After three entries explaining the importance of breastfeeding on demand and why we let babies control their diet, we go on today to try to explain a bit what "on demand" really is.
Give breastfeeding on demand It means breastfeeding every time the newborn asks for it, however it must be borne in mind that they do not “ask” to be fed verbally, but we must be the ones who receive the clues they give us to know that they have hungry.
An increase in activity, search movements, sounds, open and close the mouth, sucking on fists, soft twittering or sighing, tongue clicks and groans are messages that the child could be asking for food and the parents' work is the of noticing them to start the shot.
Many children, if they are not fed at that time they end up crying, however crying is a late sign of hunger, something like the moment of despair: "I've been asking for food for a while, is it that nobody is going to feed me?" Many other children, instead of crying, will fall asleep again, thus skipping a precious moment to be fed and to Stimulate milk production.
In other words, babies should breastfeed when there are signs that they may be hungry:
- Is awake. We already know that newborns eat, sleep and poop. If he is awake, he might be hungry.
- Open and close your mouth.
- He puts his hands to his mouth.
- Make search movements when we have it in our arms.
- Cry Crying is a late sign of hunger. We must prevent the child from crying to let us know it may be late and it may make it difficult to grip.
The child should breastfeed, as we said in the previous entries, whenever he wants, 4 hours have passed or 5 minutes have passed. This does not mean that the fact that I breast at all times is normal.
The breast on demand, as we have said, is to allow me to breastfeed whenever I want, however it may not be normal for the shots to be exceptionally long (more than half an hour) and for some shots to overlap with others.
In such cases it is possible that there are problems with the position and / or the suction. It is important in these cases that someone with experience (pediatrician, nurse or breastfeeding support groups) assess the position and suction of the baby, as could be feeding little despite spending several hours breastfeeding.
