@Firsttimer16 I know what you mean! The thought of putting him in pain for my sanity kills me. However my big worry right now is that he's not getting enough to eat since he's been cluster feeding for so long now, and if getting the tongue tie taken care of helps that then it's worth it? It sounds like at this age it doesn't really hurt them. And I've wondered the same thing - how do women do this with a tongue or lip tie undetected!?
@kristizoe do you have someone who can give you a break? I'm sorry this is just piling on to what you're already feeling.
Babe screamed from 10-2 last night no matter what we'd do including at the boob. He'd root and scream but then suck for a second and tug all around (ouch) and scream again. Plus my boobs are in pain either from enforcement of him increasing my supply or not draining it properly or I have a plugged duct again from him not eating properly! I pumped at 5 am with little relief. We're supposed to go out of town with my sis in law and her family and I feel like such a loser going like this when I'm constantly crying and baby is screaming. DH says "she's a mom, she gets it, it'll be good to be with someone who understands" but I just feel like a mess that no one should be subjected to.
Been cluster feeding this morning since been 7am and it's almost noon now. Feed for 20 mins, snooze for 5-10, switch to the other side and repeat! hope he's planning a growth spurt bc he needs one!
Last night my LO wanted to eat every hour. By 4Am I was so tired I ended up handing her to DH for him to give her a bottle and handle her because I was in tears I was so tired. I was able to sleep until 7 so I got 3 hours. I'm still so tired. This shit is hard!
@EmmyMommy123 I had this happen with my LO just screaming and acting hungry but she would just scream at the breast for hours. I felt so defeated. In the moment I gave her a bottle of bm because I knew she was hungry. The next day same thing so I ended up going to the dr to see the LC. It turned out she had bad gas that waa causing her pain and she was associating the pain with the breast. After using gas drops she's been better. Maybe try that.
I have been switch nursing after both breasts have been "drained" and doing breast compressions. Both increase the fat content of your milk, and I think it helps.
I didn't catch that typo either! It's given me a laugh during this 5 feeding! Im currently frustrated cause the husband is asleepn- I know he has heard her! First week he was great at getting up and changing her for me before feed - things changed quickly! Emmamommy itsca posterior tongue tie which is harder to spot apparently. It was chance it was spotted - was late to the by clinic and the consultant commented on her tongue while she was crying! After investigation she found the tie. now the question is do we get the procedure or see what happens down the line! She's only just hit her birth weight this week - I can't bare to think of her being hungry and struggling and I want to keep on bf but I can't keep up with this pain and the constant feeding!! I want it to be an enjoyable exp for us both but if it continues I'll be an exhausted emotional wreck who never gets outside the house!! Have been researching tongue tie and it's making me wonder how many women have had to give up and blaming themselves when it could be an undetected problem with baby!
My dd#1 has an uncorrected tongue tie and upper lip tie. I didn't find out until her first dental check up. She has a heart shaped tongue but she can get it out well past her lips. She has trouble with pronouncing her L's and T's but that's it. Her tie was mild I had no pain. I nursed her until 3.5 years. The upper lip tie she gets from me she'll have my gap in the front when her adult teeth come in. The dentist offered to clip it back to eliminate the gap that will form but I'm not into doing things to kids for looks. Fast forward to ds#2. I had him seen by an ENT in hospital. I already knew that he could have a tie like big sis. Boy, was his bad.he could not get his tongue past his gums! Because of the snow storm he was not clipped until day 3. That was enough time for me to get torn to shreds. Then it took him 3 days for us both to get readjusted. Day 6 I was pain free. It would have been impossible to nurse through a tie that severe. He lost more than my daughter did after birth. And I feel it was because The first few day he struggled so much. I did not have ds circumsized because couldn't bare the thought of him being in pain. But this was necessary for him to thrive. Plus, it was said thinking he'd have trouble licking his own lips.
Not gonna lie -- I'm totally envious of all you moms who are dealing with clusterfeeding in the day. My darling only clusterfeeds in the middle of the night and not getting any sleep destroys me. I would give anything to do it during waking hours...
@EmmyMommy123 have you tried manually extracting during a shower or pumping right after? The warmth helps milk flow and I've used a hot shower when I'm too engorged. Plus, showers are pure bliss these days, so any excuse...
my LO does all of her cluster feeding at night too. she's just a few days over two weeks. For the past week she's been cluster feeding from 11pm until 2am(ish). she then sleeps until 5:30ish and feeds until around 7. My 2.5 year old gets up around 7 every morning so I've got to get up too. It's brutal.
One night I made DH take the baby around midnight. He took her into the living room and rocked her for an hour while I slept. He said she kind of slept but was restless the whole time. He came back at 1am and tried to set her down because she was sleeping. She instantly woke up and screamed to be fed. Continue feeding until shortly after 2am. At least I got an hour of sleep in there.
Luckily, I know that LO is getting plenty of milk. She's growing like crazy, my midwife was shocked at how much weight she has gained already.
@kristizoe I was in the same boat last night! Baby cluster fed from 7:30pm until 3:30am when I finally put her in my bed bc I couldn't take it anymore!! I hate being so frustrated with my baby, I just try to remind myself that nursing her, changing her and holding her are pretty much the only things I can do to comfort her at this point. There will come a time when that isn't the case so I'm just doing my best to push thru the long nights. She is also a little over 2 weeks so I'm thinking growth spurt.
My LO is only a week and day but his cluster feedings started this past Friday. I'm so exhausted I feel horrible cause I'm recoveri NV from an emergency c-section so my husband already does so much I feel bad when I wake him.
I am so mad at my health provider- they could have fixed the tongue tie at the hospital, but told me to go home and do it with a laser in 2 days at the clinic. I was so tired from a constant flow of people to check on me and baby- nurses and doctors etc - that I went home. To my surprise they could not do it at the clinic and I have to wait for the baby to turn 2 weeks before the procedure. Finally we are having it done 9 days after the birth, regular way, because she cant feed properly and I am in a lot of pain. Idiots
@l4rk I used lots of heat Friday and thankfully by Saturday morning the engorgement/plugged duct had cleared up! Babe had a really "normal" day Saturday - no cluster feeding except for a little "stocking up" in the evening (feeding every 1-1.5 hrs instead of every 2). Hopefully we have a few days of respite before the 4-6 week spurt. I talked to my midwife and we're going to have a dr look at his lip tie hopefully this week and the dr will clip it right then and there if need be!
We had our newborn photos today and of course that's when he decides he wants to cluster feed, not sleep and be cute all propped up. Maybe this will mean a nice night of sleep instead? I hope some of the photos turn out!
LO is 6 weeks, and I think she just started a growth spurt. She has been eating every 2-4 hours for a few weeks, but this afternoon she started eating every hour. I'm very scared for tonight! I've gotten spoiled with my 3-4 hour sleeping stretches
Me: 32 DH: 32
Married 11/24/13
DD1 born 12/24/15
TTC #2 Aug. 16
BFP for #2 11/22/16
Aug17 December Siggy Challenge: Funny Pics of Kids Afraid of Santa
LO has me up for 6-8 hours with feedings all through the night/early morning. He feeds for maybe 10-20 minutes at a time then falls asleep and when I wake my husband to put him back in his rock and play to sleep he wakes up crying and searching for food again. I feel utterly defeated and like a horrible mom cause I'm afraid I'm not producing enough but his constant dirty and wet diapers tells me otherwise. I know this is just a sign of a growth spurt but it's still so taxing on my emotional well-being. On top of that I have little to no appetite and if it wasn't for my husband making me food I have doubt I'd even think about eating....
@sea8884 yes it's rough on the emotions for sure! I said to a fellow mom this weekend that I think the reason they say breastfeeding moms lose baby weight quickly isn't so much to do with breastfeeding but because they have to time or free hands to eat!!!
Had a few hours of cluster feeding until 12:30 last night and then every hour from 4am-9. Every time I get a day or two of normalcy and think we're past it for a while it starts back up!!!
I don't want to jinx it but I think my sons growth spurt might be done. The past three nights he has gone 3-4 hours between feedings. I seriously don't know what I would have done without the support of my husband! Even though he can't feed the baby, he would get up and sit with me to help me keep my sanity!
I don't want to jinx it but I think my sons growth spurt might be done. The past three nights he has gone 3-4 hours between feedings. I seriously don't know what I would have done without the support of my husband! Even though he can't feed the baby, he would get up and sit with me to help me keep my sanity!
How okd is your LO? I'm curious as to when the growth spurts are
My son takes so long to feed I have resorted to getting up at night pumping and then giving him a bottle as it is quicker. Makes me feel crap that I don't have the patience to BF him but I'm doing it on my own and need sleep.
My son takes so long to feed I have resorted to getting up at night pumping and then giving him a bottle as it is quicker. Makes me feel crap that I don't have the patience to BF him but I'm doing it on my own and need sleep.
I'm doing the same for my middle of the night feed and it's been great! Takes me 30 minutes as opposed to 2 hours! Sometimes we just have to do what works best! Survival mode! i bf during the day and he has no issues going from boob to bottle, so it works for us.
My LO had to do some NICU time because at 9lb10oz, his blood sugar was unstable after C-section, so he had bottles and pacifiers in the hospital. Once we were home, he latched like a champ, but was suspicious regular nipples contained formula, which he soon realized he doesnt really like. I got avent natural for what I've pumped, and hand him off to Daddy as needed for soreness/sanity etc, then pump again once he's down. He is Now 12 lbs and 1 month.
I can't win - babe slept so well during the day yesterday....and then only slept an hour at a time in the night he's sleeping way shorter today so hopefully I can get the 3-4 hour stretches back at night!
Update: babe doesn't have a lip or tongue tie, he just needs help getting a proper latch and is having lots of back to back growth spurts. Sigh! I'll just keep using nipple cream and hold down the fort until he decided he's grown enough for a while!
Mine has been cluster feeding since day one. It just seems to be her eating style. She's 2.5 weeks and has t gone more than about an hour ( two at most) without feeding. I have fine milk output according to LC , she just is an eating machine. Makes for one exhausted mamma who really doesn't love night times
It's tough going! My little girl is getting the tongue tie fixed today so hoping that will make a difference!! Really want to enjoy bf - for both our sakes!! She's not getting enough sleep at all due to constant feeding!! Hope it goes ok!
@Firsttimer16 Good luck today, hope all goes well and you get some relief with BF!
LO was sooo fussy last night and got up to nurse every 2.5 hrs which is not awful, but he usually goes longer for at least one stretch.. 3 weeks yesterday so I'm hoping this is part of a growth spurt and he's not going to be this fussy long term! I think we had 20-30 min of awake and happy time all day yesterday, then it was either nursing, sleeping, or screaming
If you'd like any indication of how often LO is eating, she went from 6lb 4oz at birth to 11lb 6oz at 5.5 weeks. Are you kidding me?! Doc has given permission to "let her sleep through the night". Lolol I wish! I'd be happy with a three hour stretch at this point poor baby has acid reflux and a milk allergy so we're working through it.
If you'd like any indication of how often LO is eating, she went from 6lb 4oz at birth to 11lb 6oz at 5.5 weeks. Are you kidding me?! Doc has given permission to "let her sleep through the night". Lolol I wish! I'd be happy with a three hour stretch at this point poor baby has acid reflux and a milk allergy so we're working through it.
Seeing that they have grown really well definitely makes the cluster feeds easier IMO!
I'm starting to wonder if what I'm deeming cluster feeds are more comfort feeds from being over tired? I've been trying to put babe down for naps and he will go down but only sleep 30 minutes and wake up still super tired, whereas if he sleeps on me he sleeps at least an hour. After a few of these naps he's cranky and frustrated while eating and therefore pretty much eats non stop for a few hours before passing out on me, which I then just let him sleep like that and it ends up being 2-3 hours! Going to try letting him have a couple naps on me and a couple in the bassinet and see what makes sense.
The cluster feeding is one thing (yesterday and day before 6 week old baby boy nursed every 45 minimum to 2 hours maximum). Today he's sleepy (growing?) but ooooooooh the epic poops!!! I know what goes in must come out but HOLY SH*T (literally!!!)
Hey guys! We had the tongue released and though it's early days there's been a difference already! Most noteworthy thing is I'm not dreading feeding because it's not hurting me as much now! What a relief! She's also had some naps which is rare because she was waking up hungry! I'm obviously filling her belly now? Heres hoping things are liking lookin up
I don't know what's going on. She nurses every hour to hour and a half during the day. I try everything but she just wails until i give her my nipple. She won't nap unless I'm holding her. She sleeps in the bassinet beautifully at night, thank god. I'm exhausted. I can't put her in the bassinet long enough to get a drink without her crying. I need to get out but it's way too cold for such a tiny baby
@mrsgetz4000 how old is babe? Sounds like exactly my situation right now! Sleeps fine in the bassinet most nights but in the day only wants me and wants the boob constantly. I started doing eat awake sleep and comforting him for sleep by swaddling and rocking and white noise and that allowed me to put him down...,.but only for 20 mins!!! So I'm doing all that but letting him still sleep on me for a while until it seems all those comfort measures become instant sleep associations for him. I find especially if his first nap is good then I have a better chance of putting him down for good naps the rest of the day so I'll probably start by letting him have his first nap on me and then bassinet for the next ones. I also started offering a pacifier today to help calm him for naps but that's something I didn't want to do so its not for everyone. He seems to take it until he's just about to fall asleep then spit it out and actually fall asleep so far.
I was actually surprised. LO wanted to eat at 2 am and it lasted for about an hour, I put him in his rock and play to sleep and he slept straight through 7am. He likely would have slept longer but he had to have his diaper changed and I didn't want to make him wait longer to eat even though he was content.
Mine has been cluster feeding since day one. It just seems to be her eating style. She's 2.5 weeks and has t gone more than about an hour ( two at most) without feeding. I have fine milk output according to LC , she just is an eating machine. Makes for one exhausted mamma who really doesn't love night times
Honestly at 5 weeks my gal is the same way. If I'm holding her, she wants to be latched and has been this way basically since birth. She will scream her head off sometimes. It's frustrating because she won't take a paci from me, but I know she isn't always hungry. It is super exhausting and makes me sad to get so frustrated with her at times. I'm hoping this is just a phase that will end soon. She seems to have grown a fair bit since birth, so maybe she's just preparing to grow a ton.
Re: Share your cluster feeding/growth spurt rants here
@kristizoe do you have someone who can give you a break? I'm sorry this is just piling on to what you're already feeling.
Babe screamed from 10-2 last night no matter what we'd do including at the boob. He'd root and scream but then suck for a second and tug all around (ouch) and scream again. Plus my boobs are in pain either from enforcement of him increasing my supply or not draining it properly or I have a plugged duct again from him not eating properly! I pumped at 5 am with little relief. We're supposed to go out of town with my sis in law and her family and I feel like such a loser going like this when I'm constantly crying and baby is screaming. DH says "she's a mom, she gets it, it'll be good to be with someone who understands" but I just feel like a mess that no one should be subjected to.
One night I made DH take the baby around midnight. He took her into the living room and rocked her for an hour while I slept. He said she kind of slept but was restless the whole time. He came back at 1am and tried to set her down because she was sleeping. She instantly woke up and screamed to be fed. Continue feeding until shortly after 2am. At least I got an hour of sleep in there.
Luckily, I know that LO is getting plenty of milk. She's growing like crazy, my midwife was shocked at how much weight she has gained already.
Aug17 December Siggy Challenge: Funny Pics of Kids Afraid of Santa
On top of that I have little to no appetite and if it wasn't for my husband making me food I have doubt I'd even think about eating....
Had a few hours of cluster feeding until 12:30 last night and then every hour from 4am-9. Every time I get a day or two of normalcy and think we're past it for a while it starts back up!!!
i bf during the day and he has no issues going from boob to bottle, so it works for us.
Update: babe doesn't have a lip or tongue tie, he just needs help getting a proper latch and is having lots of back to back growth spurts. Sigh! I'll just keep using nipple cream and hold down the fort until he decided he's grown enough for a while!
LO was sooo fussy last night and got up to nurse every 2.5 hrs which is not awful, but he usually goes longer for at least one stretch.. 3 weeks yesterday so I'm hoping this is part of a growth spurt and he's not going to be this fussy long term! I think we had 20-30 min of awake and happy time all day yesterday, then it was either nursing, sleeping, or screaming
I'm starting to wonder if what I'm deeming cluster feeds are more comfort feeds from being over tired? I've been trying to put babe down for naps and he will go down but only sleep 30 minutes and wake up still super tired, whereas if he sleeps on me he sleeps at least an hour. After a few of these naps he's cranky and frustrated while eating and therefore pretty much eats non stop for a few hours before passing out on me, which I then just let him sleep like that and it ends up being 2-3 hours! Going to try letting him have a couple naps on me and a couple in the bassinet and see what makes sense.
She's also had some naps which is rare because she was waking up hungry! I'm obviously filling her belly now?
Heres hoping things are liking lookin up
@mrsgetz4000 how old is babe? Sounds like exactly my situation right now! Sleeps fine in the bassinet most nights but in the day only wants me and wants the boob constantly. I started doing eat awake sleep and comforting him for sleep by swaddling and rocking and white noise and that allowed me to put him down...,.but only for 20 mins!!! So I'm doing all that but letting him still sleep on me for a while until it seems all those comfort measures become instant sleep associations for him. I find especially if his first nap is good then I have a better chance of putting him down for good naps the rest of the day so I'll probably start by letting him have his first nap on me and then bassinet for the next ones. I also started offering a pacifier today to help calm him for naps but that's something I didn't want to do so its not for everyone. He seems to take it until he's just about to fall asleep then spit it out and actually fall asleep so far.