Is this cluster feeding?

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DD is 13 days old today and is a healthy 9 lb 7 oz (birth weight 9 lb 3 oz). From the start she breastfed well, latching on beautifully. Other than on nights 2-4 when she had top up formula milk in order to flush out jaundice, she has been fed breast milk only.

In the last two or so days she has been feeding more frequently and has been struggling to stay latched on. She'll latch on and come off and continue to do the nipple dance a few times during the feed. Does this sound like cluster feeding of some sort or has she just forgotten how to latch on? Her weight indicates that she is thriving but I'm not sure if this new development is something to worry about or not.

Any help or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

It sounds familiar. Does it happen mainly in the late afternoon/evening? I wonder whether she's also getting a little more gassy, so pulls off for a wriggle? If it's every feed, or if you want a bit more reassurance, you may want to talk to your HV, or better, head to a breastfeeding cafe to have latch checked over.

Congratulations on doing wonderfully so far! And congrats on your lovely chunky baby!

Ah, thank you callamia - there doesn't seem to be a pattern to her new feeding behaviour. It generally happens each time. She can still latch on properly, it's just almost as if she's playing with her food or getting too excited and gets it wrong a few times. I find if that if I hold my breast like a hamburger, she holds the latch without too many problems.

I'll definitely go down to the local breast feeding cafe - that's a really good suggestion. Thank you so much for your advice

I definitely remember this. Is sometimes think that my son had just forgotten how to feed. It was a bit worrying. Some patience, and I also helped by making it east for him to latch like you do. I think I was told that he was still learning too, and would someone's get it wrong. At 14 weeks, that's something that just doesn't happen anymore. Hope the bf cafe is useful

Oh dear. DD has really not fed well today. Kept coming away from the breast this evening and I'm worried that she hasn't had much milk today. Yesterday she hardly slept but ate all the time and today she did quite the opposite. She has hardly been awake all day but hasn't fed very much.

DP goes back to work tomorrow so I'm planning on lots of skin to skin cuddling in bed with the baby during the day, hoping she'll get back into feeding properly again.

Just when I thought I had this breast feeding all figured out...

Sounds my experience of cluster feed in with both mine and I also find hamburgering the breast gives a better latch. Yesterday could have been a growth spurt, there is usually one around day 10. Oh and congratulations :)

Thank you fhdl34! Baby slept well last night and only fed once around 3am. She is making up for it now and is guzzling down lots of milk.

My ds is almost 6 weeks old and still occasionally does this. Had an evening of it yesterday. Think it is growth spurts and engorgement. Usually happens when breasts are fuller too.

I just do the hamburger trick and make sure I have a good latch rather than just being grateful we have any latch. I tell him 'open' when latching all the time and he does seem to know what I mean!

Congratulations on your baby. Bfing is hard but gets easier with every day. You will hit growth spurts and feel like you are going backwards. But just as you hit rock bottom baby will smile at you. Or let you have 4 hours sleep. And then the fact your nipples are shredded and you are exhausted won't matter!

Sounds like a growth spurt. Dd fusses and bobs on and off and doesn't seem to take much and then wants to do it all again a short time later. Then the day after she sleeps quite well. Just do what your baby wants as exhausting as it is.

Thanks ladies. This is really helpful and reassuring. I really like your 'open' trick frou - I'll definitely start using that .

ninja I totally agree about doing as baby wants, even if my mother is trying to convince me that I'm spoiling my newborn!

Ha froub I say big to my dd to tell her to open wider, I also say hands when I move her hands out the way and I think she's got that too. Though I'm not entirely sure they know they have hands yet so I might be imagining it.
Lotty my mum says I should leave her to cry as it strengthens her lungs. I have told her that its bollocks.

Why are mums so odd about baby care? They are only tiny little things who surely need to be close to us and not left to fend for themselves!

I love these baby commands - have been using 'open' and I already think it's working or possibly am going a bit mad with sleep deprivation

"We'll that's what I was told when you were babies" ah yes mother cos advice from 32 years ago wouldn't have changed at all. Mil was the same when I said we'd get a new mattress for the crib because of SIDS thought I was crazy. Luckily she told fil that the horsehair mattress that had been kept since dh was a baby! was probably best thrown out

Haha ninja! so glad it's not just my mum then. MIL is very wise and keeping her opinions to herself but I sense she thinks that feeding on demand is excessive.

Mother, on the other hand, has told me that I've already spoilt my two week old DD because I refuse to leave her crying in her cot and instead sleep with her in our bed at the moment. She was also trying to sell me the old feed the baby every four hours only line, again something she was told to do 33 years ago. As much as I'd like her to be near it's moments like these that make me appreciate that she's on the other side of the world

Times do change :) my grandma is always fond of telling me that her GP told her to put my mum in a pram at the bottom of the garden if I didn't stop crying so that she could get on with the housework!

My mums not that far away but just far enough
Rmyers I can't imagine that at all. All these things mothers are told to do or were told to do. What about following your instincts? I can't leave dd crying, I physically don't want to.