The condition of the baby, its full development and growth depend on the quality of breastfeeding. Most experts recommend applying the baby to the chest on demand. So a newborn can regulate its nutritional needs without the risk of malnutrition or overeating completely on its own. But young mothers often complain that the baby is constantly crying and asking for breasts. Is this option consistent with the physiological norm or is there a problem?
Main reasons
Why is the baby constantly asking for breasts? This may be due to physiological causes or discomfort. For a newborn, for example, it is completely natural to ask for a breast very often. The child adapts to the conditions of the outside world, learns to exist separately from the mother's body, and it takes a lot of energy. After a month, you can begin to control the frequency of feedings and gradually adjust them to the daily routine. After six months, feeding on demand is optional.
But why is the baby constantly asking for breasts at 1 month, 3 or 6? The reason may be as follows:
- the sharp growth of the child, in which the body of the nursing mother cannot ensure the production of milk in sufficient quantity to meet the needs of the baby;
- unsteady diet of a child;
- lactational crisis (decrease in milk production by the mother's body);
- applying by the clock (today pediatricians recommend feeding the baby on demand);
- emotional discomfort, anxiety, irritation, or tiredness;
- pain caused by colic in the abdomen, fever due to illness, teething;
- desire to be closer to mom (the first three months of life are called the fourth trimester of pregnancy, because the newborn is still very much dependent on her).
Need contact
The first three months after birth are called the fourth trimester. At this time, newborns require regular contact with the mother, due to the need to feel protected. A young mother needs to be sure that the baby needs food, and not just wants to be closer. You need to take the newborn in his arms, pat him on the head and back, speak quietly with him. If the baby does not stop crying and acting up, then you should attach it to the chest and let it get enough.
Hunger
In the first few weeks after the birth of the baby, lactation is only established in the mother, so some babies may well be short of food. In the first month after birth, almost every newborn baby constantly asks for a breast, which is a physiological norm. Milk is produced in response to the sucking process, so when applied to the breast on demand, the natural processes of the mother and baby are synchronized. As they grow older, the lactational function gradually returns to normal, and the baby has a measured diet. A few weeks after the start of breastfeeding, milk will be produced in exactly the amount that is needed.
Pain or fatigue
For a baby of the first year of life, a loving mother is the only reliable source of protection. Therefore, the child constantly asks for breasts in case of stress, illness or anxiety. He can express requests for help only in the form of crying or whims. During the neonatal period, discomfort can be caused by intestinal colic, teething, or fever. With abdominal pain, the child constantly asks for the chest and arches his back. When applied, he feels maternal warmth, and this soothes the pain a little. That is, feeding will not only saturate the baby’s body with all the nutrients necessary for growth, development and (if necessary) the fight against the disease, but it will also calm the nervous system and relieve pain.
Desire to calm down
Newborns may experience a sense of anxiety that makes them capricious. If a child constantly asks for a chest and freaks out, it might be worth taking a lead in order to compensate for anxiety. Older babies may be naughty during weaning. Pediatricians recommend stopping breastfeeding no earlier than one year of age, and natural self-weaning (when the baby has already outgrown the need for breasts) usually occurs between the ages of one to three years.
Lactation crisis
In a month, the child constantly asks for breasts, usually due to the mismatch of the volume of milk produced to his needs. The problem arises if the baby ceases to be saturated with that portion of milk that is produced by one application. Lactation crisis may occur in the first four months of a child's life. Critical moments occur in the third, seventh and twelfth weeks of the baby's life.
Lack of nutrition makes the baby ask for more breasts. Other manifestations of the lactation crisis include irregular stools (often with a greenish tinge), a significant increase in the frequency and duration of feeding, low weight gain, insufficient urination frequency (less than 5 times a day), and refusal to eat during the day. With a lactational crisis, the baby constantly asks for breasts at night, because it is at night that milk is more nutritious.
Decreased milk production is not a reason to refuse breastfeeding. Only natural feeding can give the baby everything you need in the first months of life. If the baby grows and develops normally, then the main rule should remain feeding on demand. Frequent applications have a stimulating effect, increasing the production of breast milk.
Growth Race
A natural reason for the increase in nutritional needs of a child of the first year of life is a growth spurt. At this time, the body experiences an increased need for nutrients, so the baby often experiences a feeling of hunger and asks to be applied to the breast almost every hour. In such a situation, a young mother does not need to refuse a child food. Usually, the duration of a growth jump is no more than four days, after which the frequency and duration of feeding return to normal.
Feeding a newborn
In the first days of life, an active and demanding baby can ask for breasts every one and a half to two hours. You need to feed on demand, because so the child can independently regulate the production of milk in the required quantity. Immediately after birth, such a child may not gain weight, and sometimes even lose, but the main thing is that the loss should not exceed 10% of the initial mass by discharge. Moreover, in the first days after birth, only 5-10 ml of milk is placed in the baby’s stomach, so the baby needs frequent feedings.
By the month of the month, the regime of the mother and baby usually normalizes, although sometimes crisis phenomena occur (the third week is critical during this period). If the baby is constantly asking for breasts, you can begin to distract him with rattles, singing or massage. Mom needs to show the child that breasts are not the only thing that can be interesting in this world. If frequent attachments are caused not by physical causes, but psycho-emotional, then the situation usually normalizes.
Food for three to six months
As early as 3-6 months, the child begins to actively know the world around him and makes many discoveries. Often, children independently reduce the frequency of feedings, being distracted by other activities and toys. Subsequently, this will make weaning less painful. But at the same time, the baby can often ask for hands and require constant attention of the mother. Often, appetite also increases, which causes the baby to stay on the chest for a long time in order to suck out more milk and stimulate lactation.
Six months to a year
After the introduction of complementary foods, you can accustom the child to a diet. But even at this age, the baby can often ask for breasts due to physical or psychological discomfort in order to calm down and fall asleep, or simply because he wants to be closer to his mother.
If a child constantly asks for a breast a year, then in some cases this may be a manifestation of moodiness. This is especially characteristic of the excommunication process. So the baby shows his displeasure. If there is no reason for forced separation from the breast, it may be better to wait for a more appropriate moment to stop breastfeeding.
Right amount of food
If the baby constantly asks for breasts, then this may indicate malnutrition. To understand whether the baby receives enough milk, it is necessary to analyze its general condition. It is necessary to take into account the number of feedings and the weight of the child. It is important to find out the amount of daily urine. To do this, one day will have to abandon the use of disposable diapers. The norm is the number of urinations, which is equal to days from birth + 1 for ages up to six months, and after - at least 12 times a day.
Regarding weight control, the opinions of pediatricians differ. Some doctors recommend purchasing an electronic home scale to weigh the baby before and after feeding. The difference will be the amount of food taken. You can also calculate the weekly increase, which should be an average of 115 grams. Other experts believe that constant weighing only makes a young mother nervous, who worries about her child. Against this background, the production of breast milk may cease altogether.
After the introduction of complementary foods
Pediatricians recommend introducing the first complementary foods at the age of 4-5 months. When choosing products and optimal feeding times, you need to consider the rate of teething and possible allergic reactions. A new regimen is stress, so if a child constantly asks for a breast, you should pay attention to his condition.
This can be caused by physical pain during teething, dislike for certain foods, malnutrition (the baby does not eat up vegetable or meat puree, therefore requires breasts), the desire to feel comfort and security in the hands of mom. In addition, regular growth spikes occur at three and six months, so the need for nutrients increases dramatically.
With the introduction of complementary foods, young mothers face new nutritional problems. Some children almost completely abandon their breasts, choosing “adult” food, another child constantly asks for a breast, because it has not yet “matured” for full feeding or is not full. Both that, and another is a variant of the norm, so you need to focus on the condition of the baby and the convenience of the regime.
If in doubt, consult a breastfeeding specialist or pediatrician. Well, if you give recommendations, you can a doctor who monitors the condition of the child from birth.