“Beth cries about the average, I don’t always feed her when she cries as I can’t tell if she is hungry. She shouldn’t, as I make sure I feed her every two hours strictly. Recently, she has been crying more and I find it hard to pacify her, what could be wrong with her?” Joanne, 21 years; Beth, 6 weeks
Dr Stork says: During the first couple of months, most of your baby’s crying is probably due to hunger. You need to feed your baby whenever she’s hungry. This is called “feeding on demand”. That means you DO NOT schedule her feeding by the clock. Offer her your breast or a bottle when she cries, this may be every hour at first, especially if you are breastfeeding. I know this may be taxing for the mother but you will be able to reduce the frequency of the feed pretty soon as she grows. However, if she rejects the feed and continues to cry, you don’t force her either; look for other reasons for her crying, for example wet or dirty diaper.
Learn more at Feeding Baby
Tags: baby crying, Breastfeeding, dirty diaper, feeding, hungry