Babys First Year Blog
Tate’s a Cluster Feeder
When we were in the hospital after Tate was born, we were proverbial sponges. We tried to take in everything the nurses told us. I mean, we had never had a baby and they were trained to care for newborns. When it came to feeding, we were told to just expect the baby to want to eat every 3 or 4 hours, 24 hours a day.
When we got home and Tate started to settle into his own feeding schedule it became pretty clear that he did not want to feed every 3 hours. Sometimes he didn’t want to eat for 4 or 5 hours because of a long stretch of sleep and sometimes he wanted to feed almost constantly for hours at a time. After doing some research we figured out that his feeding patterns aren’t that unusual and there is even a name for it, called “cluster feeding.”
Before I had the baby, I had never even heard of cluster feeding (it is also sometimes referred to as bunch feeding). I have since learned that this is when babies space their feedings closer together at certain times of the day and go longer between feedings at other times. It was such a relief to me to learn that it’s very common, and generally happens in the evenings. It’s often – but not always – followed by a longer sleep period than usual: which I think explains how Tate is able to sleep so long in the night.
According to kellymom,
Cluster feeding often coincides with your baby’s fussy time. Baby will nurse a few minutes, pull off, fuss/cry, nurse a few minutes, pull off, fuss/cry… on and on… for hours. This can be VERY frustrating, and mom starts wondering if baby is getting enough milk, if something she is eating is bothering baby, if EVERYTHING she is doing is bothering baby… It can really ruin your confidence, particularly if there is someone else around asking the same questions (your mother, your husband, your mother-in-law).
This behavior is NORMAL! It has nothing to do with your breastmilk or your mothering. If baby is happy the rest of the day, and baby doesn’t seem to be in pain (as with colic) during the fussy time – just keep trying to soothe your baby and don’t beat yourself up about the cause. Let baby nurse as long and as often as he will. Recruit dad (or another helper) to bring you food/drink and fetch things (book/remote/phone/etc.) while you are nursing and holding baby.
Did any of you leave the hospital with unrealistic expectations of your babies eating patterns? Do your babies cluster feed? I would love to hear about your experiences with it.
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8 Comments
[...] still cluster feeds like crazy. He eats all morning, he eats all evening and my saving grace is that his eating schedule seems [...]
What's "Normal"? | Babys First Year Blog commented on Aug 07 11 at 12:54 pmlo commented on Jul 03 11 at 4:19 pmO I run from the hospital due to what the nurses said to me about nursing my baby. First it was that I wouldn’t be able to nurse him since I have flat nipples and here I am breastfeeding him 10 weeks after. I was told also that I was “spoiling” him for feeding him so often and for more than 10 mins at a time. I was also told to supplement with formula in the evenings since I clearly don’t make that much milk. All not true and if it wasn’t for sites like kellymom I would have given up. After all the should now something with all those babies around. I listened to all those comments and gave up breastfeeding with my daughter but I was not giving up this second time. I know internet should not replace the advices of the professionals but in this case the professionals were biased and not to be trusted.
Kate commented on Jul 03 11 at 4:59 pmSome hospital nurses give good advice; many don’t. My son was in the hospital with a stomach virus and one of the nurses saw that I was feeding him very often, and for long periods of time. She told me I was spoiling him and should put him on a feeding schedule. I pretty much told her to f*** off. Anyhow, my son was a huuuge cluster feeder when he was younger (he’s now 5.5 months).
D commented on Jul 03 11 at 5:17 pmI’m amazed that they told you the baby would eat every 3-4 hours. When I had my first 5 years ago, and the second one year ago, I was counseled to put the baby to breast every 1-2 hours around the clock. When I got home, I was up at least every 2 hours for the first few weeks or so. Eventually, she started sleeping 3-4 hours, once at night, once during the day. During the day, I felt like she was nursing at least every hour unless she was totally crashed.
Meagan commented on Jul 03 11 at 8:15 pmMy baby is doing the cluster feeding… but without the long sleep period. He slept, miraculously, five hours straight last night, but that’s the first time he’s slept more than three hours since he’s been born.
Michelle commented on Jul 03 11 at 11:30 pmSo glad nursing is going better for you! CF is hugely frustrating, but it isn’t forever. Make a ‘nursing station’ with books/kindle/magazines, your phone, drinks, snacks, remote control, etc. – stock up on everything you might need for a couple if hours. It will make the experience better. We had a great hospital experience, very pro-breastfeeding, and had awesome support. We were td, by the harge nurse, If the nurse isn’t a certified lactation consultant or nursed herself, she/he is not qualified to give bf’ing advice, because it is outside of her educational background. Just a thought.
Erin commented on Jul 04 11 at 4:40 pmOur little guy came 5 weeks early. I had to nurse in front of the doctor and lactation consultant several times to show that I could nurse correctly. We just recentally had our bout with cluster feeding now that he’s getting closer to his full term due date.
Kiley commented on Jul 29 11 at 4:27 pmMy 3rd child had all of the symptoms you’ve described & it turned out to be acid reflux. My Dr. said to give her 1/2 of a prevacid (melts in their mouths). Worked like a charm.
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