A newborn often asks for the breast. The baby eats a lot and often: causes and consequences. Self-weaning of the baby from the breast

It is normal for a baby to ask for the breast frequently, he is only 8 weeks old, this is normal baby behavior at the breast. He is programmed by nature to constantly be near his mother and her breast during the first months of life. Breastfeeding is not only food and drink, it is emotional contact, the psychological calm of your baby, her comfort and communication with her mother.
Over time, after 3 months, the baby will begin to be more interested in the world around him, and less interested in you, and will attach less often

The main thing is, don’t start thinking that you don’t have enough milk? There is enough milk if the child pees more than 10-12 times a day and gains weight from 115 grams per week.
When feeding a baby on demand, the breasts become soft about a month after the start of feeding, when lactation becomes stable. There is no need to wait for the breast to be full, milk comes in response to suckling during the sucking process. And if a mother saves milk for feeding, then by such actions she will reduce the amount of milk

Two hormones are responsible for the production and release of milk: oxytocin and prolactin. Prolactin is directly responsible for milk production. It is produced ONLY in response to the baby suckling at the breast. It's simple - the more stimulation, the more milk.

One important condition is that the baby must be attached to the breast CORRECTLY, only then the stimulation will be effective. To do this, the baby should not suck on anything other than the breast. Most common problem- pacifiers and bottles, because of them the child develops the wrong so-called technique. "bottle sucking" To avoid this, do not offer your child a pacifier or bottle; this is especially DANGEROUS in the first month of his life, when he does not yet have a stable skill in proper sucking. And, of course, watch the breast capture: most of the areola is in the mouth, without air being sucked in.

In addition to pacifiers and pacifiers, avoid giving your child extra water. Water creates a false feeling of fullness, as a result of which the baby will receive less of your milk, etc. will stimulate the breasts less. Breast milk contains enough liquid in any climate and any air temperature.

Second, lactation hormones work most actively at night, therefore, to increase the amount of milk, you need to feed AS OFTEN POSSIBLE AT NIGHT, especially from 3 to 8 am. This is greatly facilitated by sleeping together.

Third, place the baby on your bare chest, he should be in one diaper, skin-to-skin contact helps the production of lactation hormones. It also helps with colic, gas, and tummy problems. During feeding, you can massage your breasts from the periphery to the center.

Fourth, a nursing mother should eat and drink ENOUGH. Mom needs to consume as much liquid as she wants, there is no need to force herself and drink liters of tea or other liquid. Food should be varied and nutritious, without unjustified diets. Do not forget that breastfeeding requires 300-500 calories per day, so it is advisable to eat fairly nutritious foods.

Fifth, herbal medicine: plants that enhance lactation include: carrots, licorice, lettuce, radish, cumin, dill, nettle, dandelion, fennel, oregano, lemon balm, anise, yarrow, rosehip, raspberry, ginger, as well as microelements and vitamins , royal jelly. This list is only auxiliary, and has an effect only under the condition of FREQUENT APPLICATIONS.

Sixth, calmness, fresh air, rest and sleep. No exhausting loads and stress. Calm down and figure out if there really is a problem? The WET NAPPY TEST will help you with this. You can read how to conduct it here www.site/community/view/3335924/forum/post/25035906/

Most mothers think that there is not enough milk, which is very rarely true, because... 98% of women have enough milk, with proper organization of breastfeeding. (WHO)

Photobank Lori

Briefly the most important:

For a newborn (in the first 28 days of life) it is completely natural to ask for the breast very often: you need to feed him “at the first squeak”.

After a month, you can begin to regulate the frequency of feedings and gradually adjust them to your daily routine. After 6 months, feeding “on demand” during the day is not at all necessary.

There are normal conditions when babies require breastfeeding very often: growth spurt (lactation crisis) and evening fatigue. During these periods, the baby needs more frequent feedings, and it is better to put everything aside and feed the baby as much as he wants.

Newborn

In the first days of life, an active and demanding baby who cries every 1.5-2 hours can be a difficult test for a mother who is tired after childbirth, however, he has an advantage over the “sleepyhead”. The fact is that the more the baby suckles, the faster the milk will come, and the more there will be.

Immediately after birth, it is normal for a baby to lose weight rather than gain it, but the loss should not be too great. A baby with a good appetite will be discharged from the maternity hospital with minimal loss weight.

Therefore, in the first weeks of life, let the baby eat as often and for as long as he likes, because his stomach immediately after birth can only hold 5-10 ml of milk, and the baby needs frequent feedings to get the essential drops of colostrum.

After a month

It happens that mothers continue to put the baby to the breast “at the first squeak” even after a month. It would seem that the number of feedings should decrease, but it does not become easier for the mother: she has to feed as often as in the first weeks of the child’s life.

From 1.5 months, it is useful to let the child understand that sucking the breast is not the only pleasant activity. So, for example, a 7-week-old baby is already able to have fun with a toy for some time or wait out changing clothes without much difficulty. Gradually, you can train the child’s endurance by postponing emergency breastfeeding for a couple of minutes, for five minutes, distracting him.

Over time, the mother notices that the child requires the breast not from hunger, but simply to feel comfort and security. For such a baby, this is a vital necessity. But it happens that these feedings “for fun” cause a lot of trouble for the mother.

If you continue to feed a six-month-old baby “on demand,” the mother will not be able to do anything else, but the fact is that it is no longer necessary to feed such a child “on demand.” At six months, it is better for a child to breastfeed “at first squeak” only at night, and during the day try to adhere to a certain rhythm.

It’s good when feedings are “tied” to normal daily rituals. It is worth feeding your child milk after he has eaten other foods at the usual time, after waking up, before bed, before or after a walk.

However, there are times when the frequent demands of an older child do not need to be resisted. For example, these are growth spurts at 3 and 6 weeks, as well as at 3 and 6 months, when mothers note that the baby begins to latch on to the breast much more often, the breasts feel “empty,” and the child becomes capricious and restless.

The only way to calmly survive these periods is to put everything aside and feed the baby as if he were a newborn - up to 20 times a day. Usually this condition goes away within 3-7 days, and the feeding rhythm becomes the same, or changes slightly, but remains regular.

In addition, most babies experience an irresistible urge to suck in the evening. From about 5 to 9 pm, the child can not tear himself away from the breast and not let go of his mother for a second.

It is believed that in this way the baby not only copes with his own fatigue during the day and an abundance of new impressions, but also “orders” from the mother’s body the required amount of milk for tomorrow. After all, it is known that the more milk a baby sucks today, the more it will appear tomorrow.

So, don't worry about the fact that sometimes you have to “follow your baby's lead” and feed him often. These are temporary deviations, and gradually the baby will get used to the feeding regime that is convenient for you.

Almost every mother strives to properly organize breastfeeding and feed the baby for as long as possible. However, sometimes these good intentions are dashed by unexpected difficulties. One of these difficulties is that the baby does not let go of the breast for a very long time. The mother feels literally “attached” to the baby and gets tired. And if the child often suckles at the breast at night, this completely exhausts the mother, since she is deprived of the opportunity to get enough sleep.

Before looking for a solution to the problem of why the child does not let go of his mother’s breast, it is necessary to find out the reasons for its occurrence. Very often, faced with such a situation, a mother decides that she has little milk and simply transfers the child to artificial nutrition. However, in most cases, breastfeeding can be successfully maintained without resorting to such drastic measures as weaning.
During some periods of a baby’s development, the fact that the baby suckles very often is a physiological norm for him. The following describes the main “critical” periods of development during which the baby often asks for the breast.

A newborn baby often asks for the breast

The first month of life a newborn baby, as a rule, spends most of its time sleeping, only occasionally waking up to satisfy its basic needs. at the moment development of needs - the need for food. But around the fourth or fifth week of life, the mother notices surprising changes in the behavior of her baby. The baby spends more time awake, begins to consciously respond to external stimuli, such as light and sound, and learns to focus his gaze on a certain object for a while. As a rule, it is at this age that the baby gives his mother his first, long-awaited, conscious smile.

This positive dynamics of development is due to the fact that the baby’s sense organs, “dormant” for the first month, begin to actively develop. The kid clearly understands: something in his usual, so cozy and familiar world has changed dramatically. Naturally, the child is confused and scared, he strives back to his familiar world. But at the same time, the baby understands that his mother is nearby. And in order for him to feel as protected as possible, he needs physical contact with his mother. How to achieve it? By applying it to mother's breast. Such periods appear in every baby - for some they last longer and are more pronounced, for others they proceed almost unnoticed. The duration of such a crisis period can also vary: from several days to several months.

In most cases, mothers do not know this feature of their baby’s growing up and cannot find the reason for this behavior. The woman begins to get nervous and look for the reasons for the baby’s anxiety. Mom may feel confused and frightened, especially if this period drags on for several weeks. Most often, the mother turns to the pediatrician, but it turns out that the baby is absolutely healthy. All this leads to the misconception that the mother has little milk and the baby is constantly hungry, which is why he cries.

What to do in this situation? The baby cries from the feeling of something new and unusual, he desperately needs the reassurance that only his mother can give him. So calm down your baby! Your smell, the warmth of your body, physical contact with the child is exactly what he needs now. You should also not forget about voice communication with your baby - after all, your voice is also familiar to him, he has heard it for nine months in a row.

The fact that a child often asks for the breast is absolutely normal and natural; the baby should not be denied this and try to replace the mother he needs so much with pacifiers and bottles. They will not improve the situation, but they can worsen it. It is much easier to drink milk from a bottle than from mother's breast. As a result, the child may refuse to breastfeed, while his vital need for close contact with his mother will remain unsatisfied. The baby will still cry and worry, and you will still carry him in your arms almost all the time.

If you still doubt why the baby constantly demands the breast and continue to believe that you have little milk and the baby is constantly hungry, you need to do the following:

Stop using disposable diapers for at least a day. Count how many wet diapers you ended up with per day. If you count 10-12, you can be absolutely sure that your baby is definitely not suffering from hunger.
If this is not enough for you and doubts still remain, contact your pediatrician to weigh your baby. If the child has gained the body weight required at this age, it means he has enough of your milk.
For especially restless mothers, we can recommend purchasing electronic baby scales. The daily weight gain of a child up to 3 months should be approximately 40 grams. It is necessary to separately draw the attention of mothers to the so-called “control weighing”. Modern research has long confirmed the ineffectiveness and very low effectiveness of this method of checking the amount of food a child eats. The child eats absolutely different amounts of milk at different times.

In the same case, if the child has obvious signs of a lack of milk listed above, there is also no need to panic and rush to the nearest pharmacy for formula and a bottle.

The baby constantly sucks at the breast because the mother does not have enough milk

Don’t be too upset if the amount of milk is really not enough. As a rule, establishing lactation and stimulating increased milk production is not difficult. And then, the baby constantly sucks the breast, is the first step towards increasing lactation. The female body produces milk under the influence of hormones. To produce them, it is necessary for the pituitary gland to receive information about the need for milk production. This is exactly the signal that a baby puts on the breast. Thus, if the baby suckles almost constantly, he thereby stimulates milk production.

Expressing milk has a similar, but less weak, effect. Most effective way To increase lactation means to come to terms with the fact that the child constantly demands his mother’s breast. Moreover, numerous studies have proven interesting fact. If a mother feeds her baby “in between times,” this does not bring such good result, like those mothers who, during feeding, put aside not only all their housework, but also discard all anxious thoughts and problems and themselves enjoy moments of closeness with the baby. This fact is easily explained from a medical point of view, because the condition nervous system All physiological processes in the body of any person directly depend.

Surely all nursing mothers have noticed that children begin to breastfeed most actively in the morning (from 4 to 8 am). During these hours, stimulation of lactation gives the best results. This explains why the baby suckles for a long time during morning feedings. Thus, he provides himself with a supply of milk for the following days. As a rule, if you allow your baby to nurse for a long time and breastfeed as often as possible, lactation will increase on the second day.

Many breastfeeding mothers rely on various supplements and teas to boost lactation. It is imperative to take into account that without frequent and prolonged applications, their use will not have any effect.

Where did the milk go?

Almost every nursing mother has at least once encountered a situation where the amount of milk dropped sharply. In the evening there was too much milk, but the next day the baby asks for the breast every hour, and nothing can be done to express like before. However, you should not be afraid of this and wonder why the baby suckles for so long. During lactation, there are several specific stages during which a decrease in the amount of milk produced is completely natural.

The onset of a lactation crisis. This is an absolutely normal physiological process that all breastfeeding women go through without exception. The reasons for the onset of a lactation crisis have not yet been clarified, and the timing of its onset can also be completely different. Some people have such a crisis once, while others have it every two to three months. Duration is approximately 2 – 4 days. The most important thing at this moment is not to panic and under no circumstances replace breast milk artificial mixture.
A sharp growth spurt in a child. As a rule, it also happens quite unexpectedly. The child not only increases the need for food, but also reduces the time required to suck out milk. The baby drinks the amount of milk available in the breast within 10 minutes, but since his needs have already increased, the baby remains hungry. This is what leads to the baby asking for the breast every hour. Of course, this is quite tiring for mom. But, as mentioned above, it is frequent and long-term feeding that stimulates the production of the amount of milk necessary for your baby.

The worst thing you can do in this situation is to start supplementing your baby with formula. There is no need to be afraid for the baby’s health - his body will endure several days of such a “diet” absolutely painlessly. The feeling of hunger will lead to the fact that the baby will suckle for a long time and, accordingly, lactation will increase. If you feed your baby formula milk, the baby will be full and will not persistently ask for the breast. Accordingly, the mother’s body will decide that the milk produced is absolutely enough for the baby and will not produce it in the truly necessary quantity.
Another common misconception is the opinion that a mother’s milk can “burn out” as a result stressful situations or mother's illness. In fact, a woman’s milk does not disappear anywhere. It’s just that the level of oxytocin in the blood, which is responsible for the flow of milk from the breast, sharply decreases. In such situations, it is very important to try to calm the nursing mother as much as possible; a warm shower will be very useful for her. And, of course, close physical contact with the baby. If this is not done, lactation may stop altogether.

There are a huge number of so-called “folk” methods for increasing milk supply. However, they are absolutely meaningless and will not bring any visible benefit, but harm is very likely.

A nursing mother should eat “for two” and drink plenty of fluids.
In fact, a nursing mother needs only 300 calories more than usual. Excess of them will result in nothing but excess weight.
To increase the amount of milk you need to drink tea with condensed milk.
However, in fact, drinking condensed milk can cause symptoms in your baby. allergic reactions or increased gas formation.
Drinking a glass of beer a day doubles lactation.
This method of increasing milk supply is not worth even talking about. Surely any mother can imagine the negative consequences of exposure to a little bit of alcohol on the body.
After each feeding, a woman should carefully express all remaining milk.
This is fraught with the appearance of hyperlactation, when much more milk is produced than is required to saturate the baby. As a result, there is a high likelihood of developing mastitis.
In between feedings, you should give your baby a pacifier.
Sucking on a pacifier significantly reduces the baby's need for sucking, and accordingly, a decrease in lactation may occur. In addition, sucking on a pacifier, even an anatomically shaped one, can negatively affect the correct formation of the bite.
If a woman's milk is pale, with a blue tint, it means it has low nutritional value.
In fact, the nutritional value of breast milk is not low or high. It can be exactly what your baby needs at the moment.
If a nursing mother no longer feels a rush of milk and her breasts are not full, it means she has very little milk.
On the contrary, if a woman does not have these phenomena, this only means that lactation has become established and has entered the mature stage. The mammary gland produces exactly as much milk as needed. If you're still worried, just keep an eye on the number of wet diapers and monthly weight gain.

Why does a one-year-old baby constantly ask for the breast?

If the reasons for this behavior in children under one year of age are more or less clear, then cases when an older child constantly asks for the breast cause confusion in many mothers - it seems that the baby no longer experiences hunger, since he receives the main amount of food in the form of solid food. In addition, it often happens that the child sucks the breast for a very long time and practically does not let it out of his mouth. As a rule, this happens while falling asleep or at night. In order to solve this problem, the mother must know the cause of its occurrence.

For one year old child The breast is largely the only means of self-soothing. It is at the breast that the baby seeks mother’s support, protection, affection, consolation and attention. If your baby has been constantly asking for the breast lately, carefully analyze all the events that have been happening to your baby lately. Perhaps some stress factors have appeared in the child’s life.

Remember that for a small child anything can become such a factor. Was your little one hurt by children in the sandbox? Or maybe some loud sound scared you? Of course, he will run to his mother. And mother often does not connect these events with each other. Even an excess of positive emotions can become a strong stress factor for a child. That is why child psychologists recommend strictly dosing positive emotions in children.

Children are especially worried about their mother going back to work. The little man has not yet been given the ability to understand the word “must” and he relies only on his own feelings. The baby may feel lonely, abandoned, and offended. And if the baby is still on breastfeeding, he will try, while his mother is nearby, to try to compensate for the lack of mother’s attention and affection by applying to the breast. That is why such a child often suckles for a very long time.

In order to smooth out the rough edges of this situation as much as possible, the mother will have to make an effort, despite her fatigue. It is very good if relatives take on part of the household chores, freeing the mother from them. In the evening, when you come home from work, immediately turn all your attention to the baby. Talk to him more, do something interesting together: play or read. At least twice a week, try to find an opportunity to go for a walk together with your baby.
In addition, it is very important not to forget about the much-needed physical contact between mother and baby. Don’t be afraid to spoil your baby, take him in your arms more often, kiss him, hug him. Believe me, there is no such thing as too much affection. Its absence is much more destructive than its excess. A child who does not receive enough affection in early childhood, as a rule, grows up to be an insecure person with low self-esteem.

But what could be more important for a mother than the well-being of her closest person, her child? And it is the mother who largely determines what it will be like, “beautiful is far away.” After all, we all come from childhood.

Discussion 9

Similar materials

Breastfeeding is an important part of the health of the baby and mother. To ensure that feeding does not cause discomfort, you need to monitor whether the baby is sucking correctly. However, as a rule, when a child is born, he instinctively “knows” what to do. Even in the maternity hospital, you should pay attention to how the baby grasps the nipple and, if necessary, carefully correct it. With mother's milk, the baby receives all the nutrients, but the feeding process itself is not a formal meal. Pediatricians in maternity hospitals welcome breastfeeding and are always ready to help, so you can safely contact them for advice.

It is during natural feeding that it is difficult for a mother to control the amount of milk the baby eats, which is why fears or starvation appear. When artificial feeding, the amount of mixture required by age is poured into the bottle and maintained at 2-3 hour intervals. However, this approach is unacceptable for a newborn. For underdeveloped digestive tract and kidneys, food should be supplied in small amounts at different time intervals, which are individual for each baby.

The fact that a child nurses for a long time does not mean that he is overeating. There are a lot of factors here: the activity of sucking (there are lazy babies who quickly fall asleep on the breast), the flow of milk (for some women milk flows into the mouth itself, while for others the nipples are tight), its quantity. You can determine exactly how much a baby has eaten only by weighing before and after feeding.

Despite the fact that the norms for newborns are very vague, they still exist. You shouldn’t “drive” your child into this framework and torture yourself, you just need to try to choose the most comfortable feeding regimen. Mom needs to come to terms with the fact that during the first 6 months of breastfeeding, she belongs more to the baby than to herself.

Norm volume of milk per single feeding for newborns

In the first days after birth, the baby's ventricle is so small that a small amount (7-9 ml) of fatty and nutritious colostrum is enough for him. Feeding these days with formula milk creates additional stress on the kidneys, which cannot yet cope with large amounts of fluid.

On the 3-4th day milk arrives, which contains more water, so the number of urinations immediately increases. From this moment on, the baby should eat approximately 30-40 ml of milk per feeding, and every day until the 10th day of life, this volume will increase by 10 ml. Accordingly, by the end of 2 weeks of life, a child needs 100 - 120 ml to satisfy hunger.

Further calculations are made based on the body weight of the newborn. So, in order to determine the daily requirement of a baby up to 1.5 months old, his weight is divided by 5; up to 4 months - by 6; up to 7 months - by 7; at the age of up to 8 months - by 8; up to a year - by 9.

All standards are acceptable for bottle-fed children. With breastfeeding, they are only conditional. You can determine for your child only by his weekly weight gain. If the baby grows well, is calm after feeding, does not require frequent breastfeeding, and pees regularly (10 - 12 times a day), then there is nothing to worry about. If a newborn has gained too much weight, it means he is being overfed. However, it is very difficult to forbid a child to eat.

How long can a baby stay at the breast?

The only way to adjust the amount of milk a baby eats is to regulate the time spent at the breast. But here everything is individual. Pediatricians on the question of how long a child should breastfeed are divided into 2 camps: some say that no more than 10 - 15 minutes; others find hourly feeding acceptable. In fact, it all depends on the baby’s temperament, the amount of milk and even the environment. Sometimes babies extend the feeding period in order to stay close to their mother longer. In such cases, the child does not suckle, but simply smacks his lips and plays around. You should not wean him from the breast, as this may upset the baby.

The duration of feeding in the first months is usually 20 - 30 minutes on each breast. During this period, it is important for the child to satisfy the sucking reflex and feel the warmth of the mother. There should be no rush or fuss during feeding. The child should eat quietly until he is completely satisfied. Often newborns fall asleep during feeding, while they can continue to suckle at the breast. You shouldn’t tear them off, as they give the mother an excellent reason to rest together, because daytime sleep is very important for good lactation.

As the baby gets older, he learns to get satiated faster, and feeding time can be reduced to 5 to 10 minutes.

How often should you feed your baby?

Many pediatricians advise feeding a newborn on demand. This way, the baby will more easily adapt to new conditions for obtaining nutrients and get used to the feeling of hunger. In the future, you need to feed according to a certain schedule in order to develop a diet.

A first-time mother cannot always determine when her baby is hungry. In order not to torment yourself with fears, it is useful to know how many times a day you should.

Most infants are breastfed 10 - 12 times a day with an interval of 1.5 - 2 hours. However, the time spent at the breast during each feeding may vary. Already closer to 4 - 6 months, the number of meals will be reduced to 5, while night feeding will continue.

Causes of infant malnutrition and overfeeding

If the baby is healthy and eats as much as a newborn should, but is not gaining weight well (less than 100 g per week), then it is necessary to understand the causes of malnutrition. These include:

poor psycho-emotional situation in the family;
low fat content of milk due to insufficient calories consumed by the mother;
hyperlactation, when due to frequent pumping, too much milk is produced and the baby sucks out only the sweet, quickly digested “front” milk, leaving the fatty “hind” milk;
engorgement of the mammary glands, as a result of which a still weak baby is not able to suck out a sufficient amount of milk; in such cases, massage and expressing the first drops before feeding are recommended;
unpleasant odor of milk due to the mother’s consumption of spicy foods (onions, garlic) and spices.

If full term one month old baby If he is too lazy to suckle and quickly falls asleep without getting enough, you can try to wake him up by gently rubbing his cheek. Weak and premature babies may simply get tired during the sucking process, so frequent breastfeeding is suitable for them. In this case, the breasts need to be kneaded well and some of the “fore” milk needs to be expressed.

Quite often, pediatricians note cases of overfeeding infants. In such cases, you need to determine how often the newborn eats. Some mothers practice soothing their child by applying to the breast. As a result, the baby consumes too much milk per day. Another reason is unlimited stay at the breast. If the baby suckles for a long time and actively, and there is a lot of milk, then the feeling of fullness may be delayed and, as a result, overfeeding. Frequent and profuse regurgitation may be a consequence of overeating.

To understand why a child does not fit into the norm for weight gain, it is necessary to analyze all the factors. You need to constantly catch changes in the baby’s condition and carefully monitor his mood. All children are individual, so all existing standards serve only as a guide.

What to do if your baby constantly demands the breast

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Many mothers strive to properly organize breastfeeding. But sometimes it happens that a child often asks for breast milk - this raises alarming questions. Mothers feel literally “attached” to their babies. This affects at night, when sleep is limited due to frequent feeding.

Before starting an intensive search for solutions, it is worth deciding on the reasons that caused this. In most cases, the decision is made that there is not enough milk. The fact that the child began to eat more often is not unusual, since there are periods of intensive development of the baby.

Reasons for frequent breastfeeding

There are various reasons why there is a need for frequent feeding of the baby:

The child is hungry

Starting from the first month, the volume of lactation is still insufficient, and the baby can get tired quickly. When slightly saturated, the baby leaves the breast and falls asleep. With rapid digestion of milk, especially when feeding occurs in small doses, the baby again feels hungry and tries to give signs to be fed.

If the baby is under two months old and has frequent feedings, this is normal. Every day the baby gets stronger and begins to drink more milk. When the lactation volume reaches its limit, the baby begins to experience hunger during development.

Contact with mother

When the baby reaches the second or third month, a large number of children strive to spend more time with their mother, not letting her go for a minute. It is important for them to feel her presence and warmth.

It happens that the baby just wants to find contact with his mother, but the mother, not understanding him, thinks that the baby is hungry and offers the breast. In such situations, most babies do not refuse food, since this is the only way to be held. This causes overeating.

To prevent overfeeding, you can play games or talk to your little one before eating. You will definitely need to take the baby in your arms and walk around the room with him.

Painful sensations

Until the age of 1, the mother is a protector for the baby. She is able to satisfy hunger, changes clothes, and calms people in a bad mood. The kid trusts her a lot. For this reason, if painful symptoms appear: teeth are being cut, a headache, weakness or colic appears - the baby tries to say this in the form of crying. So he calls his mother for help. Unconscious breastfeeding can quickly calm him down. Thus, the baby’s body receives milk in excess of the norm. When you frequently put your baby to the breast after two months of feeding, this can disrupt the process of lactation and digestion of the baby's food.

When the desire to eat increases

At first, some babies become active and require feeding every 1.5-2 hours. This is not easy for a mother who is tired after giving birth. But such children have an advantage over sleepyheads. In other words, if a child often drinks milk, then it comes faster.

Sometimes mothers become worried when the baby loses a little weight after birth. But this is not a problem, since babies quickly catch up with good appetite. If the baby eats often and a lot during the first days or weeks, then this will only be beneficial.

First year of feeding

After birth, children undergo development in several stages. It happens that appetite grows to the limit, and after that it becomes normal. This happens several times.

Lactation crisis. This period differs in that the woman’s body is rebuilt depending on the needs of the baby. And if there is a short break in nutrition, the volume of milk decreases slightly, and the baby experiences a feeling of hunger. Therefore, the baby tries to apply harder to the breast to get satiation.
Growth spurts. The child's growth is observed periodically. This provokes changes in appetite. During growth, the child constantly demands food, greedily rushing to the chest. At this time, you should not deny him feeding; he should suck out as much milk as he needs. The appetite will go away in a couple of days.

How do you know if your baby is getting enough milk?

There is no need to worry when your baby often requires breastfeeding. If there are versions that there is insufficient milk volume in the breast, it is recommended to go to the hospital for consultation. At the same time, you can discuss some nuances or questions regarding future feeding.

Before contacting a doctor, you will need to prepare in advance the information that you will need to give to the specialist:

In order to find out how many times the baby defecates, you need to not use diapers for 24 hours and mark the number of bowel movements in a notebook.
It is necessary to make certain measurements using scales. Results will need to be recorded before and after feeding.

Which doctor should I contact?

With the information received, which should be recorded, you need to come to the pediatrician. If it is noticed that the baby is not gaining weight, then this is also worth discussing. The reason for this may be a lack of milk. During this period, it is worth making a decision: continue frequent feeding or start introducing special complementary foods.

It happens that there is enough milk, but the baby still often requires attachment to the breast. This is explained by the fact that the baby is trying to suppress loneliness. This manifests itself when some painful sensations occur. For this reason, overeating appears.

Most pediatricians think that symptoms of malnutrition in a child's development are just as dangerous as overeating. For this reason, it is important to quickly find out why the baby behaves this way.

For what reason may a baby not eat enough?

When a child constantly wants to eat, it is possible that there are errors in improper feeding on the part of the mother. From an anatomical point of view, two types of milk are produced in the breast. It is called anterior and posterior. If we look at the composition of foremilk, it contains more liquid substance than food. In the second, everything is quite the opposite.

When a baby first feeds on foremilk, the hind milk does not arrive immediately. The little one gets drunk, but does not eat. After a while, a feeling of hunger appears. This problem is easily solved - before each feeding you have to pump. This way the baby will get more second milk.

Signs of overeating

Signs of overeating can be determined by the following indicators:

The child spits up profusely - this explains that too much food has been eaten and the digestive system throws out the excess.
Rapid rate of weight gain. Under normal conditions, infants can gain weight by about 1.3-1.5 kg per month. This lasts throughout the first half of the year. It is worth noting that with such an addition it will appear overweight, so it is important to adjust nutrition after 6 months. It is important to consult your pediatrician about this.

If you immediately give breastfeeding to your baby at every whim, this entails the formation of an excess of protein and sugar in the child’s body, so overeating is dangerous.

How to avoid overeating

To avoid overeating, you will need to follow certain rules:

Complementary feeding should be introduced only after consultation with a pediatrician. It depends on the duration of feeding, and at what rate the baby is gaining weight. Only a specialist can give the necessary advice.
Learn to understand the intonation of a child’s crying. It's like a kind of language with which the little one shows what he needs.
Before offering the breast to the baby, you can play with him for a while, pick him up, and hold him close to you.
Maintain a strict feeding schedule, depending on age.

There are exceptions to the rules

When a boy or girl gains weight, but despite this, he strongly demands food, this is thirst, this happens. The child is simply thirsty. You can give drinking water through a pacifier at a certain time (this is effective after eating 10-15 minutes). Such measures allow you to replenish the fluid balance in the baby’s body and prevent him from unnecessary starvation.

When measures have been taken, but the baby still experiences hunger, and plus there is weight loss, a visit to a competent pediatrician is required.