How to find out what the child ate. How to understand what the baby wants to eat. Correct feeding process

Last updated article: 25.04.2018

Pediatricians around the world believe breast milk optimal for feeding crumbs from birth to one year. And it is true. It contains all the necessary substances that are ideal for your child. The composition of milk is unique, it changes constantly and depends on the needs of the baby. For example, when it's hot, breast milk contains more water, which helps to quench your thirst. Need to grow? The milk becomes larger and its fat content increases. Is your baby sick? The amount of immune substances in milk increases.

District pediatrician

However, despite centuries of experience in breastfeeding, many questions still remain. During the appointment, I am often asked how to check whether the child is full or not, what to do if the baby is not full?

Let's try to deal with these problems together.

How to understand if a baby is eating breast milk?

To make it easier for mom to determine whether the child is full, I will tell you about some features of the newborn's body. The infant usually sleeps for 2 to 4 hours. This means that the number of feedings together with night feeds should be from 6 to 8 times per day. Does your toddler suck on his fist, roll his head to the sides, and stick out his tongue? He wants to eat! It's time to offer him a breast.

The kid can eat from 10 to 30 minutes in time. How much he sucks at the breast depends on the activity and appetite of the baby. Someone eats quickly and hastily, and someone slowly, with breaks for rest. Both options are considered the norm and reflect the personality of your little one. The portion of milk eaten is regulated by the child himself. Having eaten, the baby will release the breast by itself.

The baby cries not only when hungry. Crying may indicate tummy pain, a reaction to the weather, or the baby just needs your attention.

In the first year of their life, children grow up intensively. The average monthly weight gain of an infant in the first trimester (three months) is 800 grams. Knowing the characteristics of your baby, carefully observing his behavior and monthly increase, you will be able to determine whether the child is eating enough or remains hungry.

The child does not eat enough if:

• he often wakes up and sleeps little, shows signs of anxiety, cries a lot;
• poorly gains body weight in a month.

As a breastfeeding advocate, I hope your baby is eating enough. But if the parents determined that the baby is not saturated with milk, questions immediately arise, what is the reason, what to do?

The main thing is not to panic. Successful breastfeeding requires proper nutrition, adequate rest and an optimistic attitude from a nursing mother. I'll tell you about food a little later.

The main causes of malnutrition

Malnutrition can be caused by:

• hypogalactia - a decrease in the production of breast milk;
• improper attachment of the child;
• flat, inverted nipples;
• lactostasis - milk stagnation, manifested by painful swelling of the breast;
• short frenum of the tongue.

Let me remind you again. Do not worry! All these problems can be fixed.

If true hypogalactia is directly related to the hereditary predisposition and lifestyle of the mother, then the other four reasons depend on the technique of breastfeeding. They can be adjusted.

Hypogalactia

Hypogalactia is a condition in which less milk is produced than the baby needs.

And although there is a hereditary predisposition to this, the lifestyle also significantly influences.

To overcome this problem will help some helpful tips:

1. Eat right. You need to eat even more often than you ate before pregnancy. Preferably before every breastfeeding. In the list of the most useful products - meat, cottage cheese, fish, dairy products, fruits and vegetables. It is advisable not to eat citrus fruits and chocolate (they can cause allergies); foods that increase gas formation (legumes, white cabbage, black bread, a lot of flour can provoke colic in a baby). If the milk is low-fat ("like water"), you can eat sour cream, nuts, and pork in moderation. They make milk fatter.
2. Drink more (up to 2.5 liters per day) of liquid. Give preference to plain clean water, green tea, compote, fruit drink, fermented milk products.
3. Get some rest. A nursing mother needs at least 8 hours of sleep at night and 1 to 2 hours of rest during the day. Spend more time outdoors.
4. Apply the child more often. This increases the milk flow. In the first days of a baby's life, it is advisable to feed every hour. Don't forget about night feeds. Give both breasts in one feed, ending with the breast you started with.
5. Chat with your child. Skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby causes milk flow.
6. Seek support and help from your husband and family. Very important psychological comfort in family.
7. Herbal teas for mums containing cumin, dill, fennel, anise are designed to enhance milk production. Drink a cup of this tea an hour before feeding, try to relax and unwind. The milk will taste better, and the baby will eat with appetite.

Improper attachment of the baby to the breast

Improper attachment of the baby leads to the inconvenience and discontent of the baby, the appearance of cracks in the nipples, which is painful for the mother. The baby cannot fully suckle at the breast, and therefore the baby cannot eat.

Conditions for correct attachment.

1. Child's position: belly to belly, face to chest. To feed lying or sitting, it's up to mom to decide. Choose a position that suits both of you.
2. The baby's head and body are in line. The chin touches the mother's chest.
3. The baby should grip the nipple along with the areola (the pigmented area around the nipple).
4. The baby's lower lip is slightly turned out.
5. Mom should be relaxed and focused on the child.

If the mother has flat, inverted nipples, it is difficult for the baby to suck. It will take patience and perseverance. Over time, the shape of the breast changes, it softens, and the nipples become more elongated. And after two weeks, the feeding problem disappears. Until that time, you can use special ones. If necessary, milk is expressed and given to the child from a spoon.

Lactostasis

Lactostasis is a problem that often arises at first. This is due to the presence of a large amount of milk, and the baby cannot empty the breast completely. The mammary gland swells, becomes painful, the temperature may rise to 38 - 38.5 degrees, but the general state of health does not suffer. When the mammary glands are engorged, it is difficult for a child to suck, and not all babies can cope with this problem.

• more frequent attachments of the child;
• express a small amount of milk before feeding. Expression softens the breast and helps the baby;
• massage during feeding, stroking from the armpit to the nipple;
• when you finish feeding, express milk until a few drops come out;
• wearing the right nursing bra.

Every woman knows that breastfeeding is the basis for the full development of a baby. And the longer it lasts, the better (there are many disputes, but the optimal period for breastfeeding is considered to be 2.5-3 years). However, many mothers worry that their child is not eating enough. This can be a real problem if your baby is showing signs of dehydration.

How to tell if your baby is full

The proper functioning and development of both the digestive system and other body systems, the formation of immunity depend on the proper nutrition of a small child. This is why the issue of baby satiety worries most parents.

The fact that the child is full can be judged by the following signs:

1. Mom feeds him a sufficient number of times a day - 5-8 times, depending on the age of the baby (or on demand).
2. The child is gaining weight according to medical guidelines.
3. Duration of feeding is at least 20 minutes. There is also no need to deliberately delay this procedure. If the baby is full, he will be cheerful, start to play or calmly fall asleep, he will not be capricious.
4. You can trace the swallowing reflex (it is well pronounced). At the beginning of the feed, the baby swallows faster as he is hungry. Then the baby sucks rhythmically, but more slowly.
5. The child is not overexcited, but active, has a healthy appearance. He has pink and firm skin.

Now it's clear how to understand that infant I ate, however, overfeeding the child is also not worth it, because this is an additional load on the not yet formed digestive tract.

If the mother notes that she has an abundance of milk and it is well excreted from the breast, then the baby does not need 20 minutes to be full. This usually happens earlier, after which the child begins to suck sluggishly or throw the breast and turn away.

Weight norms by month

In order not to worry about whether your baby is eating enough, consider the weight gain chart by month.

Age, months	Increase, g

These figures are averaged. If your indicators differ from the tabular data by 100-150 g, it's okay. The body of each baby is individual.

Please note: sometimes the run-up of data can be even more (for example, in premature babies, with developmental abnormalities, etc.). But if the pediatrician at a routine examination, knowing your baby, assures that there is nothing to worry about, then it is better to trust the opinion of a specialist. Mom's nervousness can be transmitted to the baby and affect his condition, it also affects lactation. , You can go for a consultation with another pediatrician if this is easier for you.

How the milk rate for a baby increases in the first year

In the early days, a baby who experienced severe stress at birth does not require a large amount of mother's milk. A small volume of colostrum is quite enough for him, which is very nutritious. Only with time does the digestive system "start" and the sucking reflex improves. Then the need for food increases.

Immediately after birth, the volume of the baby's stomach is only 7-10 ml. After two to three days, it increases to 25 ml. After a week, the volume becomes 1.5-2 times more. The need for breast milk also increases.

After a month, the child's nutrition is normalized. He eats about 6-8 times a day. At the same time, the volume of milk drunk per feeding reaches 80-100 ml. At three months, a baby can eat 150 ml, in six months - 180-200 ml, a year - about 250 ml of milk or mixture.

Signs that your baby is hungry

To understand if the child is full. mothers need to pay attention to the following signs, which indicate that the baby is not eating enough:

• the body weight of the baby is too low (the weight gain per month differs significantly from the tabular data);
• the breaks between feedings are too small, and at this time the child is restless;
• the baby sucks a lot, but swallows little;
• the child can pull everything that comes into his mouth: clothes, sheets, toys, and even smacks his lips;
• the baby greedily grabs the breast, is often capricious, reacts sharply to the appearance of the mother, her smell;
• a baby rarely stains diapers;
• the skin is dry, as are the mucous membranes;
• the baby becomes less active, he looks weakened;
• the activity of the baby during wakefulness may decrease;
• the child does not sleep well.

If breast milk is not enough, then the normal development of the baby is in question.

Causes of the problem

If there is no doubt about whether the child is eating enough, and the baby really does not consume enough milk, then you need to find out the reason for this negative phenomenon. It can be one of the following:

1. Exact adherence to the feeding regime. Experts have long been talking about the need to provide a breast to a child at his request, and not by the hour. The baby's body has its own biological clock. In addition, much depends on the quality of breast milk and the speed of its digestion. The only thing to keep in mind is the intervals between meals: they should not be less than two hours.
2. Short feeding time. It should not be less than 15-20 minutes.
3. Improper breastfeeding by the baby. This is often the result of the use of silicone pads on injured nipples.
4. Frequent use of pacifiers or bottles.
5. Using an awkward posture.
6. Reducing or avoiding night feedings. It is known that in this case, the amount of breast milk is also significantly reduced.

There are other reasons that can lead to malnutrition:

• insufficient fluid intake by a nursing mother, as a result of which the amount of milk decreases;
• malnutrition of a woman;
• stressful situation, emotional or nervous shock (such factors can completely stop lactation);
• hormonal disbalance;
• physiological features of the structure of the breast, in which the child cannot properly capture the nipple;
• problems with the baby's digestive system (as well as other somatic diseases of the baby);
• nasal congestion, a runny nose in a child (in this case, he cannot breathe normally, is capricious).

The problem of malnutrition can appear if the baby is very large and simply does not have enough milk, as well as if the baby is weak and does not have the strength to suckle for a long time.

If these reasons are eliminated, then the child's nutrition will improve. However, in some cases, the mother will have to see a doctor much earlier than the scheduled examination (usually it is done once a month).

When you need to see a doctor urgently

So, you need to call an ambulance if:

• the baby is constantly lethargic, his usual activity is absent, he is weakly interested in the world around him;
• eyes sink, and the look becomes dull;
• bad breath appears;
• the baby is constantly crying, but tears are not emitted;
• the mucous membranes become dry, the skin is flabby (wrinkled);
• the color of the urine changed and became darker.

These signs indicate severe dehydration. If measures are not taken in time, then even a lethal outcome is possible. The baby's body is still too weak to cope with dehydration.

Solution

Many young mothers sound the alarm: “What to do? The baby is not eating enough! " First you need to understand whether this is really so. If the problem exists, then the woman needs to take the following measures:

1. Feed your baby when he wants. The more he sucks at the breast, the more milk will be released. This is especially true of night feedings, you cannot refuse them.
2. You cannot take the breast from the baby. When he is full, he releases the nipple on his own (or begins to suck very sluggishly, falls asleep).
3. Monitor how the baby holds the breast. His mouth should be wide open. It should cover both the nipple itself and the areola.
4. Both mother and baby should be comfortable during feeding. The desired posture should be selected individually.
5. During one procedure, the baby should be applied to only one breast and wait for it to completely empty it.
6. If the baby is weakened, then he needs to be fed every three hours (so he gets a normal satiety).
7. It's important to give up pacifiers and bottles. Prolonged sucking on a pacifier can disrupt the development of the baby's bite, and the mixture from the bottle is much easier to eat, so soon the baby will give up the breast altogether.
8. Get more rest. The more a woman gets tired, the higher the risk of a decrease in the amount of breast milk. At the same time, one should not refuse the help of relatives and friends.
9. Mom needs to eat immediately after feeding (at least five times a day). You should consume a sufficient amount of warm liquid (to enhance lactation, it is good to drink warm tea, fruit drink, dried fruit compote). It's important to eat right. It is necessary to exclude from the diet all those foods that can cause allergies in the baby, disrupt the process of his digestion.
10. If a nursing woman does not have enough milk or it disappeared for some reason, then you need to switch to either mixed feeding (breast milk + formula), or artificial (only formula). Remember: with mixed feeding, the mixture is always given only after being applied to the breast, otherwise the baby may refuse to suck, and lactation will decrease!
11. If on artificial feeding the mother has the impression that the child is not eating up the mixture, then it just needs to be replaced (taking into account the manufacturer and the calorie content of the product). It is good if the pediatrician selects alternative nutrition initially.

It should be remembered that if the situation does not change: the child weakens, becomes capricious, does not sleep well, etc., an urgent need to contact a pediatrician.

What not to do

Due to inexperience or increased fear for the child, a woman tries to do everything that others advise her. But there are things you don't need to do:

1. Do not weigh your baby every time before and after feeding. Results can vary significantly and the risk of bias is high. It is best to do this (if you have a scale at home) once a week.
2. If the baby is breastfed, he does not need to persistently offer water and juices (milk contains enough liquid to meet the needs of a small organism), and introduce complementary foods no earlier than six months.
3. Do not give your baby goat or cow milk. Its protein is poorly absorbed by a small organism, so the functionality of the intestine may be disrupted. If other alternatives breastfeeding no, the product must be diluted according to age.
4. A woman should not eat for two. Breast milk is not formed from foods, so if you consume them in large quantities, then you can increase not the amount of milk, but the body weight, which is then quite difficult to fight with.

If young parents are worried about something, then do not hesitate to contact the chosen pediatrician before the scheduled examination.

The consequences of malnutrition

The child's body is actively growing, therefore, stable and high-quality nutrition is vital for him. If the baby is constantly malnourished, then the following consequences are possible:

1. The development of a severe form of dystrophy due to a lack of protein. At the same time, the baby is rapidly losing muscle mass.
2. Development of diseases of the cardiovascular system.
3. Progressive depletion of the body, leading to death.
4. Malfunction of the hormonal system.
5. Increased fragility of bone tissue.
6. Abnormal formation of immunity, etc.

Malnutrition in infants is a serious problem and often requires medical intervention. But parents should not immediately panic, try to push a double portion of milk into the baby and choose additional or alternative food on their own. It is best to consult with a specialist and determine the cause of the problem, if any.

Remember, in matters with babies, it is better to play it safe than to bitterly regret your inaction later, because some dangerous conditions in babies under one year old progress quite quickly!

More and more pediatricians are inclined to believe that feeding a baby on demand is the best way of a relationship between mother and baby. It is this approach, especially in the first months of a child's life, that ensures the satisfaction of his basic needs - and not only in food, but also helps to quickly and easily establish milk production in the mother's breast.

Feeding on demand makes sense only as long as milk is the only food for the baby, and after 9-10 months, when his diet is already quite diverse, it is worth gradually teaching the baby to feed on time and the physiological need for frequent latching on to his breast. usually no longer. But then a reasonable question arises - how to understand that the baby is hungry? This and other important questions are answered by the breastfeeding and dairy blogger Nina Zaichenko.

What is the advantage of feeding on demand

Babies are all different and the needs for the amount of milk a baby can eat at one time are also different. If the baby gives his mother a signal that he is hungry, it means that the little body has absorbed the previous portion and for normal growth and development he needs to re-eat.

• Milk production directly depends on the needs of the baby - the more often the baby takes the breast, and the better it empties, the more milk will be produced: the principle of "supply and demand" works here.
• Feeding on demand helps to satisfy not only the baby's hunger, but also thirst - so, if the baby is hot, he can be satisfied with a small amount of milk, the so-called "front", which contains more water and less fatty than the back.
• A mother who feeds on demand, not forgetting about night feeds, does not ovulate for the first few months (up to about 6, although this is very individual) and the likelihood of getting pregnant again is quite low.
• Babies who eat on demand tend to gain weight better, and moms rarely have problems with milk supply. With the correct attachment of the baby to the breast, cracks on the nipples practically do not happen.

How to tell if a child is hungry

A child is born with a basic set of needs that he needs to survive, and the infant manifests them with the only means available to him - crying. These include:

• Hunger
• Thirst
• The need for safety, this can also include a reaction to any discomfort or pain
• The need for cleanliness as a special case of the need for security

More useful information, tips and advice for caring for a newborn you will find

One of the mistakes that young mothers, especially mothers of first-borns, make is to consider the crying of a child a "demand". In fact, the baby's readiness for food is manifested even before he announced it at the top of his voice, although mother's breast, not rarely, can satisfy not only hunger, but also some other needs. You should not consider yourself a bad mother if you do not understand what your baby wants, as a rule, such an understanding comes with experience, this may take up to a month or even more. Nevertheless, take a closer look at your baby, try to recognize the first signs that he is ready to start a meal:

1. The baby is still asleep, but pupil movements are noticeable under closed eyelids
2. Twitching of closed eyelids
3. Makes sucking movements with his mouth, catches his hands and everything that is near the face and tries to suck
4. Opens his mouth and turns his head if he touches the cheek - this is how he looks for a breast
5. Begins to groan and make different sounds, but does not cry yet

If you offer the baby to eat at this stage, he will easily and without problems take the breast, but when the baby has already burst into tears, it can be difficult to properly capture the nipple.

And it is also important to understand - this is not always, up to a maximum of a year, at least before the introduction of complementary foods, but these months will help you establish emotional and physical contact with the baby, you will understand him better, and perinatal psychologists say that on-demand feeding lays the foundation trust in the world in a baby.

Hear what Perinatal Psychologist Natalia Zaichenko has to say about on-demand feeding.

How do you know if your baby is not eating breast milk? Exists different waysbut they are all very imperfect. Yes, you can fully express and measure the volume received, you can even weigh the newborn before and after feeding, then calculate the difference in weight. The only objective and most reliable indicator will be children's behavior. Show observation and soon you will be able to accurately determine whether your baby is full or not. It is also useful to know the principles of correct feeding, as well as the signs and causes of too little milk in the breast.

Feeding expressed milk from a measuring bottle is not the best the best way determining the amount of food eaten

How to tell if there is enough milk?

How do you know if your baby has eaten breast milk? Some signs will help here. There are 5 of them:

1. The number of feedings per day is 8-12. There may be more, this will also be the norm. Frequent breastfeeding is due to three factors:
   • the baby needs close contact with the mother;
   • his small stomach simply cannot hold much food;
   • fast digestion of breast milk.
2. The duration of one feeding is at least 20 minutes. It is not necessary to determine the duration of the meal - the baby should suckle until he is full. If he has stopped eating and is behaving calmly, babbling cheerfully or sleeping peacefully, then he had enough milk. Also, make sure that the feeding position (both yours and the baby's) does not cause discomfort.
3. A clearly traced swallowing reflex. Check that the baby does not just smack, but swallows. At first, he will do this often, because he is hungry, and the so-called near milk is liquid and not very nutritious. After a few minutes, swallowing will become less frequent, since hunger will dull, and distant milk is thicker, you need to make an effort to swallow it.
4. The child is gaining weight according to the norms (we recommend reading :). In the early days, the baby's weight will be less compared to what it was at birth. This is normal as the body gets rid of meconium (the original feces formed in the womb) and tissue swelling. They begin to track weight gain from the fourth day of life - the increase should be 125-215 g per week.
5. The child looks healthy. He is calm, but at the same time he is active and curious; lively but not overexcited. When he wants to eat, he loudly demands the chest; when he is full, he sleeps peacefully or is awake. Pink skin color and firmness will also indicate that the baby is receiving adequate nutrition in sufficient quantities.

It will take very little time to track the listed signs. If in doubt, you can use the measurement of the amount of urine and feces.

Lack of nutrition

To understand that your baby is short of breast milk, there are 3 simple tests:

• wet diapers;
• the amount of stool;
• weight gain.

To determine how many times a child pees per day, you need to keep him not in a one-time, but in reusable diaper or just in a diaper ( disposable diapers generally undesirable and can only be used as a last resort) (we recommend reading :). When the baby has enough breast milk, he wets the diapers 10-12 times a day. If this happens less than 10 times, the crumb does not eat up.

In the first 3 days of life, they do not yet have a chair as such. The dark mass seen in a diaper is meconium (primary feces). It will appear in small quantities 1-2 times a day. Then, when the child is already breastfeeding and his digestion begins to function, the excretion of feces will occur 5 times a day.

What is the normal weight gain? In the first 3 months - at least 500 g per month or 125 g per week. Then this figure drops slightly - 300 g per month. It should be noted that weight gain may occur unevenly, but this is normal and should not be alarming. Track the rate of weight gain after 1 or 4 weeks. There is no need to do this more often.

Weight gain tracking is a safe and easy way to know if your baby is getting enough breast milk

Day and night, you need to carefully monitor the condition of your baby. There are signs that speak not just of a lack of nutrition, but already of dehydration:

• the child is too lethargic and drowsy;
• the eyes are sunken, and the eyeballs become dull;
• the mucous membrane in the mouth is dry, the saliva has become stringy;
• the baby cries, but you don't see tears (we recommend reading :);
• the skin has become flabby (if you pinch it lightly, it will not immediately smooth out);
• an unpleasant odor comes from the mouth;
• dark, saturated urine with a pungent odor, which appears 6 or less times a day.

The last point, as well as the simultaneous presence of 2 or 3 others, is a signal that you need to urgently call an ambulance. Do not tighten so as not to bring to a deplorable situation.

If the mother noted that the baby has become lethargic and drowsy, perhaps we are talking about dehydration

Why is there not enough milk?

The main reason why a baby does not have enough breast milk is very simple and commonplace - an improperly organized process breastfeeding... Let's see what factors lead to this:

1. Compliance with a strict regime. Lactation experts have come to the conclusion that the process should be natural. You need to feed the child when he asks. The only thing that is desirable to observe is the time interval between feedings, which should be at least 2 hours.
2. Feeding too short. The kid should eat until he is full. One feeding should last at least 20 minutes.
3. The baby is not properly latching on to the breast.
4. When feeding, you take an uncomfortable position (we recommend reading :).
5. Reducing or eliminating night feedings. Feeding at night and in the morning stimulates lactation as much as possible.
6. Dummy abuse.
7. Bottle feeding.
8. ... They prevent proper grip on the nipple. They can only be used temporarily when the nipple is injured.

Silicone pads should only be used for medical reasons, as they provoke improper grip of the nipple compared to natural feeding conditions

The breast begins to fill only 2-3 days after natural childbirth and 5-6 after caesarean section, however, you need to continue to attach the baby to the breast (we recommend reading :). First, as long as he has enough colostrum, and secondly, breastfeeding is the best stimulant of lactation.

There are other reasons why a baby does not eat breast milk. Among them:

• malnutrition of the nursing mother and low fluid intake;
• tense or stressful state of the mother;
• hormonal disorders in the mother's body;
• insufficient rest;
• physiological features of the breast (flat nipples, narrow milk ducts) or temporary problems (lactostasis, cracked nipples);
• improper functioning of the baby's digestive system;
• runny nose and swelling of the nasal mucosa, due to which the baby simply cannot breathe and suckle normally;
• too large a toddler that lacks nutrition;
• too weak a kid who simply does not have the strength to eat for a long time.

Stress in a nursing mother can also cause the baby to not eat enough and does not have enough milk.

Correct feeding process

If you realized that your baby does not have enough breast milk due to non-compliance with the feeding rules, then it is not very difficult to solve the problem. It is necessary to eliminate mistakes and provide everything for yourself and the child so that in the future there will be no more difficulties. Follow the recommendations:

1. Feed your baby when he demands. The more he sucks, the more milk production is stimulated.
2. Don't rush the child. When he is satisfied, he will simply release his chest.
3. Make sure to. The baby's mouth should be wide open and cover not only the nipple, but the entire areola. If it only grabs the nipple, the nutrient fluid will not be sucked out, and you will feel severe pain. You should also hear the baby swallowing.
4. Make sure you both sit or lie comfortably when feeding. The child's head and back should be on the same straight line, the head just above the legs. Study for GW.
5. It is advisable to apply the baby to only one breast at a time. So it will suck everything out completely.
6. Weak babies sleep a lot, so they often have to be woken up to feed. During the day, do this at least after 3 hours, and at night - after 5. Before feeding, you can wash your baby - this will slightly invigorate him.
7. Do not use nipple bottles or pacifiers. It is easier to suck from a bottle than from a breast, which is why babies often give up breast in favor of a bottle. Give a bottle only as a last resort - for example, when the nipple is injured and you are simply physically unable to endure feeding.
8. Get plenty of rest and sleep. Sacrifice household chores for a good rest. The more the degree of fatigue, the less milk you will produce.
9. Do not refuse help, even if it is offered by a friend who came to visit you.
10. Eat every time after feeding, that is, at least 5 times a day. Provide yourself with a nutritious diet and plenty of warm fluids.
11. If you find that your baby has health problems, be sure to show him to the doctor.

7 myths about lactation

When young mothers are seriously concerned about the question of whether their baby has enough breast milk, they may heed dubious and completely meaningless advice, and wrong actions can have disastrous results. Let's dispel some of the myths about feeding and warn ourselves against mistakes:

1. Weigh the infant before and after feeding to determine if he is full. In this case, the indications will be so inaccurate that the procedure loses all meaning. Weighing is considered more or less objective not more than once a week.
2. ... To produce more milk, the baby must breastfeed well. If you apply too little of it to your breast and give extra formula, be prepared for the fact that lactation will get worse.
3. Supplementation with cow or goat milk. The newborn's gastrointestinal tract cannot yet digest such food. Cow or goat milk can cause tummy problems.
4. Complementary feeding earlier than six months. Eating adults, even in small amounts, can also lead to digestive problems.
5. or other liquid prior to the introduction of complementary foods. This is not necessary, since breast milk is 86% water and there is plenty of it.
6. Mom's use of milk in order to increase her production. Milk in the mammary glands is formed from the blood, so it makes no sense to additionally overload your diet. In order for it to form and be saturated, vitamins and other useful substances are needed, which the mother receives with good nutrition.

Natural feeding - providing the child not only with food, but also with good immunity, as well as spiritual closeness with the mother. If you want your toddler to grow and develop fully, make every effort to maintain and normalize this process. You will soon see that it is impossible to replace it with anything else.

Most of what newborns do, they do reflexively. When they are hungry or unhappy, they automatically start crying. For them, the advice does not fit in any way: first think, and then act.

Familiar smells

The ability for a heightened sense of smell develops simultaneously in the newborn and in his mother. The child can not only distinguish the mother's voice from many others, but also find her by smell. An interesting study was done with 6 day old babies. Each of them was brought to the breast of several mothers, but he only reached for his mother's breast, regardless of whether there was milk in it. Mothers also have the ability to recognize their baby by smell. In particular, blind women do this.

Imaginary images

Newborn education begins with a desire for comfort and better satisfaction of their needs. They are hungry, asking for their arms in order to get comfortable, and for all this they have only one language - crying. Put yourself in the place of a newborn: "I cry - and they pick me up. I continue crying - they feed me. I cry again when I am alone - and they take me in their arms again." After repeated repetition of such signals and responses, an imaginary image is formed, a picture of what is to be expected as a result of crying. Specialists dealing with the problem of child development call such pictures schemes. The more such imaginary images are created in a baby, the better his mind develops. Thus, the initial reflex, crying, develops into thinking, or a cognitive process. At the same time, images are born in the child's mind that contain an answer to his need. At the same time, the language of the signals it gives is being improved.

For the mother, the process of rapprochement goes in the reverse order. When you first start communicating with your baby, your thoughts precede your actions: "Is he hungry? But I just fed him. Is he wet? Or does he just want to sit on my neck? Maybe!" The more often you do such gymnastics for the mind, the faster you will learn to intuitively feel what the child needs, and act almost reflexively, i.e. act before thinking.

By constantly developing the language of communication with the child (the "signal-response" connection), you will soon come to a state of harmony: the process of your learning will go in parallel, and you will learn to adapt to each other - your baby, in whose head there are already many beautiful pictures of possible interaction, and you, more and more responsive to his signals.

The style of rapprochement, which includes communication of the "signal-response" type, fosters the child's trust in you, teaches them to formulate their needs in such a way that others will quickly understand them. So, 9-month-old babies reach out to you in anticipation that you will revile them. At the same time, they have an image - a picture: "Pick up and play" and a corresponding signal to you.

Mutual improvement

Pictures-images are born not only in the head of a child expecting help from you. Parents also imagine an image of what their child wants. This is how invisible threads stretch from the baby to the mother's consciousness, and from the mother to the child's.

What happens to babies, to whose signals the parents do not respond, for fear of making the children too dependent or being subordinate to them ("We do not want him to pitch the rope out of us"). The mind of a child, whose calls remain unanswered, and whose needs are unmet, is not so rich. Without knowing what answer to expect, he cannot recreate the image-picture that suggests what should follow his cry or some other signal. His head is filled with "dummy cards". The mother is also largely impoverished, since the child's signals are not improving and it is still very difficult for her to understand what he needs. Between them, such a mutual understanding has not been developed as in the first case. Mother and baby know little about each other's thoughts, and a certain distance begins to arise between them.

Once I was explaining to a young mother how best to establish contact with a newborn. She seemed to understand everything, but then suddenly anxiously asked: "With these inviting sounds, everything is clear, but what if I am so stupid that I give them the wrong answer. Suppose he is wet, and I think he is hungry?" I encouraged her: “You cannot be wrong and stupid when you pick up a baby and start babysitting him. possible reasons this scream until you find what is bothering your child. The main thing is that by your actions you will show that you are ready to listen to him and try to help him.

Basic behavioral conditions of the child

Cry. Loud, disgruntled screams, accompanied by sharp uncoordinated movements of the limbs. At this point, it is very difficult to grab the child's attention. This behavior is unpleasant for the baby himself and for his loved ones.

Active concentration. A state similar to calm concentration, but the child's head and limbs move, as if he is immersed in himself and does not notice you. The child seems to be attracted to the movements of his own body.

Calm concentration. The eyes are clear, open, attentive; the limbs are in relative rest. The child seems to be contemplating the environment. This is the most appropriate state for interaction and learning.

Doze. The eyes are open but sticking together or beginning to close. The child is quite absent-minded, limbs and torso move, sleepy half-smiles pass across the face. He just woke up or is about to fall asleep.

Superficial sleep. The child wakes up easily, his limbs and face twitch from time to time; breathing is uneven, flashes occur motor activity... The limbs are pressed against the body.

Deep dream. The child's movements are minimized, the facial expression is calm, peaceful, breathing is even, the limbs are relaxed and dangle like a rag doll.

Enjoy your newborn's smile

With the first smile of a newborn, you will freeze with happiness and forget all sleepless nights and constant babysitting. You think with delight, "My baby really loves me." But suddenly his cheeks puffed out with a bubble, and you sigh in disappointment: "Oh, it's just air coming out." After many years of observing the smiles of newborns, I myself want to blow an air bubble. Babies can smile and do smile, and not just let the air out (although this happens after they get rid of excess gas).

As veterans in the study of children's smiles, we, with good reason, divide them into two main types: internal and external smiles. Internal smiles, as if turned into oneself, are more typical for the first few weeks and perfectly reflect the state of internal satisfaction. Sometimes it's like sleepy half-smiles; sometimes just a slight twitching of the corners of the lips. There are other smiles: relief - when colic stops, satisfaction - after a good meal or when children are picked up and start to rock. Sometimes you can catch a child's smile while playing with him. Such early smiles are like a signal: "I'm fine." They make you experience pleasant moments too. And nevertheless, it will take a few more months before the baby will have an external smile when communicating with you. It is only for you and seems incredibly captivating to you.

Whatever the reasons for the baby's smile, enjoy it - both sliding grins and sleepy half-smiles - all of them are nothing more than faint semblances of a future conscious smile all over your mouth.