Any mom knows that breast milk is the most valuable product for early development little man. It is with him that everything necessary for normal growth and development enters the body. useful material, and also immunity is formed. Therefore, it is extremely important to leave the child on this type of food as long as possible. That is why situations with a lack of milk can become critical and cause anxiety in the mother. In this article, you can find out if the child is eating breast milk, what are the reasons for its lack and malnutrition of the toddler, you will learn what to do to increase lactation.

How to understand that a child is eating milk

There are a number of signs by which the mother will be able to determine whether her baby is eating breast milk. After all, it is not always possible to understand this based only on the amount of milk produced. And even if you have plenty of it, this does not mean that the child will definitely be full. Here it is faster, on the contrary. As you know, milk consists of a liquid part that replaces water and a dense part that replaces food. The first is the liquid fraction and, if there is a lot of it, the baby actually fills the stomach with a low-calorie product and, it seems, he filled his tummy, but at the same time remained absolutely hungry. There is also another option, when the amount of milk is ideal, but it is low in fat, so the baby does not eat too much either. In addition to such cases, there is another option: the child simply does not absorb what he eats and, accordingly, the baby cannot gain weight.

Here are the actual criteria by which the mother will be able to understand that the baby may remain hungry:

1. Pay attention to whether you are applying the baby to the breast correctly - the baby should swallow the areola along with the nipple (when viewed from above). If this is not the case, it is likely that the baby is not getting enough milk.
2. When a baby suckles, he should do it according to the following scheme: the baby lowers his chin, returns it to its original position and pauses, then everything is repeated in a circle. And so, the longer such a pause, the more milk the crumb swallows. Therefore, if your baby does not suck milk according to this pattern or the pauses are almost imperceptible, then most likely he practically does not eat anything.
3. By outward appearance and the smell of the baby's feces, it can be concluded whether he has enough milk. In the first 7 days after birth, some inconsistencies with the norm are allowed, or rather, this will be the norm, because the baby has been in the womb for 9 months. But then the baby's feces should acquire characteristic signs, the presence of which will indicate the complete saturation of the baby with breast milk. These are the following characteristics: no impurities, homogeneous, mushy structure, light brown color, no smell. If your baby's feces are different, this may indicate not only that the baby is not eating enough or milk is poorly absorbed by the baby's body. Therefore, it is important to tell the pediatrician about this during the examination. Sometimes doctors ask to demonstrate the baby's feces visually, for example, show the baby's diaper.
4. By the nature and amount of urination, it is also possible to understand whether there is enough crumbs of breast milk in the diet. Up to six months, a baby can urinate up to ten times a day with a normal intake of "essential food". The urine is odorless and almost clear. It is these signs that will indicate that the required amount of mother's milk is entering the baby's body.

You also need to know that in children in the first 7 days after birth, urine may have a reddish tint. This is a variant of the norm.

1. And of course, the most important criterion by which you can immediately understand that a child is starving is an obvious, critical underweight. There are generally accepted indicators of the growth and weight of the crumbs, corresponding age norms... When weighing in, the doctor will be able to tell you whether the baby has gained enough over the past month and whether his weight corresponds to the one that the child of his gender and age should have. Small discrepancies from the norm may still be acceptable, and if they are large, then this is a clear and unambiguous sign that the baby is not eating up your milk.

Malnutrition symptoms

1. The baby begins to cry bitterly if you take the breast.
2. The child began to move less.
3. There is a feeling that the little one does everything with a delay.
4. The kid is hysterically happy when he sees his mother or smells the breast.
5. The child does not sleep well or often wakes up at night, possibly a complete lack of sleep.
6. The toddler often cries, while he is healthy and the diaper is dry.
7. The baby rarely defecates and pees.
8. The child takes various objects into his mouth and tries to suck and gnaw them.
9. The baby bites you on the nipple, as if trying to squeeze out more milk.
10. Inconsistency of the child's weight with his age standards. Or sudden weight loss.

Also, with a shortage of milk in the baby, there is also a lack of fluid in the body, and this is characterized by the following symptoms:

1. The baby is drowsy, lethargic.
2. Dries up in the mouth.
3. Crying without tears.
4. Bad smell from my mouth.
5. Urination is rare, bad smelling.

What are the reasons for this situation

1. An attempt to accustom the child to the diet.
2. If the baby spat out the nipple, it doesn’t mean that he is full, perhaps he just ran out of milk. Do not rush to remove the baby, offer him a second breast.
3. Wrong position of the baby during feeding. The toddler should almost completely swallow the areola and nipple.
4. The baby is uncomfortable lying, he feels discomfort.
5. You have refused night feedings, and the child has not yet been able to adjust to such a regime and does not have time to suck out the required daily volume of milk during the day.
6. Excess milk. The baby manages to suck out only the front fraction of milk, which, in fact, replaces the liquid. Therefore, the baby remains hungry and does not gain weight.
7. Silicone pads that mothers put on the nipple to facilitate this process can interfere with the little one's nutrition.
8. The kid eats little because of poor health, health problems.
9. The toddler falls asleep and does not have time to drink the required amount of milk. In such situations, be sure to wake up the baby so that he has time to finish eating.

Which leads to a lack of milk

Milk is produced in insufficient quantities, in particular, due to the fact that the child sucks little, is distracted by something and the flow becomes less, and the child often remains hungry. So, what are the reasons that the baby behaves this way and that your breast milk is losing more and more:

1. The child has a distraction, for example, there is a cartoon on TV.
2. The crumbs have wavki in their mouth or respiratory tract diseases, and it just hurts him to suck and swallow.
3. The toddler started having problems with digestion and food is not a joy for him.
4. The baby is not properly attached or is generally in an uncomfortable position.
5. Milk tastes bad (mom ate something wrong) - the little one may not drink it for this reason.
6. Stressful situations in the family.
7. Mom's nutrition is not balanced.
8. Cracks or bite wounds have formed on the nipples.
9. Mom eats few foods that stimulate lactation, drinks little liquid.
10. Anatomical features of the mother's nipple.
11. Psychological unpreparedness of the mother for breastfeeding.

How to increase lactation

A common problem for a nursing mother. Here are the recommendations on this issue:

1. Study your diet. Perhaps you do not eat often enough or in the wrong quantities (you need five meals a day in small portions).
2. You must not forget to drink your daily fluid intake, in the summer - more.
3. Eat foods with lactogenic properties.
4. Visit more often fresh air, healthy sleep is also important.
5. Avoid stressful situations.
6. Massage your breasts.

I also faced the fact that there was not enough milk to feed my son. The doctor advised to start eating foods that increase the level of lactation, namely: bread with caraway seeds, nuts, lean fish and meat, feta cheese, hard cheese, dairy products, oatmeal, carrots and more. And the change in diet helped me not only to normalize the level of lactation, but also to get milk in excess. Then I balanced the foods in my diet and went to the normal amount of milk.

It is important to understand that the baby is drawn to the breast not only when he wants to eat. It can also happen simply because of the desire to feel the warmth of the mother's body, to feel her affection. So, in such situations, do not start to panic and sound the alarm that your little one is starving. If the child is developing normally, his height and weight correspond to age norms, then why bother at all. And if the toddler really doesn’t eat enough, then you need to urgently take action and, if necessary, start feeding the crumbs with mixtures.

It is very important for all mothers that their child is healthy, well fed, cheerful and playful. After all, who, if not the parents, will provide the baby with everything he needs.

Often there are worries about whether the baby has eaten and whether hunger bothers him. In this article, we will talk about what to do if your baby does not have enough breast milk.

First of all, you need to build on the age of the baby. After all, if the child is already three years old, then in order to be full, his mother's milk will not be enough for him, and this is an obvious fact.

Although it was up to these years World organization Healthcare (WHO) recommends that mothers breastfeed their babies, we will still consider an earlier age.

As a rule, in the first weeks of a baby's life, most mothers are worried about this question: is the baby eating enough at the breast? And due to their inexperience, they tend to the worst option, although in fact, more often than not, their fears are in vain.

Parents begin to worry if, for example, the mother has soft breasts, there is a feeling that there is little milk in her, and also if the baby:

• cries often;
• little time is at the chest;
• is at the breast for a long time;
• visually does not gain weight;
• falls asleep on his chest without finishing eating.

So that parents do not sound the alarm that their child is starving, you need to make sure of this for sure. There are two ways to do this.

1. Weighing. Obviously, to find out if a child is eating well, you need to weigh it. If the weight increases, then everything is in order. Almost all babies lose weight on discharge relative to the rate at birth. This is a normal situation, since everything is physiologically laid down. However, in the future, the baby should add 600 grams or more every month. If there are no special scales for babies at home, then you can use the usual ones: you must first weigh yourself, and then, preferably, with a naked baby. You should not draw conclusions on one measurement a week after discharge from the hospital. The result will be reliable during weighing every 4 days for at least two weeks, or even better for a month. Note! This method has an uncertainty depending on the specific weights. Nevertheless, the dynamics will still be traced. But not everyone has a scale at home.
2. Wet diaper method. Judging by the name, it becomes clear that this method is not as simple as conventional weighing. But the result is visible faster. During the day, you can track whether the baby has enough breast milk or not. To do this, from 8 in the morning of the current day to 8 in the morning of the future, you need to keep the baby without a diaper and count how many times he peed. If the temperature allows, then you can keep him naked for 24 hours, either in sliders or in diapers. Hence the name. During the test, the child can only be breastfed; for the purity of the experiment, it is not recommended to add water to it.

Baby on the scales

Let's consider the obtained results. If the crumb pee:

• 12 or more times, everything is fine. The young mother has nothing to worry about, there is enough milk;
• 8-11 times. Lactation is reduced, but do not despair. It is recommended that you contact a breastfeeding specialist, and also apply your baby to the breast more often. You can still fix it;
• less than 7 times. Breast milk is clearly not enough for the baby, there may be a risk of dehydration.

If during the weighing process you did not see any positive dynamics or your child peed less than 7 times during the day, we strongly recommend contacting the pediatrician. Most likely, he will prescribe mixed feeding for you: first breastfeed, and then supplement with formula.

Never make the decision to feed your baby with formula yourself. The brand, quantity and regimen of admission should be prescribed by a pediatrician after examination and anamnesis.

If the child added, but not 600 grams, but, for example, 300 grams per month, or pee 8 to 11 times per day, do not despair. There are measures that you can take at home on your own, before contacting a specialist, after which you can repeat weighing or count the number of urinations.

These measures include:

• Balanced nutrition of a nursing mother. All norms for the consumption of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, kilocalories in general must be observed, and junk food and allergens must be excluded;
• Compliance with the drinking regime. A breastfeeding woman should consume enough warm fluids. It can be ordinary drinking water, teas, compotes and juices.
• Compliance with the regime of the day. It is important not only for the baby, but also for the mother. Sometimes she, taking care of the house and the child, does not have time to eat properly, does not get enough sleep. This behavior is wrong, at the stage of the formation of lactation, the rest should fade into the background. It's okay if the cleaning is done less often, and dad himself prepares dinner for the family, this is temporary.
• Baby feeding on demand. Until now, the Soviet regime of feeding a baby every three hours lives in the minds of many women. The correctness of this approach has long been denied. After all, lactation is a tool fine tuning... And the more successful it happens, the more often and mutual contact mother and child. An important point is that it is not necessary to wean the baby from the breast after some time, which the mother herself decided for herself as a norm. If you need your baby to eat, you will have to wait until he releases the breast on his own. This is the most reliable evidence that he is full.
• Breast massage and hot shower. These procedures stimulate blood circulation in the chest area, and, consequently, the work of the mammary glands. Try massaging your breasts from breast to nipple before each feed. It will be more effective if you massage under a hot shower.
• Choosing a comfortable feeding position. Feeding should be fun not only for the baby, but also for the mother. So take the time to find a comfortable position for both of you. Then the contact between you will improve even faster. After all, the first months a child can breastfeed for about half an hour. It is unacceptable for mom to feel uncomfortable at this time.
• Feeding your baby at night. It is at night that the active formation of lactation occurs. If you exclude feeding during this period, the process becomes more difficult.
• Herbal tea. Pharmacies sell special teas to increase lactation. Pay attention to the composition, as some manufacturers add different types of allergens to taste. Fennel tea is best. It will help increase the amount of milk in the breast and make it easier for your baby to digest.
• Avoiding nipples and pacifiers. There is a mixed opinion about their use. Whichever one you adhere to, it is better to forget about the nipples during the formation of lactation.

Baby from five months and more

If in the first months of a baby's life, a mother may still not be sure whether her child is eating up or not, then after almost six months she can already determine this for sure.

After all, more than one weighing took place in the clinic, and the parents have already learned to determine whether the baby is hungry by the behavior and crying of the baby.

Unfortunately, almost six months after the birth of a baby, it is much more difficult to improve lactation.

Therefore, if the fears are confirmed, it's time to introduce complementary foods. Modern pediatricians recommend keeping a child on breastfeeding, artificial or mixed feeding for up to six months. But already from five months, you can develop the food horizons of the crumbs, especially if he does not gorge himself.

The correct scheme for introducing complementary foods - what, in what quantity and at what time to give, is best discussed with your doctor. There is also a lot of information on the Internet, but still it is better to use it as a reference, and consider the pediatrician as the main source of information.

Conclusion

As you already understood, before you panic that your child is not eating enough, you need to reliably make sure of this. After all, overfeeding is even worse than underfeeding. And if, nevertheless, the fears were confirmed, you need to consult a doctor in order to build the correct nutritional regimen for the baby with a thoughtful dosage. Remember, habits are instilled in a person from birth. There is no need to stuff the child with food for no reason, in the future this can become one of the causes of obesity.

Maria Dubynina

Every breastfeeding woman sooner or later begins to have questions about whether the little one is getting all the necessary amount of food. Such thoughts can arise on many crumbs of behavioral problems, but in most cases they turn out to be groundless.

But still, if the problem is real, how do you determine it? And what if the baby does not eat breast milk?

Signs that your baby is not eating enough breast milk

The appearance of some symptoms will mislead mothers, and they will decide that the baby is simply not eating enough. By contacting a pediatrician or breastfeeding consultant, specialists can accurately differentiate the real symptoms that infant did not eat.

The main complaints of moms:

• whims and crying - every mother, by the cry of a baby, can determine the cause of discontent. But the situation when the baby is constantly crying can mislead any mother;
• low activity of the baby;
• sleep disturbances;
• thumb sucking and all the items at hand. Contrary to popular belief, this is not a symptom of hunger, it is just direct evidence that the sucking reflex is unsatisfied.

Specialists will be interested in real signs that the baby is not eating breast milk.

It is worth remembering that breast milk for a baby is not only food, but also liquid.

More than 80% of it consists of water, therefore, the following indicators will be diagnostically significant:

• a sufficient number of wet diapers. Normally, there should be at least 10 - 12, while the urine is clear and free of impurities. If the baby urinated 8 times a day, you need to be alert and increase the number of attachments;
• low or no weight gain. Normally, the weight gain should be at least 500 g, and the figure must be taken as a basis during discharge from the maternity ward. You can assess the weight gain at the control weighing in the pediatrician's office. The only exception is the first days in the maternity ward, when a newborn's weight loss within 10% is considered a normal option.
• residence time at the breast. Mothers, whose children do not gorge themselves, say that the child literally "hangs" on the chest.

Why does my baby lack milk?

Determining that the baby is hungry is easier than understanding why the baby is not eating up on mother's breast milk.

There are three groups of main reasons:

• general, which will be associated with environmental factors, for example, improper organization of feeding and rest of the mother;
• behavioral, associated with the behavior of the mother - irrational and improper nutrition mothers, her lack of sleep, mother's unwillingness to breastfeed, cracked nipples;
• physiological, depending on the condition of the baby - a runny nose, trauma to the oral cavity, uncomfortable and incorrect body position. Sometimes colic can be the cause of breastfeeding problems.

How to understand that a baby has eaten breast milk?

In order to understand that the baby is full, mom just needs to watch the little one. Mom's breast can tell when it's time to feed the baby - the breast is filling up. During feeding, the baby actively sucks, takes good sips, the attachment itself is correct. Gradually, the baby begins to fall asleep, and his sucking movements become less active. The child is full.

Another sign of the baby's satiety will be the devastation of the mother's breast, which means that the baby has reached the hind milk, which is the most fatty and, therefore, nutritious.

what to do to make the baby gorge on breast milk

So how do you increase the amount of human breast milk you make so your baby can eat up? To achieve this goal, you must follow certain rules that will apply not only to the mother, but also to the baby.

For Mom:

• rest mode above all;
• before feeding, you need to massage the breast;
• proper and rational nutrition with sufficient water;
• walking more in the fresh air;
• 10 - 15 minutes before feeding, you need a hot drink - this will contribute to a better outflow of milk;
• lactation tea - only after consultation with a specialist;
• correct attachment to the chest;
• feeding on demand;
• the practice of sleeping together;
• mandatory help of specialists - a pediatrician or a hepatitis B counselor.

For baby:

• weight and diaper control;
• completely abandon the pacifier, which can interfere with the breastfeeding process, i.e. saturation;
• the appointment of complementary foods for children can only be carried out by a specialist.

After the doctor confirms that the baby is not eating enough, any methods can be used. Some can become a serious threat to breastfeeding.

Check weighing should be carried out several times, at the same time, with the same clothing and in a calm environment.

Breastfeeding poses serious questions for new mothers, one of which is how to determine that the baby is not eating breast milk.

This problem is especially worrisome in the first month of a baby's life and does not lose its relevance until the end of the first half of the year, when liquid and healthy food often remains the only source of energy for the child.

A lot depends on the correctness of the mother's actions, because sometimes a woman, having misunderstood the signs of malnutrition, transfers the baby to an artificial mixture, taking away from him the ideal product and the necessary tactile communication.

According to some mothers, the most "talking" signs of infant malnutrition are as follows:

• constant crying that is not associated with other possible causes;
• weakness of the child, low activity;
• restless behavior that occurs as soon as the baby approaches the mother's breast.

Despite the general publicity of these facts, a nursing mother should not take them too seriously. Of course, they really talk about childhood trouble, but not that the baby is hungry, but that he has problems with the intestines.

If all of these symptoms are observed, then the child is likely to have colic. In this case, he additionally presses his legs to his stomach and cries after being attached to the chest.

Another common parental mistake is weighing your baby too often, for example, after each meal. Seeing that the weight gain is small, parents start to get nervous and eventually decide on supplementary feeding with formula.

Symptoms of malnutrition in a newborn often include difficulty falling asleep and restless sleep behavior.

For example, a toddler may feel maternal nervousness, just born overly anxious, or a little sick. It is important for a woman to find out accurate information about the "sleepy" standards that are relevant for each month of life and try to put the child to bed at the given time intervals.

Checking wet diapers

Healing experts argue that there are only two definitive methods to determine that a baby is not eating breast milk: checking wet diapers and assessing monthly body weight gain.

Another sign of hunger infant- smacking with sponges, tongue, sucking a finger, fist or the edge of a diaper.

In addition, since breast milk is considered both food and drink for the baby, too dry skin can also be a sign of malnutrition.

So, you have determined that the baby remains hungry during the day, now you need to identify the reasons that interfere with optimal lactation and lead to malnutrition. Since both the mother and the baby are involved in feeding, the feeding process must be considered from all sides.

The reasons for the lack of milk are often due to the incorrect behavior of the mother (or her environment) during the lactation period:

Another likely reason is too frequent, leading to an oversupply of this product. In general, milk secretion is anterior and posterior. Front milk is more liquid and contains less fat ("empty"), and it is this milk that is produced with frequent expression.

Hind milk is fatty, which means it is more nutritious and satiety. The baby can only gorge himself on hind milk, because fatty foods are not digested so quickly and leaves a feeling of fullness for a longer period.

Infant can stay hungry if feeding is interfered with by:

• colic that worsens with food intake;
• nasal congestion or damage to the oral cavity;
• improper grip of the chest.

The following experiment will help to reveal the deficiencies of feeding: when you give a breast to a baby, listen to how he swallows. The normal ratio is two or three sucks are interspersed with one sip (in the first minutes of feeding, the baby should do a lot of sucking to increase the outflow of milk from the breast). If there are few swallowing movements, the baby will remain hungry.

If the child does not gorge himself on breast milk, then he begins to be capricious, irritated, and also grows poorly and lags behind in development. If you find that the baby is short of food in the first month, do not be nervous, as nervousness will only aggravate the situation.

By listening to the following advice from breastfeeding experts, you can improve lactation and feed your baby properly:

1. Try it. With breastfeeding, the breast glands produce an optimal amount of milk in response to the baby's nipple stimulation. That is, the child should eat whenever he wants.
2. How to understand that the child is full? A well-fed newborn releases the nipple on its own, which is why it is not recommended to interrupt meals at will.
3. Make sure to apply the crumb correctly. Correct posture: mouth open, the child should grasp both the papilla and the areola, only swallowing is heard, there are no other sounds.
4. Set up a couple of comfortable feeding positions so you can alternate between them. The correct position is the child's back, neck and back are located on a straight line. To prevent the baby from turning the head and stretching to the breast, the nipple should be near his mouth.
5. Try to breastfeed one at a time. so that the baby can suck both the fore milk and the back product.
6. Don't be afraid to wake up your baby to feed. During the day, he should not sleep more than three hours in a row, at night - more than 5-6. Before eating, the baby can be washed with cool water or undressed to activate all processes.
7. Give up bottles at least in the first month of a child's life. Expressed milk is best given with a spoon or pipette. This is necessary so that the baby is not used to pacifiers.
8. Take a rest, while there is such an opportunity - the child is sleeping, or relatives are babysitting him.
9. Review your diet by including more carbohydrate and protein foods. Do not eat foods that can affect the taste of milk. You also need to drink the right amount of warm liquid.
10. If there are any signs of trouble, be sure to show the baby to a specialist.

A special pillow can be purchased to make feeding easier. Such a device helps to properly attach the baby to the breast, reduce the load on the mother's back.

A cozy feeding procedure, a comfortable pillow, and pleasant music will create a comfortable atmosphere for eating and enjoy the procedure itself.

Inexperienced mothers often listen to the advice of girlfriends or just common myths regarding breastfeeding, and decide for themselves that the child is not eating enough. And this is already fraught with the wrong choice, which can harm the baby.

If it seems to you that the child does not eat well and does not eat enough during the day, be sure to consult a doctor. He will as accurately as possible establish the likely factors provoking malnutrition, recommend ways to improve breastfeeding, or suggest choosing the optimal formula for supplementary feeding.

The most important thing in such a situation is not to worry unnecessarily, but to maintain a positive attitude, which will surely be passed on to the baby!