How to understand that a newborn is getting enough breast milk. How to understand what a baby needs? Determining whether the baby has enough breast milk

Many mothers worry that in the first days after giving birth they will not have milk and the baby will remain hungry. How justified is this fear?

Before answering this question, I note: women have quite a variety of concerns during the postpartum period. The child and mother learn to understand each other and get used to the new life. As for the fear that the baby will go hungry in the first 3-5 days, this is a misconception. The fact is that a healthy, physiologically mature child in the first few days of life has no nutritional needs at all; his gastrointestinal tract does not yet function.

But any mother knows that the baby reaches out to the breast, attaches itself to it and tries to suck. Doesn't this mean the baby is hungry?

Oddly enough, no. The need for food is simply confused with the so-called sucking reflex. The meaning of sucking for a baby is that his mouth is filled with something, the child receives pleasant tactile sensations. It turns out that approximately every hour and a half the baby feels the need to suck, and not to eat. Mom shouldn’t worry at all that she doesn’t have milk. She begins to produce colostrum even before giving birth. And it dissolves drop by drop in the baby’s mouth, like a tasty, sweet homeopathic remedy. Of course, this only applies to healthy children. In other cases, the decision about the feeding regimen is made by the doctor.

It turns out that the mother simply misunderstands the signal that the child gives?

Yes this is true. Moreover, there are other signals that can mislead a woman.

And what?

For example, in the first days after birth, the baby’s skin thermoregulation works differently. When he is cold, the blood vessels dilate and the child turns red. Breathing also works differently than in adults. We make sounds as we exhale, and a newborn makes sounds as we inhale while crying. He expresses his every state in the same way. And that is why the mother does not really understand what is happening to the child. The baby is simply physiologically unable to give the correct signals: it seems as if he wants to eat, but he just wants to suck, it seems as if he is hot because he is blushing, but he is cold. The mother thinks that the child is crying because he is hungry, but his sobs can mean anything. Many people believe that the most important thing in the first weeks is to establish a sleep and eating schedule for the baby. In my opinion, the most important thing is to learn to understand what is happening to the child.

By the way, usually mothers try to create ideal silence so that the child sleeps more. Are they doing the right thing?

Unfortunately, this desire does not quite meet the baby’s needs. And that's why. A child's sleep in the first months of life is special, prenatal. Short periods of sleep and wakefulness (15-20 minutes each) constantly alternate. This state is not typical for newborns: completely switching off and sleeping for several hours in a row, not hearing anything, not feeling the smells and touches of the mother. He can wake up without opening his eyes and hear what is happening around him.

And when the mother sees that the child is sleeping, she tries to create perfect silence around, leaving him alone in a dark room, this, on the contrary, causes a feeling of anxiety in the newborn. On the contrary, when the mother talks quietly, the TV is muted, the baby feels her touch. He understands that everything is in order and rests calmly.

Is it true that a mother should live in a child’s mode: rest when he sleeps and stay awake when he wakes up? But this is difficult for an adult!

The regime of mother and baby, of course, should coincide. But wise nature took care of this: towards the end of pregnancy, a woman’s sleep rhythms begin to change, she may even begin to complain of insomnia. In fact, such unstable and superficial sleep is an important adaptive function of the brain. A pregnant woman should not lie in one position for a long time, and thanks to such sleep she can turn over more often and change position. But the most important thing is that “maternal sleep,” as the famous British pediatrician and psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott called it, coincides with the sleep rhythms of the newborn. In this state, the mother notices what is happening with the child: whether he is breathing, whether his heart is beating, even catches the smell. This is why it is so important that the baby sleeps in the same room as the mother, otherwise she will also begin to worry when she cannot pick up signals from the baby.

Not all mothers manage to live in the same regime with their child. After all, they are often forced to do other things during the day - cooking, washing, cleaning.

One of the main mistakes mothers make is the desire to immediately after giving birth go to the usual rhythm of life: doing some things during the day and sleeping at night. But a child can't do that. He often wakes up at night and needs to be fed, held, and given attention. A common situation arises: while the baby sleeps during the day, the mother goes about her business, gets tired and wants to sleep at night. But she won't succeed!

As a result, the mother becomes overexerted and cannot provide the child with communication and close interaction when he needs it - in those moments when he is active. It is important for the baby that the mother shows him attention both day and night in the same proportion. When the mother tries to sleep at night, the child lacks attention, and what does he start doing? That's right, scream, demand it. During the day, there are plenty of signals from the mother, the baby rests a lot and gets fed up with them. This is how a situation arises when they say: the child has confused day with night. Gradually, he will be able to smoothly transition to normal mode: he will sleep more at night, because the lights are off and it is much quieter than during the day.

Will living in the same routine with your baby help you learn to understand his needs?

Certainly. It’s interesting that in fact the woman understands the child’s condition very well - after all, during pregnancy she felt how he moved, thanks to hormones she understood his mood, felt how his heart was beating. All this information, albeit unconsciously, remained in the brain. Living together helps a woman simply “recode” this knowledge: now she holds the child in her arms, and can recognize emotions thanks to facial expressions and sounds made. Back in the 80s, scientists conducted studies, the results of which showed: those mothers who were attentive to their newborn children could distinguish the baby’s cry and determine what the child wanted. Moreover, analysis of the crying sonogram demonstrated that the children of such mothers actually cry differently, that is, they understand how an adult reacts and give him the necessary signal. This process is called “mutual learning,” and mothers who understand their children at such a young age are called “competent.” By one and a half months, the baby begins to demonstrate the first communication skills - looking into the eyes, smiling. It is then that a constructive dialogue arises between mother and child, and it becomes much easier.

So you need to prepare for the fact that the first 6 weeks after childbirth will be difficult?

Caring for a child is actually not that hard work. However, mom still gets tired both psychologically and physically. After all, the baby weighs about 4 kilograms and quickly begins to gain weight. It is necessary to prepare food, wash, rock the child in your arms. Breast milk production alone takes up about 20% of all physical resources. So, the mother must rest physically, and this rest is the concern of the whole family. When the baby is sleeping, it is better for the mother to do what she really wants: sleep, read, eat. And don’t run and cook dinner for your husband. Of course, modern young families often live far from grandparents, dads work a lot, and the woman is left at home alone with the child, so finding time for rest is difficult, but it is necessary. It is important to separate two things: motherhood and housekeeping. Motherhood is what a woman gives to her child directly in communication with him. Then her maternal competence will increase. And when a woman does laundry and cooks, even for a child, she will not become the best mother. The whole family should remember this when preparing for the first month and a half after childbirth.

What is psychological relaxation?

The fact is that motherhood requires the constant inclusion of all mental systems in the upbringing process. Constant attention and increased responsibility for the life of a helpless creature are exhausting and exhausting. To fully relax, you need to share responsibility with loved ones. The baby is not only his mother’s child, but also his father’s and grandmother’s and grandfather’s grandson. They can play with him or just help mom with the housework. It is imperative to organize rest for the woman for at least half an hour a day - without the child. But at the same time, the mother must be absolutely sure that everything is fine with him. For example, a dad, coming home from work, can go for a walk with the baby. In the stroller he feels protected, he is rocked, as before in his mother’s belly. It doesn't matter who pushes the stroller. The main thing is that the mother stays at home and leaves with the baby. If a woman leaves her child, even with someone she trusts, within 15 minutes she develops separation anxiety, and there can be no talk of proper rest.

TEXT: Yulia Arbatskaya

Every woman knows that breastfeeding is the basis for the full development of the baby. And the longer it lasts, the better (there are many debates, but the optimal duration of breastfeeding is considered to be 2.5-3 years). However, many mothers worry that their child is not getting enough to eat. This can become a real problem if your baby shows 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 and the development of immunity depend on the adequate nutrition of a small child. This is why the issue of baby's satiety worries most parents.

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

1. The mother feeds him a sufficient number of times a day - 5-8 times, depending on the age of the baby (or as required).
2. The child is gaining weight according to medical standards.
3. Feeding duration 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 playing or fall asleep peacefully, and will not be capricious.
4. You can trace the swallowing reflex (it is well expressed). At the beginning of feeding, the baby swallows faster because he is hungry. Then the baby sucks rhythmically, but more slowly.
5. The child is not overexcited, but active and looks healthy. His skin is pink and elastic.

Now it is clear how to understand that an infant is full, but you should not overfeed the child either, because this is an additional burden on the digestive tract that has not yet formed.

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

Weight standards by month

To avoid worrying about whether your baby is eating enough, look at the weight gain chart by month.

How does a baby's milk supply increase in the first year?

In the first days, a baby who has experienced severe stress at birth does not require a large amount of mother's milk. A small amount of colostrum is enough for him, which is very nutritious. Only over time does the digestive system “start” and the sucking reflex improves. Then the need for nutrition increases.

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

After a month, the child’s nutrition returns to normal. He eats about 6-8 times a day. In this case, the volume of milk drunk per feeding reaches 80-100 ml. At three months a baby can eat 150 ml, at six months - 180-200 ml, at a year - approximately 250 ml of milk or formula.

Signs that your baby is hungry

To understand whether the baby is full, the mother needs to pay attention to the following signs that indicate that the baby is not getting enough:

• the baby’s body weight is too low (weight gain per month differs significantly from the tabulated data);
• the breaks between feedings are too short, and at this time the child is restless;
• the baby sucks a lot, but swallows little;
• the child can put 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;
• the baby rarely soils his diapers;
• the skin is dry, as are the mucous membranes;
• the baby becomes less active, he looks weakened;
• the baby's activity may decrease during wakefulness;

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

Reasons for the problem

If there is no doubt about whether the child is eating enough, and the baby really drinks little milk, then you need to find out the reason for this negative phenomenon. It may be one of the following:

1. Accurate adherence to feeding regimen. Experts have long been talking about the need to provide breastfeeding to a child at his request, and not according to the clock. 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 you shouldn’t forget about is the intervals between meals: you need to try to keep them at least two hours.
2. Short duration of feeding. It should not be less than 15-20 minutes.
3. Incorrect breast latch by the baby. This often results from the use of silicone covers on injured nipples.
4. Frequent use of pacifiers or bottles.
5. Using an awkward posture.
6. Reducing or eliminating the number of night feedings. It is known that in this case the amount of mother's milk also decreases significantly.

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;
• women's malnutrition;
• a 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 grasp the nipple correctly;
• problems with the baby’s digestive system (as well as other somatic diseases of the baby);
• nasal congestion, runny nose in the child (in this case he cannot breathe normally and is capricious).

The problem of malnutrition may appear if the baby is very large and simply does not have enough milk, and also if the baby is weakened and does not have the strength to breastfeed for a long time.

If these reasons are eliminated, 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 carried out 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 poorly interested in the world around him;
• the eyes sink and the gaze becomes dull;
• there is an unpleasant odor from the mouth;
• the baby constantly cries, but no tears come out;
• mucous membranes become dry, skin becomes flabby (wrinkled);
• The color of the urine has changed and become darker.

These signs indicate severe dehydration. If measures are not taken in time, even death is possible. The child's body is still too weak to cope with dehydration.

Solution

Many young mothers sound the alarm: “What should I do? The baby can’t get enough to eat!” First you need to understand whether this is really the case. If a problem exists, then the woman needs to take the following measures:

1. Feed your baby when he wants. The more he suckles, the more milk will be produced. This is especially true for night feedings; you cannot refuse them.
2. You cannot take a breast from a baby. When he is full, he releases the nipple on his own (or begins to suck very sluggishly and falls asleep).
3. Watch how the baby holds the chest. His mouth should be wide open. It should capture both the nipple itself and the areola.
4. During feeding, both mother and baby should be comfortable. The desired position should be selected individually.
5. During one procedure, the baby should be applied to only one breast and wait for it to empty it completely.
6. If the baby is weakened, then he needs to be fed every three hours (this is how he gets enough to eat normally).
7. It is important to give up pacifiers and bottles. Sucking on a pacifier for a long time can disrupt the development of a baby's bite, and formula from a bottle is much easier to eat, so soon the baby will refuse the breast altogether.
8. Get more rest. The more tired a woman is, the higher the risk of decreased breast milk supply. At the same time, you should not refuse the help of family and friends.
9. Mom needs to eat immediately after feeding (at least five times a day). You should drink a sufficient amount of warm liquid (to enhance lactation, it is good to drink warm tea, fruit juice, 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 and disrupt his digestion process.
10. If a nursing woman does not have enough milk or it has disappeared for some reason, then she needs to switch to either mixed feeding (breast milk + formula) or artificial feeding (only formula). Remember: with mixed feeding, formula is always given only after breastfeeding; otherwise, the baby may refuse to suckle, and lactation will decrease!
11. If a bottle-fed mother gets the impression that the baby is not getting enough of the formula, then it just needs to be replaced (taking into account the manufacturer and calorie content of the product). It’s good if your pediatrician initially selects an alternative diet.

It should be remembered that if the situation does not change: the child weakens, becomes capricious, sleeps poorly, etc., you need to urgently 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 to do. But there are things you don't need to do:

1. You should not weigh your baby every time before and after feeding. Results may vary significantly and the risk of bias is high. It is better to do this (if you have scales at home) once a week.
2. If the baby is breastfed, he does not need to be persistently offered water and juices (milk contains enough liquid to satisfy the needs of a small body), and complementary foods should be introduced no earlier than six months.
3. You should not give your baby milk from a goat or cow. Its protein is poorly absorbed by a small organism, so intestinal functionality may be impaired. The only alternative to breast milk is adapted infant formula.
4. A woman should not eat for two. Breast milk is not formed from foods, so if you consume them in large quantities, you can increase not the amount of milk, but your body weight, which is then quite difficult to fight.

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

Consequences of malnutrition

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

1. Development of a severe form of dystrophy due to lack of protein. At the same time, the baby rapidly loses 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 bone fragility.
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 nutrition on their own. It is better to consult a specialist and determine the cause of the problem, if it exists.

Remember, in matters involving infants, it is better to play it safe than to bitterly regret your inaction, because some dangerous conditions in babies under one year of age progress quite quickly!

5 125

Pediatricians and neonatologists around the world agreed that breastfeeding is the optimal type of nutrition for a newborn in the first months of life. With breast milk, the baby receives both nutrients and necessary fluids.

But young mothers often worry that their baby is not getting enough breast milk. The anxiety worsens when grandmothers press on the young family with advice. They are the ones who ask if the baby is getting enough milk, why he looks thin, or why he cries a lot.

But in reality, the question of whether the baby is eating should arise only in cases of immediate signals about possible underfeeding. These specific signals and signs are discussed below.

Special knowledge about breastfeeding is necessary for a nursing mother to protect her child and her psyche from the attacks of caring advisers. While breastfeeding, the baby receives everything it needs for full growth and development. It is important to organize this process correctly and ensure that the amount of this food is always sufficient.

How to tell if your baby is getting enough breast milk

Sometimes breastfeeding causes insufficient nutrition of newborns. Such situations can be recognized by specific manifestations.

How to tell if your baby is full of breast milk

Monitoring the child’s nutrition is an important task for the mother. It is with proper nutrition that immunity is formed and beneficial substances necessary for growth and development accumulate in the body. In the first year of life, breastfeeding can ensure your baby is fully saturated with minerals and vitamins. To do this, the mother must lead a healthy lifestyle, monitor her diet, sleep and rest patterns. But women cannot always observe a large amount of milk flow. Often mothers feel that they receive much less than the baby needs. As a result, fears develop that the child is starving. If at the same moment the child behaves tearfully and is capricious, then doubts turn into confidence.

Before you get nervous and go to the store to buy formula, you need to find out how to tell if your baby is getting enough breast milk. After this, you should check whether the baby has signs of malnutrition. You can ask the pediatrician if the child has enough boobs. A good, qualified pediatrician will tell you at your appointment how to properly organize breastfeeding so that the process happens easily and calmly.

It is important to remember that breastfeeding is a natural process inherent in a person genetically. Underfeeding can also occur when problems develop, which are often related to maternal or child health. If symptoms are detected, you should contact the local children's clinic.

Signs of malnutrition

Grandmothers often like to intimidate young parents by saying that the baby is hungry and urgently needs to be given a bottle of formula or, even worse, cow’s milk. But every mother should know exactly the signs that her baby is not getting enough breast milk.

These signs include:

• Checking the number of urinations (wet diaper method),
• Weight gain.

It’s easy to check how many times your baby pees. It is enough to give up diapers for one day and swaddle him. It is believed that after each feeding the baby necessarily pees.

The second sign is insufficient weight gain. It is determined by the local pediatrician during a routine examination. Children's weight should increase gradually, in accordance with established standards.

In the first months of life, weight should increase by 500 grams. If this figure is much lower, then we can talk about the presence of malnutrition in infants.

How to determine if you have enough milk - daily milk intake

You can figure out what a baby eats during lactation in different ways. First of all, it is enough to assess its condition. If the skin is smooth and pink, tender to the touch, the mucous membranes are moisturized, the baby is actively developing and feels well, then there is no reason to worry.

Getting enough food will manifest itself in proper weight gain. If in the first months the baby gains 500 grams, and from the fourth to the seventh months there are slight fluctuations, everything is fine. If weight is gaining slowly from the very beginning, then there is cause for concern.

Experts determine milk intake in different ways. There is an opinion that a baby needs one fifth of his weight. If the baby weighs 5 kg, then the baby will need to drink 1 liter of milk in one day. However, this indicator is conditional.

The main reasons leading to malnutrition

You can tell that your baby is getting enough to eat by the fact that, having eaten enough, the baby is not capricious and is active and cheerful. But it happens that young children do not receive enough nutrients. This can happen due to health problems in the baby or the mother.

The reasons for the shortage may lie in the following:

• Hypogalactia,
• Incorrect attachment of the baby to the breast,
• The presence of lactostasis,
• Short frenulum of the tongue in an infant,
• Nervousness, stressful state of the mother.

Hypogalactia

It lies in the fact that the mother’s body produces an insufficient amount of milk for the baby.

• If such a problem is identified, you should not switch to artificial feeding. You can do certain things to stimulate its production. These actions include:
• Frequently putting the baby to the breast, sucking movements will stimulate the breast and provoke a flow of milk,
• Spending time with the child, close contact, games during the day,
• Proper nutrition for women
• Drinking enough warm liquids
• Good sleep, rest, walks in the fresh air for mom.

Tea with fennel, dill, and anise also helps.

Incorrect attachment of the baby to the breast

Even during pregnancy, the calendar at the antenatal clinic includes training courses. Doctors emphasize that the child must be able to eat properly. His mouth should completely cover the nipple and the area around it. When the child eats, the lower lip should be slightly curved and protruded. While eating, only the sounds of sips should be heard. Do not give your baby bottles with nipples. After all, it is much easier for a baby to eat from a nipple than from the breast. As a result of this, breast problems may arise due to early weaning of the baby. Using a pacifier can cause lactostasis.

Lactostasis

Due to congestion in the breast, especially in the first days after birth, the newborn may have difficulty obtaining milk. You can help him with this by kneading his chest and pumping.

Short frenulum of the tongue

It happens that a child cannot eat normally due to a short frenulum. This problem is a common childhood illness and can be easily solved. You can carry out a small manipulation in a few minutes. Healing is easy and quick.

What to do if there is a lack of milk

Milk contains all the necessary elements for children's health. Therefore, when caring for a baby, it is important to take care of breastfeeding. If you have problems with lactation, you can contact a specialist. There are special teas that stimulate milk production. Drink plenty of fluids and eat right.

It is important to lead a healthy lifestyle, maintain your calm, get proper rest and sleep.

How to increase lactation

You can increase lactation first of all by putting your baby to the breast frequently. You should spoon feed only when it doesn’t work out naturally. Supplementing with formula or other products is not recommended.

It can be difficult for new parents to understand their firstborn when he cries, refuses to eat, or is simply anxious. The reasons for crying in the first three months can be colic, food that is not suitable for a newborn, lack of breast milk and much more. The pediatrician observing your baby will explain how to understand why an infant is crying.

Employees of the Daughters-Sons online store will introduce parents to a huge range of baby formulas and teas that help improve digestion.

How to understand what hurts in an infant

The first signs of illness are that the baby refuses to eat, becomes capricious and sleeps more. If it is a cold, the baby's nose becomes filled with mucus and it becomes difficult for him to breathe. Crying causes such discomfort. With a clogged nose, a baby may not be able to breastfeed or feed from a bottle. If you have a runny nose, you should immediately take your temperature. For this purpose, it is convenient to use an electronic thermometer in the form of a pacifier.

A high temperature in a baby is a reason to call a doctor. If the temperature is not brought down, it can cause seizures in babies. A painful condition is also indicated by rapid breathing (more than 50 breaths per minute), a hoarse voice and clouding of the whites of the eyes.

Another reason for a baby's crying is colic. Their symptoms are easy to recognize:

• Colic always appears after feeding;
• The baby has bloating:
• usually accompanied by loud crying;
• the baby may scream for several hours and then suddenly fall silent;
• When screaming, the baby tightens its legs and arches.

To reduce pain, pick up your baby and carry him in an upright position. For colic, a light tummy massage, a warm diaper applied to the abdominal cavity, and medicinal fennel tea help.

Important!

If the baby behaves restlessly, refuses to eat and is capricious, you need to measure the temperature. If you have a fever, you should call a doctor immediately. Only a specialist can correctly identify the disease.

How to tell if your baby is full

Crying can also be caused by hunger. If the mother has little milk, the newborn feels a constant feeling of hunger, so he cries. This baby urgently needs complementary feeding. For the little ones, our consultants will offer the most adapted milk formulas based on goat's milk. Baby food for newborns includes bifidobacteria, vitamins, microelements, fatty acids, etc. Such mixtures help normalize digestion and strengthen the immune system.

It happens that a mother has to express milk, but the baby still remains hungry. Premature babies have trouble latching on to the breast, they get tired quickly and fall asleep a few minutes after starting feeding. Mom needs to be patient and wake up such a sloth so that he sucks enough milk.

How to distinguish a hungry child from a sick one? A hungry baby behaves a little differently:

• he screams loudly, and when his cheeks are touched, he turns his head and opens his mouth - looking for his chest;
• scanty stool visible on diapers;
• after feeding, anxiety decreases;
• sleeps poorly, wakes up half an hour to an hour after feeding;
• has a sunken fontanel.

conclusions

How to understand that an infant is sick? The behavior of a sick baby is almost always different. If he has become restless and moody, take his temperature, look at the stool, feel his tummy. An elevated temperature is always a cause for concern, even if the baby is teething.

To understand whether your baby is getting enough to eat, remove the diaper for one day and count the soiled diapers. If there are less than six of them, then there is not enough milk, if there are 10-11, then there is enough food. You can use the checkweighing method.

More and more often, mothers after birth want to breastfeed their baby, and this is very pleasing. However, most young mothers have no experience in feeding issues and many questions and difficulties arise. This is greatly facilitated by various “experienced” advisers who consider it their duty to notice to the young mother - “he’s thin”, “your milk is low-fat” and “the neighbor guy over there gained 15 kilos on formula in one year!”

These kinds of remarks involuntarily make a young mother doubt her abilities, or they can lead to completely unreasonable complementary feeding with purees and cereals and supplementary feeding of the baby with formula. The introduction of additional amounts of food negatively affects lactation, leads to overfeeding of the child and the formation of excess weight. Such phenomena will not improve the baby’s health. How to avoid overfeeding when supplementary feeding or complementary feeding is really necessary, which is an indicator that the child is not getting enough to eat and what not?

Roots of the problem.
Unfortunately, in our country for many years there was a dominance of artificial nutrition, and there was no support for breastfeeding. Several generations of artificial babies have grown up, whose developmental norms are often very different from those of infants. In addition, children on formula often initially have quite pronounced overfeeding due to the diligence of parents in feeding their children, and the idea is firmly ingrained in the minds of our parents that a well-fed child should be very well-fed with pronounced folds and constrictions, gaining more than a kilo every month !

Grandmothers also play a significant role in matters of overfeeding, instructing a young daughter or daughter-in-law - “don’t torture the child, your milk is blue, give him formula!” Under the pressure of such “heavy artillery” the woman gives up. And the grandmother is incredibly happy about the baby’s gain of 100-1500 g, not realizing what harm such overfeeding causes to the toddler’s digestion and metabolism.

Constant hard work of the digestive system, caused by excess food intake, ultimately leads to the formation of pancreatitis, liver problems and a restructuring of the entire metabolism, it begins to deposit fat, subsequently forming obesity. In children with overfeeding, the risk of developing heart disease, as well as early vascular atherosclerosis, increases sharply. Such babies in adulthood more often suffer from hypertension, the hormonal balance of the body and the ability of girls to bear children are disrupted. Do you want such a fate for your baby? How, then, can you decide whether the child has enough nutrition and whether he is hungry?

What are not signs of hunger?
Sometimes situations arise in which mothers worry about whether the baby has enough milk or whether he needs to be given additional nutrition? These situations are different in each case and require detailed explanation in order to eliminate doubts and prevent the introduction of excess nutrition. There are several of them:

- My milk began to leak from my breasts, so I decided that there was less of it, the baby didn’t have enough of it.
Very often, mothers think that a sign of a lack of milk is the absence of leakage between feedings from both breasts or during feeding from the second breast. This does not apply to objective signs of lack of milk. It only indicates the fact that the mother’s lactation is entering a fairly stable or mature phase. The body already produces exactly as much milk as is needed for one feeding, and milk is produced during feeding, without excess or waste. This allows you to better maintain the shape of the breast, and also not deplete the reserves of the mother’s body due to milk loss. The breast is a delicate instrument and adapts to its baby.

- I don’t have a feeling of fullness or tides.
This, along with the previous sign, is also not a sign of lack of milk, but an indicator of the transition of lactation to the mature phase. During the period of mature lactation, most of the milk is formed during the process of the baby sucking at the breast, which makes it possible not to overfill the mother’s breasts and not cause her discomfort.

- I can’t express anything at all from my breast after feeding.
This is an argument often made by mothers, but it is not a sign of a lack of milk. First of all, no breast pump or even the most skillful manual expression technique can empty the breast as completely as the baby himself will, so you won’t be able to express much. Secondly, with mature lactation, milk is produced approximately as much as the baby needs, and there is no need for additional pumping. With additional pumping, excessive stimulation of lactation occurs and the formation of hyperlactation occurs with breast fullness and discomfort for the woman and baby.

- The baby constantly screams between main feedings or when he is on the breast.
Typically, this behavior does not indicate a lack of milk; rather, it indicates the beginning of breastfeeding, infrequent feedings, or it is a sign of colic, illness or other discomfort. If the mother always gives breast to the toddler at the first request and is attentive to the baby’s requirements, such situations usually either pass quickly or do not arise at all.

- The baby may hang on my chest for a long time, or he asks for the breast too often.
This is one of the most common reasons for introducing formula and the formation of overfeeding. The mother does not know or does not want to understand that the breast for the child is more than just food and drink. It plays the role of calming, toy, affection and even medicine. In addition, the baby's appetite is different at different times. Sometimes he wants to have a little snack, sometimes he wants to eat a lot. That is why you should not limit your baby’s sucking and give breastfeeding on demand.

After feeding, many mothers give the baby a bottle of formula and he begins to suck it greedily - and this is the main motivation for the child to fast.
However, such behavior of the child is not a lack of milk at all, but an innate sucking reflex; with the same success, the baby will begin to suck a fist, a diaper or your finger that has fallen into his mouth, this is the satisfaction of the sucking reflex. But, there is a hole in the bottle with the mixture and the mixture will certainly end up in his mouth, it must be swallowed so as not to choke, hence the false feeling of underfeeding. The baby will push the bottle out when there is simply nowhere for the milk mixture to go physically - usually then mothers also complain about excessive regurgitation. After such a massive volume of excess formula, the baby loses his appetite for a long time and does not latch on to the breast - the mother thinks that the milk has run out and curtails the breastfeeding, making sure there is a “lack” of milk.

- He doesn't sleep well at night - he wakes up to eat, which means he's hungry.
This is one of the strongest motivations for the older generation. And with incredible efforts they try to push formula or porridge into the child at night in order to achieve “rest” for the tummy and sleep for the mother. But in fact, night feedings are designed by nature to maintain active and prolonged lactation. After all, the maximum amount of lactation hormones is released at night. In the absence of active sucking of the breast and its emptying, the breast develops an attitude toward curtailing lactation - “since milk is no longer needed at night.”

How to determine whether you are full or not?
In breastfeeding, there are two main indicators that allow you to objectively assess whether the baby is getting enough to eat and whether he needs to be given additional nutrition. This is weight gain and the number of urinations according to the “wet diaper test”.

If the child’s body receives adequate nutrients, he can gain weight in leaps and bounds, 1500g in one month, 600g in another, or evenly 500-800g per month. The lower limit of normal weight gain through global research has been established as 500g per month or 125g per week.

Many doctors who do not have objective knowledge in the field of natural feeding practice “control weighing” with calculation of the volume of milk consumed. This test is completely unobjective and harmful for nursing mothers; it will not show an objective picture even at home, and even more so in a clinic under stress.

We have already mentioned the child’s different appetites and spasmodic growth - at one feeding he can eat 100g, and at another only 20g, only to quench his thirst - what kind of objective weight gain can we talk about in such a situation? It is possible to correctly assess weight no earlier than after a week of control, but it is better to assess weight gain within a month, but what if you need to assess sufficiency right now?

At home, you can easily conduct a “wet film test” - this is an objective criterion for insufficient milk supply. Under normal conditions of food intake, the child urinates on average once every 1-2 hours. Thus, he will wet at least 10-12 diapers per pack. If there is a shortage of milk, this indicator drops below 6-8 pieces and consultation with a doctor or breastfeeding specialist is required. If the number of diapers is below 6 pieces, additional feeding is definitely required. What if your baby urinates every half hour? His diapers fill up enough after 2-3 hours of wearing - he has no indication for introducing formula, even if it seems to you that he spends little time at the chest and eats little!

When do we introduce complementary foods?
With the introduction of complementary foods, toddlers naturally experience a decrease in weight gain, but this is how it should be. A child cannot gain a kilogram throughout his first year - he will become obese. The introduction of complementary foods is a replenishment of calories and teaching the child to digest new food for him. And there is no need to force a child, forcing him to eat the “age-appropriate” 150-180 g of porridge. Each baby has its own norms in terms of volume; excess food that you force into it will not do any good, but will only add excess weight and cause an aversion to the process of eating.

You should not follow the lead of grandmothers, to whom the baby “seems too thin” and feed him semolina porridge 3-4 times a day from 4-6 months. Such a load is harmful to digestion and will harm breastfeeding; it is necessary to introduce porridge once a day from six months, and only on the recommendation of a doctor, if there is severe weight loss, you can add a second feeding of porridge before breastfeeding. Throughout the first year, mother’s breast milk is one of the main foods of the child’s diet and you should not replace it with complementary foods for fear that the child will be malnourished.

Mothers always want their little one to eat more and grow faster. But you shouldn’t deceive nature - it has its own laws of weight gain, which you shouldn’t strive to exceed - excessive plumpness of the cheeks, continuous folds and fat deposits on the baby’s body - this, alas, is not a sign of his health at all!