Is this normal?

[UsernamesHarderThanBabyNames]

I'm exclusively breastfeeding my five week old boy. He was born on the smaller side (6lb) and I struggled with feeding for the first couple of days but it seems to have been going ok since, in that he's gaining weight at a decent rate and is doing lots of wees and poos.
However he seems to feed a lot more frequently and for longer than most babies. I'd say that we feed at least 15 times in a 24 hour period and they usually last around 40 minutes a time. So he's basically attached to me constantly! During the day they're every hour or so and then from around 7pm to midnight it's cluster central - after 5-10 mins of winding he's back for more straight away. At night things are more settled and we actually sleep! He'll typically sleep from midnight until 3 or 4am, then feed for 45 mins to an hour, then back to sleep until 6/7ish, another feed, then back to sleep until 9 or 10am before the more frequent feeding starts.
Does this sound ok? I don't think my latch is always great (I have very big, not very pert boobs and therefore struggle to find a good position and see what's going on) but a bf counsellor had a quick look and didn't see any problems. However I'm just mystified that he seems to be feeding so much. Worried my milk is rubbish! Also I've noticed that if we're out and about in the car/pram or he's being held by different people he'll go for longer and is quite content. But if he's near me he only thinks of milk! Does this mean he's comfort feeding? But I should still go with it?
All this also means he doesn't sleep much during the day - usually one longish sleep (max 2 hours) and a couple of 15 minute cat naps. Needless to say I'm not getting much else done!

Hi, yes it's normal. Half feeding half comfort I'd say. Currently in identical situation with my nearly three week old! Enjoy this time. Plenty of time to do other things later. Just cuddle and take them in. Congratulations x

Sounds very normal to me. It is utterly exhausting at first.

However this process is increasing your supply and as time goes on he'll feed much much fast. After a few more weeks he'll be done in 30 or 20 mins and will last longer between feeds.

In case no one has told you, this part is hell but it does pass quickly!!!

Comfort feeding is just as important as feeding to grow. All sounds fine :)

It does sound okay and normal but that doesn't take away from the hard work. You can try a dummy if you're getting wanting to get something done and think that he shouldn't be hungry yet. In my experience, the dummy will only do if they're not hungry.

At some point, the feeding will become more efficient so less often and less time but I think that's a way off yet.

Thanks for all the reassurance. He's now six weeks and I think the feeding has become slightly less intense but still very frequent! He was weighed yesterday and is now 7lb 9oz, which means he's gained a pound in two weeks. I was delighted with this but the HV at the clinic has knocked my confidence by pointing out he's gone down a centile since birth. I think the drop was early on and he's now catching up but I still feel a bit rubbish about it. With all this feeding should he be gaining more? He does approx five pooey nappies a day but he does sick up quite a bit of milk, do you think this is cause for concern? I also seem to have a blocked duct so am going to a bf group tomorrow to see if they think there's a latch issue.

My ds is 3 weeks and does the exact same thing. Almost hourly feeds lasting at least 20-30 mins then cluster feeds from 7pm til 10ish then sleeps for 3-4hr spells at night. I'm just going with it, as long as he seems content after feeding (as short lived as that may be) pees, poos and hv is happy with weight.... Baby knows what he needs and soon he'll be too interested in other things to feed so often (I hope!)