Breastfeeding takes practice for both you and your baby. Feeding them at their earliest signs of hunger gives you more time to set yourself and your baby up for comfortable breastfeeding, and can make for a more settled baby during bottle feeding.
Your baby may wish to feed as often as 1 to 3 hourly, particularly in the first three months of life – the fourth trimester. The average baby feeds 8 to 12 times per day and depending on what your baby is experiencing at the time, they may need to feed more often e.g. physical growth spurts, periods of brain development or illness.
Feeding cues are clues that your baby is hungry and can be described as being early, middle, and late cues.
Don’t be hard on yourself if you miss the earlier feeding cues, in reality, it is impossible for you to catch them every time! It also takes time to learn your baby and their personality and temperament (it’s a bit like speed dating).
Early Feeding Cues – “I’m hungry”
- Rooting reflex: Turning their head side to side, or toward a touch on the cheek or mouth.
- Stirring: When your baby is waking from a sleep is a wonderful time to offer a feed.
- Mouthing and lip-smacking: Repetitive mouth movements or lip-smacking.
Middle Feeding Cues: “I’m REALLY hungry.”
- Sucking on fists or fingers: Bringing their hands to their mouth and sucking.
- Increased alertness: Becoming more alert, wide-eyed, and attentive.
- Increasing physical movement: Stretching out, looking around

Late Feeding Cues: “CALM ME, then feed me.”
- Crying: This is a late hunger cue and indicates that baby is upset.
- Restlessness and squirming: Fidgety or increased body movements.
- Redness: skin colour turning red.
Learning to recognise and respond to early and middle cues is helpful for establishing a responsive relationship and meeting the baby’s nutritional and attachment needs effectively. Addressing hunger before it escalates to crying also helps with creating a positive feeding experience for both the caregiver and the newborn.
Strategies to help calm a crying baby include rhythmic movements such as bouncing and rocking, holding them upright on your chest while walking and patting them, and talking to them – never underestimate the power of letting your baby hear your voice. You may also wish to check their nappy, as if they are wet or dirty that can impact their comfort while feeding.
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