As a new parent, it can be hard at first to communicate with your baby. It can be tricky to distinguish between hunger cues, sleepy cues, and “want to snuggle with you” cues.
Here are a few helpful cues/signs that your baby is communicating to you that they’re hungry:
Early Hunger Cues:
Lip Smacking- this always makes me think of the iconic lip balm, but alas, it is not. Babies will often lick or smack their lips as an early hunger cue.
Sucking- little suction noises may be your baby sucking in their lips or tongue, another early hunger cue.
Rooting- While rooting is usually pictured as a baby moving its head side to side, in search of milk, this cue sometimes resembles a “woodpecker”, with the baby’s head going back and forth against the parent’s chest/shoulder.
Active Hunger Cues:
Moving- a lot of movement in a newborn can be a signal that they are hungry and ready to eat.
Hands-to-mouth- often, when a baby is displaying active hunger cues, they will bring their hands to their mouths. They may rub their fists back and forth around their mouths, or even find a finger or thumb to suck.
Late Hunger Cues:
Crying- it’s normal to sometimes miss those early and active feeding cues in the early days. (Especially when trying to distinguish what the baby needs at the moment.) Crying is a late cue for hunger (and for sleep, but that’s a blog post for another day.)
Flailing- Flailing arms and legs, often combined with crying, can be a late hunger cue.
We know it can be incredibly difficult to distinguish your baby’s cues in those early days of parenting. Your Rocket City Doulas Postpartum and Infant Care Doula can help you identify and learn your baby’s hunger cues and help instill confidence in your parenting skills.
