Lolli’s Lesson: A Relaxed Baby is a Full Baby

How do you know when your baby is full? Because, after all—God did not put ounces on breasts to know how much babies are consuming! Would be helpful though, right?

My husband Steve and I coined the term “The Arm Trick” to know when it was finally time to lay our babies down and know they would stay sleeping without needing to get up to eat within the hour. This takes some practice to realize when your baby is actually full and ready to sleep versus when they just need to be stimulated back awake to finish their full feeding. This is especially true in the newborn stage as you are learning to feed your baby who seems to be very unpredictable in their wake, sleep, and eating patterns. Unpredictable is absolutely the best description for newborn patterns. And once we understand this, we can decrease the frustration level and learn to navigate the uncertainty of life with a newborn baby.

How many times have you fed your baby, she/he falls asleep after eating on just one side, and you just can NOT get that baby to wake up. So you think, well? They said sometimes babies will take just one side and sometimes they take both—which is totally normal! However, if the baby is clenching it’s arms like she’s flexing her muscles close to her body—that baby is NOT done eating. No matter how hard she is to wake! You can be certain, the baby will most likely not lay down for a very long period of time. BUT, if your baby’s arm flops when you lift it up and then let it go, chances are this baby is full and ready to be swaddled for an extended period of sleeping.

This sweet baby Stori, was showing us just how full she was. Look at those arms! We didn’t even have to do the “arm trick” on her after the very efficient feeding she had. I honestly think she wanted to make the blog like her sisters did! :)