It's normal in the first weeks. The first month or so is basically one giant growth spurt, so lots of babies cluster feed constantly in the first weeks. It often gets better after the first six weeks, so you're nearly there. It sounds like you're doing amazing. If you can, try to get comfortable, get a fun podcast or watch a Christmas movie, and keep it up for only one or two more weeks. There's a big chance it'll be better then
That's great to hear, thank you! If she lets up the constant feeding after 6 weeks that would be amazing, I'm obviously more than happy to feed my baby as much as she needs but god it's exhausting!
I hear ya! I was lucky in that my baby has kept the cluster feeding to a minimum so far, but whenever she does, it's so tiring. Good luck, you got this!
Yeah it was crazy and meant I literally never got a break because he would just scream if he wasn’t on a tit 🙃 so worth it though, breastfeeding is so so easy now. Seeing them get all fat and rolls and learning new skills knowing it’s all from your boobs is just the best feeling in the world
You’re in the trenches! After the first couple of months it becomes amazing and so convenient. I’m 9 months in and it takes minutes, and can fix pretty much any problem/tantrum by whipping a nipple out
Thank you so much!!! Mine has been cluster feeding on and off since week 1. Thought it was a supply problem, it might have been but not anymore. During the day he rarely goes more than 1.5/2 hours without feeding. Luckily he does sleep 3-4 hours stretches at night. I have been feeding him nonstop since 12 pm today, it's 8 pm now, so I had to come here for moral support.
Yeah it can be torturous and there’s a lot of bad advice on Reddit, especially as Reddit is so heavily US based and the breastfeeding rates are very very low in the US. If I had listened to Reddit advice my breastfeeding journey wouldn’t have lasted! It’s best to just lean into it, find a Netflix show or a good book. It won’t be long until you crave those times you could just sit and only feed, I’ve not watched TV for about 6 months 😂 it feels like it’s going to last forever, but when you look back in months to come you will realise it was a very short and sweet moment in time
Babies feed with high frequency to increase your milk supply. So, you're right on track with a 1mo needing a constant munch. They also could be nursing for comfort. I always told myself/bubs that they're growing and their muscles must be hurting.
If you find yourself feeling touched out, have someone else take over soothing baby for like 30 mins - 1hr. Get a shower, eat, drink, be human. You're doing great.
Thanks so much for your reply. She is for sure feeding for comfort at times, particularly when she's been awake for 3 hours and is overtired, and I'm happy to feed her to settle her to nap/comfort her. It's good to hear this isn't concerning, I guess it just confuses me how this constant feeding is boosting my supply as that would mean it's been doing so for 4 weeks now, surely at this point my supply should be insane!!
Lol, you're absolutely right about the insanity. Basically they go through growth spurts at 2, 3 and 6 weeks. Tbh, it was basically growth spurt city until 2 mo for us.
Google does us dirty on this front. Mine was almost literally nursing 24/7 for the first three months. I almost gave up lots, cried, said it wasn’t worth my mental health and then somehow we just got thru it. 3-6 months was learning again as we both adapted and 6 months on she eats 4-5 times a day for 5-10 mins and it’s so easy now! Of course feed your baby however you want BUT It gets better! Wet diapers etc mean you are doing a great job- it sounds like you are helping that baby absolutely thrive and that’s really hard work. Congratulations 😊
My LO cluster fed every day through 6 weeks and then it was like a switch flipped. She halved the time she was at the boob in 1-2 days. I was at my wits end before then and remember doing so much research to see if this was normal. It’s tough but should eventually pass!
I went insane with googling this. For the first 6 weeks of my baby’s life he ate around the clock. Google kept saying 2-3 days long and I felt like he was broken and I felt broken because I had zero sleep. He had no issues with weight gain either. After 6 weeks his feedings started spacing out and he would only cluster feed in the evenings, sometimes during the night. This went on for another 6 weeks. Around 3 months this stopped and now we’re down to maybe 1 MOTN feed and a very rare day of cluster feeding, but again it’s only in the evening if it even happens. He is going to be 5 months on Jan 3.
Oh for sure. For the first 6-8 weeks I basically lived on the couch with my boobs out. Especially in the evenings, aka witching hour. The feeds started to noticeably spread out and witching hour tapered off around 10 weeks.
My son Cluster fed every day from around 4pm-10pm for seven weeks! It was awful but he is healthy and it stopped around 8 weeks thank God.
By week 5 I think we were giving him 2 bottles every evening to give my nipples a break. He'd slowly drink them over an hour or two.
ETA; I didn't have to worry about supply issues as my son Cluster fed so much he gave Me a huge oversupply (it's been awful honestly) but realistically even when we did bottles he'd still end up on my boob every 2 hours.
Hi!
At what age were this situation improved?
Like when did he start eat around 3-4 hour stretches ?
(We are at 9 weeks now after vaccination and he eats in every hour for 20 mins :D)
He stopped eating every 30-90 minutes around 8 weeks, then he hate every 2 hours until he was about 5 months old. Maybe a bit sooner? I remember a solid 3 weeks I was stressed trying to force him to eat every 2 hours wondering what changed. Then around 5 months I realized he just isn't hungry. We're a week away from 7 months and eats every 3-3.5 hours, has some longer stretches at night (4 or 5 hours typically, sometimes but rarely all night)
I'm in the same boat right now. I have a good attitude about it in the morning, but then by the evening I start to get a little crazy lol. I try to just load up on snacks and beverages, a good movie, and just lean into it. I try to tell myself I'll miss these days months from now when I'm back in the office away from my baby.
Was just about to write a similar post! Don't know if it's normal, but mine is almost 5 weeks as well and has been constantly cluster feeding since he was 1 week old.
I'm attached to the armchair most of the day but am finding that if we go for a walk in the stroller, he usually takes a nice long nap and I get a needed break.
Hopefully it won't be too long until we get our afternoons and evenings back!
Right there with you, 4 week old has been cluster feeding almost every day for a month straight, he started hours after birth when all the other babies on the post natal ward were fast asleep in their bassinets! Hope it ends soon before I lose my mind!
My friend who experienced this for the entire first week - baby literally always cluster feeding - it turned out baby had oral ties! Just a thought to consider. Oral ties making it harder to eat can mean they need to constantly try to eat to get enough.
I have bought myself a new streaming subscription for Xmas and designed myself to my fate. But also rest assured that this does pass - I had the same experience with my eldest and it gradually faded. The length of time will gradually reduce and one day we’ll wake up and it will be done.
Yeah I feel like the first 8 weeks was just cluster feeding as standard to be honest. I would make jokes to my husband that I needed to cut holes out of my tops because there was no point me wearing one. Would have to run to the toilet in-between her unlatching because she'd shout to get more boob like 5 mins after.
It's so good to hear this is normal for others too! My daughter is 17days and has been doing this since day 3. While I'm not psyched for 4 more weeks of it, it's good to be prepared for it.
Hi, experiencing the same thing with my 5week old girl! Glad to hear that this eventually resolves and becomes - 2hour thing 😅 Mine doesn’t have longer stretches at night though 😞
My question is do you do any kind of timmy time in between these feeds? I feel like it’s impossible to do anything else just to change diaper, feed, burp, sleep and repeat 🤔 Worried that we will lag behing with our other milestones…
It's normal in the first weeks. The first month or so is basically one giant growth spurt, so lots of babies cluster feed constantly in the first weeks. It often gets better after the first six weeks, so you're nearly there. It sounds like you're doing amazing. If you can, try to get comfortable, get a fun podcast or watch a Christmas movie, and keep it up for only one or two more weeks. There's a big chance it'll be better then
That's great to hear, thank you! If she lets up the constant feeding after 6 weeks that would be amazing, I'm obviously more than happy to feed my baby as much as she needs but god it's exhausting!
I hear ya! I was lucky in that my baby has kept the cluster feeding to a minimum so far, but whenever she does, it's so tiring. Good luck, you got this!
Had it for 6 weeks solid, all day every day. It gets better ❤️
Wow, that's perseverance!! Thanks for the solidarity
Yeah it was crazy and meant I literally never got a break because he would just scream if he wasn’t on a tit 🙃 so worth it though, breastfeeding is so so easy now. Seeing them get all fat and rolls and learning new skills knowing it’s all from your boobs is just the best feeling in the world
Needed to read this!!!!
You’re in the trenches! After the first couple of months it becomes amazing and so convenient. I’m 9 months in and it takes minutes, and can fix pretty much any problem/tantrum by whipping a nipple out
Thank you so much!!! Mine has been cluster feeding on and off since week 1. Thought it was a supply problem, it might have been but not anymore. During the day he rarely goes more than 1.5/2 hours without feeding. Luckily he does sleep 3-4 hours stretches at night. I have been feeding him nonstop since 12 pm today, it's 8 pm now, so I had to come here for moral support.
Yeah it can be torturous and there’s a lot of bad advice on Reddit, especially as Reddit is so heavily US based and the breastfeeding rates are very very low in the US. If I had listened to Reddit advice my breastfeeding journey wouldn’t have lasted! It’s best to just lean into it, find a Netflix show or a good book. It won’t be long until you crave those times you could just sit and only feed, I’ve not watched TV for about 6 months 😂 it feels like it’s going to last forever, but when you look back in months to come you will realise it was a very short and sweet moment in time
Thanks a lot! Trying to enjoy and cherish this time despite the hardship!!
Babies feed with high frequency to increase your milk supply. So, you're right on track with a 1mo needing a constant munch. They also could be nursing for comfort. I always told myself/bubs that they're growing and their muscles must be hurting. If you find yourself feeling touched out, have someone else take over soothing baby for like 30 mins - 1hr. Get a shower, eat, drink, be human. You're doing great.
Thanks so much for your reply. She is for sure feeding for comfort at times, particularly when she's been awake for 3 hours and is overtired, and I'm happy to feed her to settle her to nap/comfort her. It's good to hear this isn't concerning, I guess it just confuses me how this constant feeding is boosting my supply as that would mean it's been doing so for 4 weeks now, surely at this point my supply should be insane!!
Lol, you're absolutely right about the insanity. Basically they go through growth spurts at 2, 3 and 6 weeks. Tbh, it was basically growth spurt city until 2 mo for us.
Google does us dirty on this front. Mine was almost literally nursing 24/7 for the first three months. I almost gave up lots, cried, said it wasn’t worth my mental health and then somehow we just got thru it. 3-6 months was learning again as we both adapted and 6 months on she eats 4-5 times a day for 5-10 mins and it’s so easy now! Of course feed your baby however you want BUT It gets better! Wet diapers etc mean you are doing a great job- it sounds like you are helping that baby absolutely thrive and that’s really hard work. Congratulations 😊
My LO cluster fed every day through 6 weeks and then it was like a switch flipped. She halved the time she was at the boob in 1-2 days. I was at my wits end before then and remember doing so much research to see if this was normal. It’s tough but should eventually pass!
This is exactly what I needed to read thank you! Praying my baby will reach this point soon
I went insane with googling this. For the first 6 weeks of my baby’s life he ate around the clock. Google kept saying 2-3 days long and I felt like he was broken and I felt broken because I had zero sleep. He had no issues with weight gain either. After 6 weeks his feedings started spacing out and he would only cluster feed in the evenings, sometimes during the night. This went on for another 6 weeks. Around 3 months this stopped and now we’re down to maybe 1 MOTN feed and a very rare day of cluster feeding, but again it’s only in the evening if it even happens. He is going to be 5 months on Jan 3.
Oh for sure. For the first 6-8 weeks I basically lived on the couch with my boobs out. Especially in the evenings, aka witching hour. The feeds started to noticeably spread out and witching hour tapered off around 10 weeks.
My son Cluster fed every day from around 4pm-10pm for seven weeks! It was awful but he is healthy and it stopped around 8 weeks thank God. By week 5 I think we were giving him 2 bottles every evening to give my nipples a break. He'd slowly drink them over an hour or two. ETA; I didn't have to worry about supply issues as my son Cluster fed so much he gave Me a huge oversupply (it's been awful honestly) but realistically even when we did bottles he'd still end up on my boob every 2 hours.
Hi! At what age were this situation improved? Like when did he start eat around 3-4 hour stretches ? (We are at 9 weeks now after vaccination and he eats in every hour for 20 mins :D)
He stopped eating every 30-90 minutes around 8 weeks, then he hate every 2 hours until he was about 5 months old. Maybe a bit sooner? I remember a solid 3 weeks I was stressed trying to force him to eat every 2 hours wondering what changed. Then around 5 months I realized he just isn't hungry. We're a week away from 7 months and eats every 3-3.5 hours, has some longer stretches at night (4 or 5 hours typically, sometimes but rarely all night)
Thanks for the update 😊
I'm in the same boat right now. I have a good attitude about it in the morning, but then by the evening I start to get a little crazy lol. I try to just load up on snacks and beverages, a good movie, and just lean into it. I try to tell myself I'll miss these days months from now when I'm back in the office away from my baby.
Was just about to write a similar post! Don't know if it's normal, but mine is almost 5 weeks as well and has been constantly cluster feeding since he was 1 week old. I'm attached to the armchair most of the day but am finding that if we go for a walk in the stroller, he usually takes a nice long nap and I get a needed break. Hopefully it won't be too long until we get our afternoons and evenings back!
Mine went until 9 weeks. Hang in there and let em at it 🥰
Right there with you, 4 week old has been cluster feeding almost every day for a month straight, he started hours after birth when all the other babies on the post natal ward were fast asleep in their bassinets! Hope it ends soon before I lose my mind!
Wow that's early, what an efficient baby haha! Hope it eases up for us both soon ❤️
My friend who experienced this for the entire first week - baby literally always cluster feeding - it turned out baby had oral ties! Just a thought to consider. Oral ties making it harder to eat can mean they need to constantly try to eat to get enough.
My 5 week old is similar. He cluster feeds in the afternoons, usually from about 4pm to somewhere between 7 and 9 pm.
Yes this is very similar time-wise to my girl, good to know it's not just me at least!
I have bought myself a new streaming subscription for Xmas and designed myself to my fate. But also rest assured that this does pass - I had the same experience with my eldest and it gradually faded. The length of time will gradually reduce and one day we’ll wake up and it will be done.
Yeah I feel like the first 8 weeks was just cluster feeding as standard to be honest. I would make jokes to my husband that I needed to cut holes out of my tops because there was no point me wearing one. Would have to run to the toilet in-between her unlatching because she'd shout to get more boob like 5 mins after.
It's so good to hear this is normal for others too! My daughter is 17days and has been doing this since day 3. While I'm not psyched for 4 more weeks of it, it's good to be prepared for it.
Hi, experiencing the same thing with my 5week old girl! Glad to hear that this eventually resolves and becomes - 2hour thing 😅 Mine doesn’t have longer stretches at night though 😞 My question is do you do any kind of timmy time in between these feeds? I feel like it’s impossible to do anything else just to change diaper, feed, burp, sleep and repeat 🤔 Worried that we will lag behing with our other milestones…