Signs Your Baby Is Hungry

Signs Baby Is Hungry

Infants have a sophisticated vocabulary for communicating their needs, especially hunger. When a mild hunger begins, you will start to see early signs your baby is hungry, such as putting his hand to his mouth, and making mmmm sounds. 

Frequency of baby hunger cues: These signals occur 2-3 times an hour. 

What happens if you miss one of your newborn’s early hunger cues? Do not worry; your baby will not give up. Next, he will send you more demanding middle-hunger cues. These include rooting (moving head from side with an open mouth, looking for a nipple), open eyes and more active movements. If he still has not gotten your full attention, he will shift into late hunger cues: wriggling, fussing and crying.

List of Baby Hunger Signs

Here is a few signs that your baby is hungry:

• Rooting
• Open eyes and active movements
• Wriggling
• Fussing
• Crying
• Your baby puts his hand to his mouth 
• Your baby makes mmmmm sounds

Of course, you should never ignore your baby’s hunger signals. In fact, if your baby fusses for more than 10 minutes after the last feeding, you should still offer a bit more milk. (Some babies finish a feeding and then fuss a little later when they realise they need just an extra ounce to ‘top off the tank’ in preparation for sleep.)

Is Baby Eating Hands a Sign of Hunger?

After around 6-8 weeks of the newborn period, your baby eating or sucking his hands is not always a reliable sign of hunger. During 6-8 weeks of age, your baby will begin to gain more control over his hands and explore his newfound dexterity with his mouth more frequently.

Ignoring the Signs That a Newborn is Hungry

Ignoring early hunger signs to get a bit more sleep is actually smart. An extra hour of rest can improve nursing by reducing depression, preventing mastitis and boosting your milk supply. That is why hundreds of breastfeeding clinics help moms succeed by teaching them swaddling and the other S’s during Happiest Baby classes.

Note: During the first month or two, you will encourage better nighttime sleeping by waking and nursing your baby every couple of hours…during the day. You can also try the SNOO Smart Sleeper which is a baby cot that aids you in putting your baby to sleep using white noise and motion. Learn more about purchasing a SNOO!

Haftungsausschluss: Die Informationen auf unserer Website sind KEINE medizinischen Ratschläge für eine bestimmte Person oder einen bestimmten Zustand. Sie sind lediglich als allgemeine Informationen gedacht. Wenn Sie medizinische Fragen und Bedenken bezüglich Ihres Kindes oder Ihrer eigenen Gesundheit haben, wenden Sie sich bitte an Ihren Gesundheitsdienstleister. Muttermilch ist die beste Quelle der Ernährung für Babys. Es ist wichtig, dass Mütter in Vorbereitung auf das Stillen und währenddessen eine gesunde, ausgewogene Ernährung zu sich nehmen. Die Kombination von Stillen und Flaschenernährung in den ersten Lebenswochen kann die Muttermilchversorgung verringern und die Entscheidung, nicht zu stillen, ist schwer rückgängig zu machen. Wenn Sie sich entscheiden, Säuglingsnahrung zu verwenden, sollten Sie die Anweisungen sorgfältig befolgen.