Is My Baby Hungry? Do I Have Enough Milk?

As your baby’s cries escalate, you can be sure to hear well meant enquiries of, “are you sure you have enough milk?” or “maybe your milk isn’t strong enough?” (By the way this second proposition is NEVER true, even though it was a common belief in your mother’s day).

It is much more likely that your baby is simply hungry: it is perfectly normal for a breastfed baby to need feeding every two hours – and that means to hours from the beginning of one feed, to the beginning of the next – not two hours between feeds. In the early weeks, babies’ tiny tummies are only the size of a ping pong ball, so simply don’t hold enough food to go long between feeds, day or night.

Babies regulate the volume and composition of your milk by their sucking and by how often they feed. This will vary as they grow (as their tummies grow and hold more, and as they become more active and expand more energy, they will require a larger quantity of milk), so although you may receive advice to schedule your baby’s feeds, this is likely to cause unnecessary crying. It is useful to learn to identify your baby’s hunger signals (squirming, grunting and ‘rooting’ at the breast), to avoid hunger cries (crying is a late hunger signal for most babies).

Is She Having a Growth Spurt?

It is also important to remember that a growth spurt – common at six weeks and three months, but possible at any time and can give your baby an increased appetite – which may cause grizzling if she is not satisfied, whether she is breast or bottle-fed. Most babies double their birth weight by the time they are five to six months old, and triple it in a year. If she is having a growth spurt her hunger cries don’t mean you are running out of milk but rather that she will need to suck more often for a few days to give your breasts the message that they need to produce more milk. If you offer a ‘top-up’ bottle, your baby won’t need to empty your breasts and they won’t get the message to increase milk production.

Is She Hungry, Or Just Thirsty?

Whether she is crying because she is hungry or simply thirsty, your baby will be able to regulate the type of milk she needs, if you allow her to set the pace. The composition of breast milk changes throughout the course of a feeding. The first (fore) milk, is rather like skim milk. This will quench babies’ thirst, which is why they often have very short, frequent feeds on hot days (if you feed your baby according to his needs, he won’t need bottles of water). As the feeding progresses, the fat content increases and more closely resembles whole milk. Hunger will be satisfied by longer sucking periods when baby gets the fatty, hind milk (like a rich, creamy desert) that is squeezed down into your ducts by the reflex known as ‘let-down’. Your baby needs to ‘finish’ the first breast first, in order to get the hind milk, but if she is satisfied with only one side, you may need to express a little for comfort. One solution, is to feed baby on one side until she chooses to drop off, then burp her and/or have a little play and a nappy change, then give her the other side before you put her back to bed. This way she will seem to go longer before crying for another feed, too.

Watch Your Baby, Not The Clock

Trying to impose a strict feeding schedule, rather than watching your baby’s cues to be fed, is not only likely to result in more crying, but may be a risk to her health. When you compare a baby’s needs to those of an adult (who is generally not trying to gain weight-at least not to double or triple their current size!), it is easy to understand that expecting a baby to eat according to a strict regime which restricts the duration and amount of feeds is not only unrealistic and unkind, but can also contribute to ‘failure to thrive’. Consider: how often do you eat, drink, nibble, snack, or sip through an average day? Did you know that you would be having a cup of coffee at four o’clock this afternoon, or did you just feel like one? Did you tell your work colleagues you wouldn’t be able to have lunch with them at midday because you are not scheduled to eat until one o’clock? Doesn’t your hunger and thirst change according to the weather and your own activity level? As adults, we eat and drink according to our own body signals, not a predetermined schedule – and so should babies. In fact, the average need of a baby is to breastfeed 8 to 10 times a day, and up to 12 to 14 times a day during growth spurts!

If you follow your baby’s lead, your milk supply will catch up with your baby’s increased demand whether it is due to a growth spurt or other factors, such as an impending illness, and he will quickly stop crying and settle down into a more predictable rhythm again. Take it easy for a few days, or take baby and a good book to bed with you, and remember, the more your baby sucks, the more milk you will make.

Meanwhile, if your baby is solely breastfed, you can be confident that she is getting enough milk if she is steadily gaining weight and is having at least six to eight pale (dark urine is a sign of dehydration), wet (cloth) nappies (or at least five full/heavy disposable ones) every day. Even if your baby gains weight slowly, consider whether this could be a family trait-you can’t expect to get rats from mice!

Pinky McKay is an international board certified lactation consultant, infant massage instructor, mother of five and the author of ‘Parenting by Heart’, 100 Ways to Calm the Crying, Sleeping Like a Baby, Toddler Tactics and her baby massage DVD, Gentle Beginnings. Based in Melbourne, Pinky regularly holds workshops and is available for mothers groups and conferences. See her website at http://www.pinkymckay.com.au.