The demanding days and sleepless nights seem eternal for
most fresh mothers. The little stranger becomes your LIFE (You think, breathe
and even smell of the little one!). You nurse, burp, change her diaper, exhaust
singing all the lullabies you know to put her to sleep, only to find her eyes
wide awake (but your eyes are shut!). You just pray she sleeps and
she does sleep finally. Slowly, very slowly you put her on the bed (Subtlest
twitch could have all your efforts in vain).
Yay! You think it is time for your
power nap. Just as you doze, you hear the wail piercing your ears…
Off goes your sleep…
You wonder why this little creature can not SLEEP! You probably think it is hunger but can not
accept it! You trust nature, you exclusively breastfeed! However the family plus the extended
family that intends good and ONLY good nourishes the very thought that the baby
cries and does not sleep well because she is hungry! They tell, perhaps you
are not producing enough milk. Boom, goes your trust in nature! You give up; you
offer the baby a bottle of warm formula. The baby seems happy and content for a
while, there again she goes, BAWL! Was it really hunger??
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| Bryce Canyon, Utah, USA Hasn't Mother Nature sculpted these hoodoos so beautifully??? Yet another break from the usual text! |
Babies don’t necessarily cry because they are hungry. They
could cry because their nappy is wet or they just need to be burped or they
have a small discomfort in their stomach or they are too warm/cold. Or they cry
because they just want to be held. So DO NOT resort to formula right away.
Most babies fuss during the initial few weeks apparently for no reason.
Answer these questions.
Answer these questions.
* Is
your baby gaining enough weight?
* Does
he wet around 6 to 8 diapers a day?
* Does he pass motion regularly? If you breastfeed the baby exclusively, this could be a tricky question. Babies pass motion frequently (around 3 to 4 times a day) only during the initial few weeks. After the baby is one/two/three month(s) old babies do not have bowel movement that frequently. Some have every day, some every other day; some don’t have a bowel movement for a week. It is because breast milk gets so well digested that there isn't enough bulk for a bowel movement.
* Does he pass motion regularly? If you breastfeed the baby exclusively, this could be a tricky question. Babies pass motion frequently (around 3 to 4 times a day) only during the initial few weeks. After the baby is one/two/three month(s) old babies do not have bowel movement that frequently. Some have every day, some every other day; some don’t have a bowel movement for a week. It is because breast milk gets so well digested that there isn't enough bulk for a bowel movement.
If you have answered “Yes” to the three questions, then you
and your baby are just doing fine. Mother nature is taking care of you very well by producing the right amount of breast milk for your baby! Jai Ho, Breastfeeding! Just continue to exclusively breastfeed the baby for the first 6 months.
Just have this in mind, being positive, happy, healthy and cheerful helps in Oxytocin reflex that makes the milk flow! Even the slightest worry or stress could hamper the milk flow!
Just have this in mind, being positive, happy, healthy and cheerful helps in Oxytocin reflex that makes the milk flow! Even the slightest worry or stress could hamper the milk flow!
However, if a mother has even the slightest qualm that her baby cries due to hunger or she thinks that the baby isn't gaining enough weight/wetting 6 diapers a day, she should plan a visit to the pediatrician at the earliest (Mother's instinct is right most of the times). And yes, go by what the doc says!
