May 21st.
2 mins read
Your baby’s first two years are the most critical time in their development. The experiences they have now with food and feeding will set up for healthy growth and development now and for the years to come. Your babies have many ways to tell you they are hungry or full and you can learn to recognize and respond to these cues. This is called responsive feeding and it helps your child to get a healthy start in life.
What is responsive feeding?
Responsive feeding means that you:
- Watch for your baby’s cues
- Respond warmly and promptly
- Feed them the right food for their age and stage
- Let them stop when they are full
- Focus on being affectionate and nurturing during mealtimes
A good way to think about it is that: you provide, your child decides.
How to tell when baby is hungry?
Even if your baby doesn’t have words yet, they have all kinds of ways to tell you when they are hungry and when they’ve had enough.
When your baby is hungry they may:
Birth to 5 Months Old
- Move hand to mouth or put things in mouth
- Make sucking noises or motions
- Clench their fingers or fist over chest and tummy
- Flex arms and legs
- May also cry but usually only after they are tired to tell you in other ways
6 to 23 Months Old
- Reach for or point to food.
- Open their mouth when offered a spoon or food
- Get excited when they see food
- Use hand motions or make sounds to let you know they are still hungry
These are your cues to breastfeed, give them a bottle or provide food in a warm and timely way which helps build trust and makes them feel secure.
How to tell when baby is full?
Just like when they’re hungry, your baby has all kinds of ways to tell you when they’ve had enough.
When your baby is full, they may:
Birth to 5 Months Old
- Start and stop feeding often
- Spit out or ignore the bottle or breast
- Unlatch often while breastfeeding
- Close mouth or turn their head away
- Fidget or get distracted easily
- Slow down or fall asleep
6 to 23 Months Old
- Push food away
- Close their mouth when food is offered
- Turn their head away from food
- Use hand motions or make sounds to let you know they are full
It’s common to want to encourage your baby to eat more. But ignoring their fullness cues can lead to unhealthy habits later like overeating. So do your best to trust and follow their early feeding cues.
Remember that when it comes to feeding: You provide, your child decides.
This sets your baby up for healthy growth and development.
