My baby not feeding enough

Signs baby isn’t getting enough breastmilk

Every parent wants to do everything they can to help their child grow healthy and strong. And breastfeeding is one of the best things you can do for your baby. But it doesn’t always go smoothly, especially when you’re just starting out. So, you may wonder at some point: Is my baby getting enough breastmilk? How can I tell?

Try not to worry. We have a team of breastfeeding and lactation experts to help you and your baby work through breastfeeding challenges.

Read on to learn how to tell if baby is getting enough breastmilk, some suggestions to help make sure baby gets enough to eat, and when you should make an appointment with your baby’s doctor or a lactation consultant.

How do I know if my newborn is eating enough?

If you’re exclusively feeding your baby from the breast, rather than pumping to bottle feed, it’s hard to tell exactly how much your baby is eating. Here are six signs your baby is getting enough breastmilk.

1. Baby is feeding regularly

Babies breastfeed frequently and often in clusters. Frequent, effective feedings help your baby grow, and help ensure you have enough breastmilk for the next feeding.

During the first two months, expect your baby to nurse 10 to 12 times in a 24-hour period. In the beginning, each breastfeeding session will likely take between 20 to 45 minutes. If you are feeding your baby less than eight times a day, or if the sessions are very short or very long, you should talk to your baby’s doctor.

As your baby grows comfortable with nursing and gets a little older, they’ll be able to get what they need in a shorter amount of time – and with fewer nursing sessions.

2. Baby is swallowing during feeding

When baby first latches onto your breast, they will suck rapidly to get the milk flowing. But once things are going, the sucking will become slower and deeper as they pull the milk into their mouth and swallow.

Watch baby’s jaw for movement and listen for swallowing sounds. If you see baby’s jaw move or hear them swallowing, they’re getting at least some breastmilk.

If baby isn’t getting enough milk, their sucking may not progress to that slower, rhythmic pulling. Baby may also fall asleep at the breast, take long breaks while breastfeeding or give up within a couple minutes.

3. Baby is content and happy

If your baby seems satisfied after breastfeeding, they’re likely getting enough milk. But if they always want to nurse, it may be a sign that baby is still hungry after breastfeeding – especially if they appear sluggish or they’re losing weight.

4. Your breasts feel softer and not as full after feeding

Your breasts should feel softer at the end of a feeding. Emptying as much milk from your breasts as possible will help create more supply for the next feeding.

If you’re worried about your milk supply or that you’re not eating the right things for breastfeeding, here’s some good news: Nearly all moms produce enough breastmilk to feed baby without any major changes to their diet.

Breastfeeding can be uncomfortable at times, but it shouldn’t be painful. Pain in the breasts or nipples can be cause for concern. So if you are experiencing pain, talk to your baby’s doctor or a lactation consultant about it.

5. Baby is gaining weight as expected

It’s normal for a newborn’s weight to fluctuate during the first few days of their life. Typically, by day 10, a baby’s weight has rebounded to their birth weight. Until 6 months of age, babies usually gain between 5 and 8 ounces a week. At five months, your baby’s weight should be double what it was at birth.

6. You’re changing a lot of diapers each day

Diaper duty starts small but, before you know it, those diapers pile up.

How many dirty diapers should a newborn have per day? And what about poopy diapers? One thing that’s helpful to remember is that during their first week, your baby will have about the same number of wet and poopy diapers as the days of their life. After that, parents can expect to change eight to 10 diapers each day.

Day 1: At least one wet and one poop
Day 2: At least two wets and two poops
Day 3: At least three wets and three poops
Day 4: At least four wets and four poops (from this point, poops should be yellowish in color)
Day 5 and beyond: At least 5-6 wets and 3-4 poops

[ Click on the image below to enlarge and view it in a new window ]

That’s a lot of dirty diapers! To keep baby’s skin healthy, change them as soon you can and make sure to get into all the folds of baby’s skin when cleaning out the poop.

Also pay attention to your little one’s bottom. If you notice redness, bumps or signs of severe diaper rash, talk to your baby’s doctor about what you can do.

How to help your baby feed more effectively

It’s often said that timing is everything. This is certainly true when it comes to breastfeeding sessions, as well as when to introduce bottle feeding and pacifiers.

Watch for cues that your baby is hungry

You can help make sure your baby is eating enough by looking for opportunities to breastfeed, rather than waiting until baby is upset and crying.

If your baby is hungry, they’ll let you know in a variety of ways ranging from subtle suggestions to outright demands. We talk about these in terms of early cues, mid cues and late cues.

Early hunger cues can include stirring from sleep, opening their mouth or turning their head toward your breast when you stroke the corner of their mouth.

If you don’t respond to these early cues, baby has other ways to let you know – which brings us to mid cues. Some common mid cues are stretching, becoming more physically active and bringing their hand to their mouth.

If these mid-cues don’t result in a breastfeeding session, baby will take drastic measures to let you know that they are really, really hungry. They’ll cry and howl. They’ll flail their arms and legs around. They’ll turn red from all the exertion. These are late feeding cues and at this point, baby is often too upset to eat. So, you’ll need to calm them before you can feed them.

By feeding your baby when you see an early cue, you can help keep feedings calm and effective. It’s so much easier for baby to focus on getting enough to eat if they aren’t using all their energy expressing the big emotions they’re feeling.

This poster shows what baby’s feeding cues may look like.

[ Click on the image below to enlarge and view it in a new window ]

Only introduce a bottle or pacifier when the time is right

Bottles and pacifiers encourage a different type of sucking than breastfeeding. So you’ll want to wait until your little one is fully comfortable with breastfeeding before introducing either.

Most babies really latch on to breastfeeding by about two to four weeks after their birth. But for some, especially those who were born early, it can be longer.

You also don’t want to wait too long for baby’s first bottle. Introducing a bottle too late can be one reason why babies refuse a bottle. A lactation consultant or your child’s doctor can help you figure out the best way to start the breast to bottle transition.

Pacifiers are great for soothing and a recommendation for safe sleep for babies, but like with the bottle, hold off until baby has gotten really good at breastfeeding – usually about a month.

Signs your baby

isn’t getting enough breastmilk

Breastfeeding is a little different for every parent and baby. But there are a few signs baby may not be getting enough to eat to watch for:

Baby is sluggish or sleeping longer than usual. This is especially something to watch for in newborns. Because they are so little, newborns need to eat every 2-4 hours.
Feedings are too long or too short. If baby’s not getting enough milk, they may quickly give up on nursing after a couple minutes. Or, they may keep trying for over an hour.
Latching is really painful for you or it appears that baby hasn’t latched deeply enough.
Baby is not producing stools or their urine is not pale.
Baby isn’t gaining weight.

What to do if baby isn’t eating enough breastmilk

If you think your baby isn’t getting enough breastmilk, get breastfeeding support from your baby’s doctor or a lactation consultant. They can help you and your baby work through latching problems, low milk supply and feeding positions, and identify any underlying problems like tongue-tie. Just like you support your baby with breastmilk, they’re here to support you!

Choose a location and call to make an appointment with a lactation consultant

Breastfeeding: is my baby getting enough milk?

When you first start breastfeeding, you may wonder if your baby is getting enough milk.

It may take a little while before you feel confident your baby is getting what they need.

Exclusive breastfeeding (breast milk only) is recommended for around the first 6 months of your baby's life. Introducing bottle feeds will reduce the amount of breast milk you produce.

Read Unicef's checklist How can I tell if breastfeeding is going well? for more guidance.

Credit:

IAN BODDY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY https://www. sciencephoto.com/media/294115/view

Signs your baby is well attached

Your baby has a wide mouth and a large mouthful of breast.
Your baby's chin is touching your breast, their lower lip is rolled down (you can't always see this) and their nose isn't squashed against your breast.
You don't feel any pain in your breasts or nipples when your baby is feeding, although the first few sucks may feel strong.
You can see more of the dark skin around your nipple (areola) above your baby's top lip than below their bottom lip.

Signs your baby is getting enough milk

Your baby starts feeds with a few rapid sucks followed by long, rhythmic sucks and swallows with occasional pauses.
You can hear and see your baby swallowing.
Your baby's cheeks stay rounded, not hollow, during sucking.
They seem calm and relaxed during feeds.
Your baby comes off the breast on their own at the end of feeds.
Their mouth looks moist after feeds.
Your baby appears content and satisfied after most feeds.
Your breasts feel softer after feeds.
Your nipple looks more or less the same after feeds – not flattened, pinched or white.
You may feel sleepy and relaxed after feeds.

Other signs your baby is feeding well

Your baby gains weight steadily after the first 2 weeks – it's normal for babies to lose some of their birth weight in the first 2 weeks.
They appear healthy and alert when they're awake.
From the fourth day, they should do at least 2 soft, yellow poos the size of a £2 coin every day for the first few weeks.
From day 5 onwards, wet nappies should start to become more frequent, with at least 6 heavy, wet nappies every 24 hours. In the first 48 hours, your baby is likely to have only 2 or 3 wet nappies.

It can be hard to tell if disposable nappies are wet. To get an idea, take an unused nappy and add 2 to 4 tablespoons of water. This will give you an idea of what to look and feel for.

Ways to boost your breast milk supply

Ask your midwife, health visitor or breastfeeding specialist to watch your baby feeding. They can offer guidance and support to help you properly position and attach your baby to the breast.
Avoid giving your baby bottles of formula for the first 6 months or a dummy until breastfeeding is well established.
Feed your baby as often as they want and for as long as they want.
Expressing some breast milk after feeds once breastfeeding is established will help build up your supply.
Offer both breasts at each feed and alternate which breast you start with.
Keep your baby close to you and hold them skin to skin. This will help you spot signs your baby is ready to feed early on, before they start crying.

Things that can affect your milk supply

Poor attachment and positioning.
Not feeding your baby often enough.
Drinking alcohol and smoking while breastfeeding – these can both interfere with your milk production.
Previous breast surgery, particularly if your nipples have been moved.
Having to spend time away from your baby after the birth – for example, because they were premature.
Illness in you or your baby.
Giving your baby bottles of formula or a dummy before breastfeeding is well established.
Using nipple shields – although this may be the only way to feed your baby with damaged nipples and is preferable to stopping feeding.
Some medicines, including dopamine, ergotamine and pyridoxine. Read more about breastfeeding and medicines.
Anxiety, stress or depression.
Your baby having a tongue tie that restricts the movement of their tongue.

With skilled help, lots of these problems can be sorted out. If you have concerns about how much milk your baby is getting, it's important to ask for help early.

Speak to your midwife, health visitor or a breastfeeding specialist. They can also tell you where you can get further support.

Got a breastfeeding question?

For fast, friendly, trusted NHS advice anytime, day or night, talk to the Start4Life Breastfeeding Friend on Amazon Alexa, Facebook Messenger or Google Home.

Video: Is my baby getting enough milk?

In this video, a health visitor talks about the signs your baby is getting enough milk.

Media last reviewed: 1 November 2022
Media review due: 1 November 2025

Page last reviewed: 6 September 2022
Next review due: 6 September 2025

What to do if the child does not eat well

April 14, 2019 Life Food

How to feed children with a selective appetite and instill in them a love for healthy food - we explain together with "Maloyezhka".

Why babies are so picky about what they eat

Children's appetite and eating habits are influenced by the timing of the first meal, metabolic rate and lifestyle.

First solid foods

Doctors refer to the age between four and six months as the "window of tolerance" - this is the time when children should be given their first solid foods. The longer a child is not introduced to a new food, the stronger his attachment to one type of food is formed. This affects appetite later: children refuse vegetables, ask for cookies and agree to eat soup only if there is ice cream later.

Metabolic rate

The child may eat little because he has a slow metabolism. This is a normal feature of the body, not a pathology. To understand how this works, you can draw an analogy with the fuel consumption of cars: one car needs 5 liters per 100 kilometers, while the other “eats” 20 liters under the same conditions.

Lifestyle

Selective appetite or refusal to eat is largely a matter of upbringing and lifestyle. If the child does not want to eat, then he did not spend enough energy and did not have time to get hungry. To awaken the appetite, you need to increase energy consumption: walk in the fresh air, ride the slides or offer classes in the sports section. The more energy children expend, the better their appetite.

How to understand if a child is eating enough

Traditionally, parents, grandmothers and neighbors from the stairwell determine the health of the baby by his fatness and appetite. "The child must eat," and the more the better. If it doesn't, then something is wrong with it. Do not rush to panic.

It is believed that among children aged 3-6 years, only 18% are "babies".

Malnutrition is not defined by portion size and appetite, but by a lack of nutrients in the diet.

Here are the criteria to determine this:

The child does not gain weight for a long time, growth and lags behind in physical development. Calculate your baby's weight, height and daily nutrient requirements using the calculator.
A child older than 1.5-2 years does not eat certain food groups. For example, refuses vegetables, meat or cereals.
The child bites and eats mainly junk food: sweets, fast food and processed meat (sausages, sausages).
A child older than one and a half years old eats only liquid homogeneous food (for example, milk, formula or puree).
The child refuses any food and goes on a hunger strike.

Keep a food diary and record everything your baby eats in it. After a week of observations, analyze the records, or rather show them to a pediatrician or gastroenterologist. Remember that the main indicator is the balance of nutrition, and not just the amount of food eaten. You won't be happy if your child eats a whole pack of cookies - what's the use of "empty" calories?

What should be in a healthy diet for a child?

Nutrition should be balanced, consisting of proteins, fats and carbohydrates.

In the recommended diet for children 2-3 years old, proteins make up about 20% of all food, fats - 30-35%, carbohydrates - 45-65%.
For children 4-18 years of age, the recommended diet is 10-30% protein, 25-35% fat, and 45-65% carbohydrate.

Healthy nutrition is especially important for children as they grow and develop. They need protein for muscles, calcium and phosphorus to strengthen bones, iron to deliver oxygen to organs and tissues, including the brain. To gain the right amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, a balanced diet should include six food groups:

Meat, fish and eggs.
Vegetables.
Fruit.
Dairy products.
Complex carbohydrates (whole grain bread, cereals, durum wheat pasta).
Legumes.

At least 2-3 products from each group should be among the products for the child.

Nutrient deficiencies can be filled with PediaSure Maloezhka drink for children 1 to 10 years old. It contains proteins, fats, carbohydrates, 29 vitamins and minerals, omega-3 fatty acids and probiotics and is proven to be effective. After a month of regular use, the baby's appetite and activity improve, after two months he begins to gain weight (if he was underweight), and after three months his diet expands - the child eats more varied.

The dangers of selective eating and malnutrition

Refusing healthy foods leads to nutritional deficiencies and developmental delays.

Lack of protein can cause stunting, memory impairment, reduced physical activity and weakened immunity. Children with poor nutrition may lag behind their peers in mental development. Consumption of sweets and fast food increases the likelihood of cardiovascular disease, overweight and obesity at school age.

How to feed your child if he refuses to eat

Stimulate your appetite

The best medicine to increase your appetite is hunger. To make the child want to eat, increase physical activity: walk more and send the child to the sports section.

Be creative with the decoration of dishes

For a child to want to eat a dish, it must look beautiful. Build a funny face out of boiled vegetables, lay out a bicycle or decorate a dish with vegetable sauce. Use cookie cutters to make shapes out of bell peppers, eggplant, and zucchini. Unusual "accordions" of vegetables can be created using curly graters and knives.

Cook together

Children are more likely to eat food prepared by themselves. Let the child help you and captivate the process: let him mix vegetables, rub carrots or watch potatoes bake - he will become interested in what happened and will want to try the dish.

Offer food many times

Young children may refuse unfamiliar foods. This is also true for adults - not everyone is able to try fried grasshoppers or veal brains. It takes time to overcome the fear of new food. Therefore, offer the same dish many times: the child may agree on the tenth or fifteenth attempt.

Respect refusal

Saying a firm “no” is an important social skill. Do not suppress it and respect the opinion of the child. Otherwise, he will not learn to stand his ground in adulthood and say no, including to himself.

How not to feed your child

Do not force him to eat

We strive to feed the baby with all our might and do it with such zeal that he develops an aversion to food. He ceases to listen to the signals of his body and understand when he is full and when he is hungry. And the harder you push, the more the child resists. It's okay if he skipped breakfast or lunch - he will be more hungry for dinner.

Remember that a child's body is not used to social norms and the need to eat five times a day. If the child has no appetite, it means that he has not yet spent all the energy that entered the body with the last meal. A little patience, and the appetite will appear.

Don't make them eat up

Don't scold the child for not eating everything. Perhaps you put him too much portion and he physically can not handle it. The skill to “stop when you’re full” is important and will come in handy in adulthood.

Don't let your child snack

If you want your children to eat well at lunch, don't let them snack between meals. Remove sweets and cookies from the table, do not make sandwiches. If the baby works up an appetite, he will not refuse the soup.

French mothers adhere to this principle: they teach the child to eat at certain hours. "Children don't know how to snack, so they're always hungry by a certain time," writes Pamela Druckerman, author of French Kids Don't Spit Food.

Do not entertain the child while eating

Cartoons, books and dancing with a tambourine distract the child from eating. No need to stuff a spoonful of porridge at any cost. It is necessary to teach him to treat food consciously, to feel its taste and feel full. Instead of cartoons, talk about food: what does it look like? What does it look like? What does she taste like? Do you want another piece?

Talk to your child about food not only from the position of "tasty - not tasty". Food can be crispy, sour, sweet, spicy, spicy, soft. An inquisitive attitude to food will help to cope with children's fear of new dishes.

Do not focus on nutrition in the family

Do not show your child how important nutrition is to you, no matter how difficult it may be. Do not praise the baby if he ate something healthy or ate in principle. If the child notices this, he may begin to manipulate you: beg for toys, ask for a trampoline and ride that pony in the park for a spoonful of oatmeal.

Food is just food, it gives strength and energy. Don't use it as a reward or punishment. If the child is crying, it is better to hug him than to soothe him with chocolate.

How to instill in children a love for healthy food

Start with yourself

Your child imitates everything you do, including adopting your eating habits. Why does he have to eat oatmeal and steamed broccoli when you're so hungry for cakes and fried potatoes?

Double standards do not work in the family: either you all eat right (at least in front of the children), or you allow the children to eat not the most healthy food.

Don't be manipulated

You are the parent and only you can decide what your child will eat. You can gradually accustom him to healthy food or indulge desires by agreeing to give him a cookie or a piece of sausage.

Stand firm, but leave the child a choice: offer 2-3 healthy meals, and let him decide what he will eat. Don't yell or force him to eat something he doesn't want. Remember how often hated semolina was shoved into you or forced to eat milk soup in kindergarten. And how you love sweets only because they were forbidden in childhood.

Show that healthy food can be tasty

There is a lot of healthy food: vegetables, fruits, herbs, legumes, nuts, dried fruits, honey. Introduce the child to different products, tell an interesting story about each and let's try a piece. Let the kid understand that the right food is not only oatmeal and cabbage soup.

The same dishes can be prepared in different ways. For example, cauliflower can be boiled, baked in the oven with other vegetables, fried with egg and tomato, added to a jellied pie. To make the taste more pleasant, vegetable slices can be dipped in Greek yogurt or sour cream sauce, and fruit slices in honey. Show your imagination, the child will definitely like something.

If your baby has a weakness for juices and drinking yoghurts, replace them with PediaSure Baby. It is free of dyes, preservatives, palm oil, gluten and GMOs, and in terms of energy value it is comparable to a serving of boiled cod and a medium apple. A bottle of drink can be taken for a walk, given to a child at school or kindergarten, or simply offered as a dessert after breakfast or lunch.

Learn more about PediaSure Maloezhka

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If the child does not eat well: what to do and what not to do

What to do if the child does not want to eat.

- Malyusik, well, one more spoon - and that's it! Last! I ate only two, let's have a little more, here's the most delicious piece for you! - says the average mother, offering a spoon with one hand, playing the accordion with the other, showing the trick with the disappearance of the handkerchief with the third, turning the cutlets over with the fourth, while doing somersaults on one leg.

Sound familiar?

Every dad has an instinct to bring food home, and a mom has it to feed the baby. And if he refuses to eat, a signal is triggered - "I'm a bad mother" or "the child is sick."

In this case, the most important thing for a parent to understand is whether the child DOES NOT WANT or CANNOT eat?

If the baby is running around, having fun and looking good, without showing any signs of illness, then most likely he does not want to eat. There can be many reasons:

A breastfeeding child prefers milk and dairy products, intuitively understanding that he needs calcium, and now milk is healthier for him than soup.
The child wants a cookie, not vegetables.
He's really not hungry. For example, his metabolism is slow, breakfast has not yet been digested, and lunch is already being offered. Or the child was sitting in front of the TV after breakfast and his appetite had not yet had enough time to play out. Compared to the boy next door who was outside all day.
If a child is not genetically destined to become Uncle Styopa, then he can eat much less than his peer, who has tall parents.
Psychological problems. If earlier you accidentally gave your child a bitter cucumber, then he may refuse any green food. Or you yell at the child during the meal, and for him the food is perceived as a trauma.

If your child is lively, but at the same time he has a "bad appetite", then this is not his problem, but yours - the psychological problem of an unsatisfied instinct. If a child jumps, jumps, he has healthy nails, hair, etc., think less about what he lacks. Better think about something nice))

An active child = not a hungry child.

Wait for the natural desire and correctly distribute energy costs - walk more often, send the child to the sports section, or simply say: “If you don’t want to, take a walk, dinner is not earlier than seven and no snacks.” That is, if your child simply does not want to eat, normalize feeding - strictly at a certain time and without snacks. The body will get used to secrete gastric juice strictly according to the schedule.

And one more thing. There are no rules about how much a child should eat. He can eat a kilo (and make you very happy) and 9Send 00 grams to the toilet. Or eat 100 g and learn everything.

But it is much more difficult if the child CANNOT eat.

Causes: