrated or have sunken soft spot, dry lips and fewer wet diapers.
Reach out to your pediatrician even with slight feeding difficulties, as it could escalate if they aren’t addressed properly. Your doctor could help you figure out what could possibly be the issue whether it could be related to tongue-tie reflex, they can’t tolerate milk or others.
Conclusion
When you’re learning about newborn eating you should probably know by now that it isn’t about sticking to strict schedules but rather leaning more on to responsive rhythm with your little ones. With time, those cries that seem to sound all the same will have distinctions through your ears, and you’ll easily interpret what your child truly needs.
Supportive tools like an infant travel carrier always have your back, making processes easier and just keeping your baby close during those outings. Every feeding, no matter how small or short, is a moment of connections, trust building and nourishment. With a lot of patience, flexibility and love, you’ll surely find your groove in this somehow beautiful even chaotic phase.
