Top Signs to Be on the Lookout For During Newborn Baby Feeding

The very first thing new mothers need to decide upon is whether to breastfeed or not. Although experts still continue to stress and emphasize the importance of breast milk in newborn baby feeding, the battle between breast milk versus formula continue to prevail as the latter still provide a convenient alternative for busy moms.

Breastfeeding is highly beneficial not only for your baby, but also for you. Aside from getting the assurance that you'll be able to protect your child from illnesses and infections that can be fatal for such young kids, you can also keep yourself healthy. By nursing, you can avoid breast engorgement, getting pregnant again, and also help you shed some pounds off.

However, although enjoyable, newborn baby feeding is still quite a task. As a young child requires extra care, you would really have to need to do some additional measures to make sure that your child is getting the best care he needs. With breastfeeding, there are still a couple of other things you need to keep in mind to assure your baby's health and wellbeing.

One of the very important things you would have to pay close attention to is your little angel's "baby talk". As kids in their postpartum period are not exactly capable of talking just yet and telling you what he needs, you must be more sharp and observant with how he acts to catch what is happening to him, especially during feeding.

If you know how your baby reacts while nursing, you can easily get a hint if there is a problem. Luckily, there are now studies that can help you understand your child's language. With the following cues, you can easily determine the developments during newborn baby feeding.

Cue set #1: Long pauses instead of gulps, worried look, falling asleep while still latched on, aggressiveness, pulling away and then re-latching, and wanting suck again after nursing. These signs usually indicate slow milk flow. Since newborns need to feed up to a dozen times daily, you will need to really be aware if your child is getting the milk he needs. You may be able to produce enough breast milk, but for some reason, your veins may clog and cause slow milk flow.

Cue set #2: Continuous gulping without any pauses, appearing startled and pulls off often, or resisting the second breast even if he still appears to be hungry are signs that your milk flow is too fast. Usually caused by the letdown reflex, having a fast milk flow may overwhelm your infant. This, although will cause weight gain, will also be bad for your child's feeding pattern because it can cause undersupply and apathetic feeding.

Cue set #3: Twisting or wriggling of the baby's upper body. This means that your child needs to burp. Sometimes, some children just burp even while they're still feeding, so there's really not too much problem with this. However, some babies feel uncomfortable, so if this happens, interrupt the feeding for a while and give your child some relief by helping him burp.

Cue set #4: Shorter suck intervals, quieter swallows, and more relaxed body. These signs will tell you that your newborn baby feeding was successful and that your child is now content with the nursing.

Once you've learned these cues, you'll surely have an easier time in feeding your child.