5 Hunger Cues from Your Baby
Figuring out the ropes of being a new parent is a real challenge. You’re learning how to understand hunger cues from your baby, to figure out their needs and how they communicate in their own way with you.
It’s mostly guesswork and learning to adapt to your baby’s cues as you grow together, but there are some common signs babies tend to use to communicate how they are feeling, particularly if they are hungry.
Here are some common ways your baby might be telling you it’s meal time:
1. Fists moving to the mouth
Suckling is a primitive reflex, one that babies are accustomed to early on when they know it’s time to feed.
If your baby has nothing to suck on, they’re probably just improvising with their fists to tell you that they want something better to appease their appetite!
2. Sucking sounds/lip smacking
If your baby hasn’t figured out how to bring their fists to their mouth, they might just imitate the sounds instead.
If they’re smacking their lips or making the suckling sounds, they’re telling you they’re hungry and would very much like to feed on something other than air!
3. Rooting and turning head side to side searching
Some babies like to be a little more proactive! Instead of waiting around for help, they’ll take matters into their own hands and start searching for food!
This might be exhibited by rooting or looking around, depending on your baby’s age, they might be turning their head side to side or trying to get up from their lying position to see if they can find food.
4. Opening and closing mouth
If your baby has recently started solids, instead of imitating suckling or sucking actions they might mimic the act of taking a bite or chewing.
Babies usually do this by opening and closing their mouths or pointing to an open mouth.
5. Crying
Crying is usually how babies express pretty much anything! It takes experience to try and determine what different styles of crying are pointing towards.
If it’s been a while since your baby was fed and your baby has a clean diaper and has no other obvious reason to cry, they’re probably hungry.
Sometimes your baby might have their unique way of expressing hunger, you’ll eventually learn to figure it out, and we will be there to help!
