The Smart Parents Guide to Breastfeeding. Jennifer Ritchie

is when you can put the baby down and they will stay asleep.

       No body movement

       Regular breathing

       Bursts of sucking

       Not easily awakened

       CRYING

       Tears

       Jerky movements

       Color changes

       Muscle tension

       Rapid breathing

       Generally, doesn’t respond quickly

       IRRITABLE

       Lots of movement

       Irregular breathing

       Eyes open, but not focused

       Sometimes fussy

       Sensitive to body and surroundings

       Common before feeding

       QUIET ALERT

       Little body movement

       Eyes wide open

       Steady, regular breathing

       Very responsive

       Wants to play and interact

       Requires energy and can make babies tired

      Waking an Infant:

      Sometimes babies are very sleepy and may be hard to wake for feeds. Newborns of mothers who had medication during labor may be particularly sleepy. Fortunately, baby’s brains are made to react to varied stimulation.

      When a sleepy baby needs to wake up, it is best to use different touches, sounds, and positions to stimulate the baby’s brain.

      Examples:

       Change the baby’s position

       Remove the baby’s clothes and/or change her diaper

       Touch the baby gently in several different places (toes, hands, tummy)

       Call the baby by name several times Repetition to Soothe:

      Whenever a baby is crying, caregivers should be encouraged to try to identify why the baby is crying. Once the baby’s needs are met, he may still be fussy. Fussy babies will calm down when caregivers remain calm and use soothing sounds and motions over and over again. Remember, it may take a few minutes or more to calm a baby who is very upset.

      Examples (repeat over and over):

       Sing a song softly

       Hold the baby close and rock gently back and forth

       Rub the baby’s back

       Say the baby’s name in a calm voice

      These days, many new parents are on their own in trying to understand their baby's signals, called “cues.” In this chapter, I will help you translate the seemingly random movements and sounds that your baby makes into comprehensible messages. We’re going to tell you about “engagement cues,” “disengagement cues,” and “clustered cues.”

      Engagement cues – When babies want to interact with the people who love them (or anyone nearby), they will instinctively look, move, and make noise in specific ways. Collectively, these movements and noises are called “engagement cues.”

      What you’ll see – Your baby will have wide-open eyes and look at you or a toy as if they are trying to memorize what they see. Their faces and their bodies will be relaxed, and they will use smooth body movements. Older babies may smile and try to touch or taste whatever interests them. When they are very excited, babies will kick their legs and squirm with glee.

      What you can do – Using engagement cues, your baby is asking you to help her learn more about you and her new world. At first, your baby will be content just looking at your face and listening to your voice. Later, she’ll want to play more complicated games. Enjoy this time together but be prepared to watch for signs that your baby might be tiring. Engaging with you is hard work!

      Disengagement cues – When babies need a break, either for a moment or a nap, they’ll use a different set of movements and noises to make sure you know it. These signs are called “disengagement cues.”

      What you’ll see – Your baby may close his eyes, turn his face or body away from you or he may arch or twist his body away. His muscles will be tense, and he may frown or look like he is about to cry. If he’s not allowed to take a break, he will start crying to make sure you know what to do. Older babies will stiffen their hands and bring them up towards their faces; they may try to change position, have you pick them up or put them down.

      What you can do – Let your baby take a break! Stop whatever you were doing; reduce stimulation in the environment (noises, lights, toys, or interactions) that might have been too much for your baby. Pay close attention and see if your baby is happy with a short break or if he may need a longer one or a big change of scene. Babies who are over stimulated by what is going on around them will use disengagement cues, but babies have a very limited ability to communicate. While they can tell you when they need a break, they can’t tell you why they need the break. If you pick up your fussy baby and he arches away from you, he might be trying to tell you that the TV is too loud or that the dog smells bad. Sometimes the problem will be obvious; other times you’ll need to be a detective to figure out what has upset your baby.

       The Ultimate Baby Body Language: Clustered Cues

      It wouldn’t make sense that it could be hard to tell when a baby is hungry. If people needed a PhD to tell when babies needed to eat, babies wouldn’t survive. Babies will give parents lots of cues, called “clustered cues,” when they need them to do important things. A hungry newborn will move her head looking for something to suck on. She will pull her hands and her knees upward toward her face. She will make sucking noises and try to suck on anything she can find. If no one feeds her right away (babies don’t like to wait), she will start crying while still using all the other cues. Older babies will try to get into a breastfeeding position, or excitedly reach for the bottle or spoon. Babies use clustered cues to show they are full too. They relax their muscles, slow down in their eating, let their hands fall away from their face, and sometimes fall asleep. Making sure you know when to stop feeding is just as important to your baby as letting you know she needs to eat. It is important when parents hear their baby’s cry that they check for clustered hunger cues before they assume they are hungry.

       Creating Your Own Special Language

      Now that I’ve made it all sound so simple, I do have to warn you that some babies are not born able to give clear cues. Some babies have to develop their skills over the first few days and weeks. Fortunately, nature makes sure that things turn out well; when parents respond to a baby's signals, babies get better at using cues and parents get better at reading them. After a relatively short time, parents and babies develop their own special language and this continues as children get older and learn other ways to communicate, including using words. We’d love to hear about your baby’s special ways of communicating with you.