Why do babies like sucking?
When babies are welcomed into this world, everything is new, as they have just spent 9 months within the womb. This is why they find comfort in things that mimic the womb-like experience, commonly known as the 5 S’s:
Swaddle, Side-Stomach Position, Shush, Swing, and Suck.
Not only is sucking one of the 5 womb sensations that triggers the baby’s innate calming reflux, it also uses the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the rest and digest nervous system. When the parasympathetic nervous system is activated, it slows our heart and breathing rates, lowers blood pressure and promotes digestion.
So sucking aids digestion!
However, there can be too much sucking. Whilst a good thing to encourage rest and digestion, sucking can be hard work for a baby. If given a dummy to constantly suck on, they can be too tired to feed on the breast, or if they are in constant digestion they can digest milk that they have taken on faster.
Babies like to suck because they are looking for this comfort, as they are born in a sympathetic state, which is the flight or fight nervous system and naturally some babies can be in a more sympathetic tone than others, depending on the birth and other factors.
So when your baby is looking to suck, it doesn’t always mean they are hungry. It can just mean they are looking for comfort. It can be really confusing to understand the signs of when your baby is hungry and when they just want to suck, especially when you are a first-time mum and you are both learning how to breastfeed. Also, some are saying to feed on demand, others say feed every 2 hrs, and some say every 3hrs. This is when your mum-gut will guide you, and it’s a little trial and error while you are learning with your baby.
If they latch on well and are taking long drawn out pulls, it’s day time, and you fed them over 2 hours ago, they are likely to be hungry. However, if you only fed them 1 hr ago and it’s early evening, they may just be looking for comfort, depending on how many weeks old they are. If they are around a growth spurt, they may be cluster feeding, which means they are looking for shorter feeds within a few hours and this should last 2-3 days.
The Chill Mum Club 4th Trimester Guide helps to advise you when it comes to feeding and helping a fussy baby. It’s about creating awareness and then being guided by your mum-gut.
My 3-month 4th Trimester Guide is only £49 per month, and you can cancel any time. It’s jam-packed with all the info that nobody tells you. Explore more of the content here: