4. How to

What are the potential signs?

Babies show different hunger and fullness signs at different stages e.g. at the new-born stage your baby might put their hands and fingers to their mouth when they are hungry or as they get older they may point to their food or a cupboard or the fridge. Some signs you can see and some signs you can hear.

When to respond?

• Sometimes you can respond to the early signs and sometimes you might find yourself in situations where you can only respond to the much later signs like crying and distress.
• It can be helpful to watch what happens between the early and late signs.
• Sometimes babies will become distressed quite quickly and other times you may see them trying to soothe themselves e.g. sucking on their hands.
• Try to soothe and calm your baby before feeding if they are distressed with a cuddle or skin to skin.

In our busy lives it is difficult to always respond to baby's signs in the moment. The important thing is that you learn more about baby's hunger and fullness signs and respond in the moment some of the time. This should get easier with practice.

We are sure you will be familiar with many of these signs but there may be some that are new to you. How about you give it a go yourself by looking for your baby's signs and responding to them?

If you have any concerns about your baby’s health or baby not feeding or responding as usual, then you should contact your Health Visitor or GP.

Some of the signs your baby might show when they are hungry and full.