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How do I know if my newborn is still hungry?
I am really young and just had my first baby. My parents keep telling me how i need to be responsible and take care of my baby like a real mom and im trying here. I am really freaking out about stuff though because of this one thing. How do i know if my baby is still hungry? I dont know how much he can eat without getting too full and i'm afraid to keep giving him more milk in case he gets sick and throws up. how can you tell if a baby is full? I heard that if you don't stop feeding a baby they will just eat and eat and then the stomach will split inside or something? :\
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Rest assured that your baby will NOT eat until his stomach splits.
First of all, the stomach is incredibly elastic and can hold more than you can imagine. If you are familiar with the show Mythbusters, they did an experiment attempting to burst a stomach. If you are interested this link should take you to a very brief snippit on their experiment.
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
Secondly, our bodies are designed so that our brain works with every part of our body to work as a "well oiled" machine. Without getting into a major anatomy and physiology lecture- There is a portion of the brain called the hypothalamus. This is responsible for many things including regulating our body's temperature, hunger, thirst, our "human clock"... but, to keep it simple if we are physically in need of nourishment there is a message sent to our brains that says "feed me". So we feel hungry and we eat. When our bodies have had enough our brain is sent the message "thank you. I feel much better now" and we feel full and stop eating. In infants and children this works very well and they either eat if they are hungry or don't eat if they are not. Ask the parent of any child and they will tell you 1 of 2 things: either "I don't know how my child survives! She eats next to nothing!!!" OR "My child eats us out of house and home!"
If your baby has a tendency to throw up you need to talk with your doctor... but you may need to try a few things. One would be to give him smaller amounts more frequently. Rather than 4 ounces every ... 3 hours??? I have already forgotten what it is for babies... but change it to 2 ounces every 1.5 hours. He is getting the same amount in the same time period but his body is able to digest the smaller amount easier. He may need to remain seated in an upright position for a while to aid in digestion. There is a difference between being "spitty" and "vomiting" which you can discuss with the doctor. He may need reflux precautions and even treatment. This is very common.
You should never force your child to eat if he is simply not interested in eating. He's fine. He knows what his body is telling him. Likewise, as long as your child is being offered healthy food options, you should let your child eat until he is full. He needs the extra nourishment for a growing body. (Note I said "healthy" options).
Your baby's hypothalamus will tell him if he is hungry and he will tell you by crying nonstop until he is full. Feed him. If he isn't crying, he has had enough.
All that being said there are certainly a few conditions to put on this hunger, brain signal thing. One is- this is all said assuming your baby is a normal, well developing baby. If your doctor weighs him in at his well-child checks and is not concerned you probably should not be either. If your baby is gaining too much weight or too little weight, your doctor will give you suggestions to overcome this. But in general, if your baby is hungry he will cry and you should feed him.
Now for the exception to the rule: It is possible to eat until you rupture your stomach! It is extremely rare and usually involves a genetic disorder or a major illness, but it can happen. This is why I have said that "as long as your baby is a normal, well developing baby..." because the chances of him having one of these problems is EXTREMELY slim.
Then of course there is the high incidence of childhood obesity... but again, I said "healthy food options". Clearly if your son is 5 years old and wants to get two or three value meals at the local fast food chain, the answer should be NO. This goes in line with one other issue which is learning how to override the signal that our hypothalamus sends. As we get older, we tend to ignore when our brains say we are full because that hamburger or piece of cake is SO good we are not about to throw the rest of it away! Have you ever heard someone tell their kid "you are not leaving the table until you have eaten all of your (enter food item here)" This should not be done! Give your child smaller portions in the future but do not force your child to override the message his hypothalamus is naturally giving him.
You said you are young. This is your first baby. I was not so young when I had my first; I was 25. He was our first, and the first baby I had EVER held!!! I was clueless. BUT, I love reading parenting books and magazines and books on child psychology... all of these things are important. I have a philosophy that when I am in charge of the world (you are allowed to laugh here) I am going to require every parent to take at least 1 parenting / child psychology course. You clearly have your baby's best interest at heart. Good for you. It is not an ideal situation to be a young single parent but we have to make the best of our situations in life. You are trying to do just that. The fact that you are "really freaking out" and are asking for advice shows how much you care about your baby and want to do what's best for him. This tells me, and I don't even know you, that you want to be a good mom and will try very hard to do just that.
Let me suggest that you get a copy of "what to expect the first year". It doesn't have to be a 2011 copy... I mean, kids have been surviving for a long time so if you are able to buy a brand new one, great. Otherwise pick up (even borrow from the library) a copy that is just a few years old and read through it. That was my bible with my first son.
I now have three ages 2, 4, and 6 and I am not ashamed to say there has been the occasion that food has fallen on the floor and I did NOT stop them from eating it! My point here is that... it does get easier.
The more concern you have the more research you do so go with your anxiety. Read about babies and parenting.
I feel like I left something out but I think I have said enough for a while LOL...
Good luck. Parenting is the hardest, scariest job you will ever do but in the midst of all the fear, look down at your little boy. Kiss him on his little nose. It will all be ok.
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