The attack of the Cluster feeder!!!

Karen249

anyone else's LO having the constant desire to be nursed? Man oh man my nipples feel like they are about to fall off. Is it a milk supply issue I wonder (she has had no issue gaining up until this point) or just a phase of wanting to be comforted? If I could only get a pacifier to work but she refuses the ones with tried. Anyone else dealing with this? Plus she likes to only nap on me or for 15 minutes if I'm lucky. Any ideas? 

meg+on+the+DL

I'm so sorry to be the bearer of bad news.... but this is going to happen and it's totally normal. I'm guessing the cluster feeding is happening at night. This is your LO's way of stuffing their belly before bed. It can also be a sign of a growth spurt. My LO is 7 wks and she still does it. It comes in waves. It's hard and exhausting but it's all part of the life of a newborn. 

smn14

My LO has done it every night for a couple of weeks (4 weeks old now). It means she sleeps longer at night, but my nipples ache and she becomes quite vicious with her latch as the evening progresses! I'm in the middle of the cluster at the moment and DH has taken her to give me 5 mins respite! I've heard it can go on til 12 weeks but tends to get better after 6 weeks progressively, but am a FTM so just going on what I've read/been told! 

ashton2190

Mine will do it during a growth spurt and I really need to remind myself that's what it is. At that point it's at least once an hour, every hour for the entire day. The other time she does it is in the evening before her bedtime. Do you have a pump? Maybe you DH can help out with a bottle of breastmilk to give you a little break. Make sure you apply lanolin after each nursing and expose your nipples to the air if you can 

willkc

Every. Single. Night. During the day I don't mind breastfeeding at all. Then at night I hate it again. I can't wait for the cluster feeding to end

VitaLuna

Cluster feeding is exhausting, but normal. Make sure the latch is good every time. It can be easy to get lazy when they're on and off all the time, but a shallow latch or lips curled in can kill the nipples. Express some milk and rub it on after nursing, then air dry. Walk around topless if you can. 

Karen249

Thanks ladies. My LO has been cluster feeding during the day. It's been exhausting but sounds pretty normal at this stage. Looking forward to the cluster feeding to end (or at least get a break from) and just get back to nursing every two hours.