FTM hunger cue question

dbagniefski

Hi all, I've been lurking for a few weeks now and I feel like you're the right bunch to ask on this topic.

I'm worried that I'm misreading my DS's cues as hunger. Generally when he fusses, sticks his tongue out, turns his head... I put him to the breast. He almost always eats, although sometmes not much. Our pedi thinks I feed him too often.

My main concern is misreading gas as hunger and making it worse. He spits up often, not a lot comes out though. Is this even something I should worry about?

TIA 

emolm

We were told not to worry about spit up and that it'll go away once he starts sitting up on his own consistently. 

 

He was only fed when he started making sucking movements with his mouth (subtle cue) or started chewing his hands (slightly less subtle cue). His obvious cue was fussing while he sucks and chews.  

 

Each baby has slightly different cues. Ignore the pedi and go with your gut but try only feeding when he uses the cues that he exhibits before he eats a lot. 

 

I read somewhere that they can confuse gas pains with hunger pains so make sure you're getting some good burps.  

Jenny952

I agree with pp that sometimes gas and hunger are confused for each other.  I used to put DD at my breast when she started getting fussy, but would end up spitting up all over if she wasn't truly hungry.  I also started recognizing her gas pains, like when she was still sucking but being agitated and tugging hard on my shirt.  Make sure you're getting a good burp from your DS and have a lot of burp rags handy. 

My DD doesn't take a paci and uses me to soothe herself.  She's now getting better at sucking and not drinking, which was also part of her problem when she was really little.  She'd nurse, drink, and spit up all over when she was too full. 

C-Charm

My La Leche League leader liked to say, "A little spit up is a laundry issue...not a health issue."  I loved it!

 

You can't overfeed a breastfed baby.  The AAP says to feed them any time they show signs of hunger.  One of the reasons they spit up is because that little flap--that's an actual anatomical term--doesn't close well until they're older.

tokenhoser

I don't think you can put a baby that young to the breast too often. I always offered the boob first, and then if he wasn't hungry we moved on to other reasons he might be fussy.

Get a pedi that respects breastfeeding, or learn to tune yours out about feeding "issues". 

GrayGhost13

C-Charm:

My La Leche League leader liked to say, "A little spit up is a laundry issue...not a health issue."  I loved it!

 

You can't overfeed a breastfed baby.  The AAP says to feed them any time they show signs of hunger.  One of the reasons they spit up is because that little flap--that's an actual anatomical term--doesn't close well until they're older.

I agree with all of the above, and I'll add that some babies just eat more often than others, especially if they're EBF. My DS nursed every hour or two (except at night) for months, when the books said he "should" be eating only every three or four. I worried I was doing something wrong, but as long as I followed his cues, he was very happy and healthy. Now that he's older, I realize it was just part of his personality, not anything I was doing wrong.

Listen to your baby and your instincts and you'll be fine, mama!

hey_little_bird

C-Charm:

My La Leche League leader liked to say, "A little spit up is a laundry issue...not a health issue."  I loved it!

 

You can't overfeed a breastfed baby.  The AAP says to feed them any time they show signs of hunger.  One of the reasons they spit up is because that little flap--that's an actual anatomical term--doesn't close well until they're older.

this is exactly what i was thinking.
i also like what the LLL leader said!

(the flap is called the epiglottis)

Birdies08

hey_little_bird:

C-Charm:

My La Leche League leader liked to say, "A little spit up is a laundry issue...not a health issue."  I loved it!

 

You can't overfeed a breastfed baby.  The AAP says to feed them any time they show signs of hunger.  One of the reasons they spit up is because that little flap--that's an actual anatomical term--doesn't close well until they're older.

this is exactly what i was thinking.
i also like what the LLL leader said!

(the flap is called the epiglottis)

Ha ha!

I agree, with the bolded, though. You can't offer too much, but you can offer too little. If he seems to be giving hunger signs, offer the breast. If he doesn't want it, then you can check on what else it might be. Spit up is to be expected.

Oh, and nursing helps my LO with gas, so even he's upset due to gas, nursing might be a good response. I think it's the peristalsis, which is the technical term In case you're unfamiliar, it means the movement of the GI tract. 

dbagniefski

Thank you for all the insight. I will just keep offering him the breast as I have been. 

C-Charm

hey_little_bird:

C-Charm:

My La Leche League leader liked to say, "A little spit up is a laundry issue...not a health issue."  I loved it!

 

You can't overfeed a breastfed baby.  The AAP says to feed them any time they show signs of hunger.  One of the reasons they spit up is because that little flap--that's an actual anatomical term--doesn't close well until they're older.

this is exactly what i was thinking.
i also like what the LLL leader said!

(the flap is called the epiglottis)

Yeah.  That!  :-)