A baby will tell you they want a feed by their body language. It's important to properly observe your baby to avoid missing early and mid sleep cues. Once you miss those early cues your baby can get beyond hunger and become hysterical very quickly. Newborns are very prone to going from OK and happy to losing it, just because they are hungry or tired.

Reading your baby's hunger cues accurately and responding appropriately help your baby feel secure. A baby who feels listened to is a much calmer baby.

Here are the feeding cues you need to know:

Early Cues

These are saying I'm hungry and include:

• Stirring and moving

• Mouth opening/rooting

• Turning his head towards the breast or your arm etc.
  
  
• Seeking

Mid Cues

Your baby is now saying, "I'm really hungry now". These include:

• Stretching

• Increasing physical movement
  
  
• Putting their hand to their mouth

Late Cues

By now your baby is likely to be upset and possibly hysterical. He's now saying "calm me and feed me". These cues include:

• Crying

• Agitated body movements
  
  
• Face colour turning red

To calm your baby try the following:

• Cuddle

• Skin to skin on your chest

• Soothing words

• Stroking and massage
  
  
• Lazy lion position over your arm and sway baby gently

Here is a helpful video demonstrating all of these feeding cues.

https://youtu.be/ABAXgubx58Q