How do you know when baby is wanting the boob or just sucking for comfort?

Question

Ill breastfed baby and he will still suck his hands. I never know when its ok to give a paci because what if hes hungry? I always offer boob instead. Do you have a way of telling? When, do, you give a paci?  Always or special times.?

Answer

When in doubt, get your boob out!!

Answer

My babe always sucks her hands after feeding. I know she's done after about 20 minutes when she slows down a lot and her eyes are closed. At that point, she's sucking once every 5-10 seconds instead of steady suckling. I remove her from the breast and she immediately brings her hands to her mouth. I've found it is mainly because she is half asleep and she is in the routine of sucking on her pacifier when she's sleepy. I burp her and she either falls asleep of she's really ready for a nap or she wakes up and is happy and ready to play. Maybe your babe is just sleepy after feeding and instinctively sucks his hands? If he's not fussing like he's hungry, it's probably ok to give him the paci.

Answer

If he takes the paci then spits it out or begins to cry then it's time for milk.

Answer

If LO is hungry, she will not take pacifier.  I almost always offer breast anyways for my supply.

Answer

I give paci after a 20-30 min feed anytime before 1.5hrs-2hrs are up. After that I offer boob

Answer

I keep an eye on time. My LO puts his hands in his mouth too but he will take anything (my fingers, his arms,  his onesie). If it has been 2 hours or more since his last feeding,  I'll nurse him again but anything sooner than that I know that he's just realizing he has hands, arms, clothes, etc and learning his surroundings. My LO won't take a paci at all  so I watch how long he takes to suck on other things so it doesn't end up being a hard habit to break later.

Answer

My baby will suckle really hard when hungry. She'll also stock her tongue out.

How do you know when baby is wanting the boob or just sucking for comfort?

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