Is Your Baby Hungry?
No, I don’t mean “Is your toddler hungry?” 
They usually are.
And no, I don’t mean “Is your preschooler hungry?”
They often won’t admit it, unless they’re at the house of a friend whose mother isn’t nearly as good a cook as you. Political prisoners could take hunger strike lessons from a preschooler who has figured out that what mom really wants is for her to eat the green things, too.
But enough about cutting the edges off grilled cheese sandwiches <flashback shudder> let’s get back to the real question: Is your newborn baby really hungry?
Signs of Hunger in Your Newborn
Because he is navigating this big, new, complex, noisy, sometimes chilly, sometimes stuffy world without words, your new baby will use strategies to communicate.
When he is hungry, here’s how he’ll try to tell you:
- If he’s asleep at all, it’s a light sleep.
- If awake, he is moving from the sleepier states into the more alert states.
- His arms are in motion. Legs, too.
- Mouth, too. He will start opening his mouth, moving his tongue around, making sucking noises. Your baby can give a hint, too.
- He sucks his hand for comfort (also does it for soothing sometimes, but look for more than one indicator of hunger. You’ll detect them, Mom)
- Baby’s head might be moving toward you, your chest, your breast. This is the rooting reflex that helped him find his first meal when he arrived on this planet.
- Timing is key. Wailing for food is a last-ditch hunger signal. The good news it that it will get easier to read the early, calmer signs of hunger.
He’s not hungry anymore when:
- He lets go of your breast, and moves his attention on to something else of interest.
- He turns away from your body.
- His body calms down. The arms are at rest, the breathing is rhythmic. Peaceful.
- He falls asleep after a long time at the breast. Not to be confused with those ultra-sleepy new babies who are so tired they don’t show much interest in eating.
The best way to respond quickly and appropriately to your baby’s hunger is to learn the signs, then observe your baby for them. It is possible to prevent the late-stage hunger signal of extreme crying. A calmer feeding helps your baby’s digestion by starting him off with a better latch, and filling his tummy with milk, not gulps of air. When he is calm, he won’t have to spend energy on settling down — he can instead use his free time to gaze up at you, the owner of his favorite face.
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Carly Jennings | Parenting Skills | 
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