Breastfeeding

Feeding Cues

Newborn tummies are very small!

  • On Day 1: The baby’s tummy is as big as a grape. It can hold 5-7ml, or about ¼ oz.
  • On Day 3: The baby’s tummy is as big as a cherry tomato.  It can hold 22-27ml, or about ½-1 oz.
  • On Day 7: The baby’s tummy is as big as a strawberry.  It can hold 45-60ml, or about 1.5-2 oz.
  • At 1 month: baby’s tummy is as big as a lime.  It can hold 80-150ml, or about 2.5-5 oz.

In the beginning, there may be times when your baby eats a little bit nearly all the time.  This is normal.  The near-continuous feeding helps bring in a good milk supply for you.  

Newborns need to eat at least 8 times in 24 hours.  

Follow your new baby’s lead!  

Responding to your baby’s cues helps them feel safe and cared for, as well as satisfied and content.  Babies know what they need – listening to them helps prevent under- or overfeeding.

Feeding Cues

Hunger cues: Signs that your baby is ready to eat!

  • Fluttering eyes/waking from sleep
  • Nuzzling into the breast
  • Rooting (opens mouth and turns head)
  • Bringing hand to mouth
  • Sucking on tongue or hand
  • Tight fists held at center of chest
  • Crying – if you wait until your baby cries to feed, he or she may be too upset to eat.  If this is the case, calm your baby first by gently rocking side to side, or try skin-to-skin contact.

Fullness Cues: Signs that your baby is full!

  • Eating slows down
  • Turns face away
  • Relaxed arms; falling away from body
  • Stops suckling
  • Falls asleep

Watch your baby, not the clock, to know when to stop feeding.

Pacifiers:  

Pacifiers can hide cues that your newborn baby is ready to eat.  Try not to use pacifiers until breastfeeding is going well for you and your baby.

These materials were developed by the Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute with collaboration from students in the Mary Rose Tully Training Initiative and lactation consultants at N.C. Women’s Hospital.  We would like to thank the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for their generous support of this and other projects that foster a breastfeeding-supportive society.  

For more information please visit, http://breastfeeding.unc.edu. Version 3. English April 2018, last updated August 2024