when does cluster feeding stop

[sleepycat13]

I was wondering about all your experiences of clusterfeeding
my ds is currently 4.5 months and still cluster feeds all evening from about 4.30 pm til 10ish when he finally goes to sleep. I generally don't mind too much as this is an improvement from up until about 12 weeks when it was a constant 24 hour feed. but it's hard work and means I can't really do much in the evenings.
is this normal? will he always cluster feed or does it stop eventually?

Mine is 4months and she definitely doesn’t do this, I’d like it if she did it more and it tanked her up for the night. Are you sure you aren’t being used as a dummy?
I’m sure it’s a phase, as these things always are, but my personal experience is cluster feeding stopped quite early

Have you tried giving a dummy? Is he actually feeding or just comfort suck?

oh dear... was hoping to hear it a still very common at this age.

he does feed but it's also def for comfort too. have tried a dummy several times and he isn't interested. when he is upset it's hard to soothe him and often he only wants the boob

we are now at a point that there can be stretches of 45mins - hour between feeds in the evening (whereas it used to be constant) but it's hard to do anything like cook dinner or even nip for a shower and daddy can only seem to entertain him for so long (dh isn't very good at soothing him)
I want to keep bf but I think dh is starting to feel redundant and resentful

don't know if it's relevant but he is a small baby. currently 5th centile (previously just over the 9th) so he probably does need the food if that makes sense hence why I have always just fed on demand whenever he wants

oh and it doesnt seem to tank him up for the night either
in theory he should be and has managed a 6 hour stretch on 2 occasions but most commonly he does 3-4 hours followed by 1-2 hours from 10pm til 7.30am so doesn't have loads of sleep either

I’m sure his size is relevant (not that I’m an expert). I very much doubt he will still be doing it at 6 months say, so things wil change shortly. Have you tried different dummy brands? Mam? Enjoy the lazy evenings for now because when they are walking/running around like mentalists we’d be wishing they’d lie down and feed all evening!

I tried a few different brands including nuk which he is fine with in the bottles but not mam. might give them a go although suspect it's a bit late now.

and that's a very good point. I did just manage to watch a film with him napping/ feeding on me so I guess that is pretty good going. will try to just enjoy it for what it is.

Four months is when the day feeds start to get more distracted. If you are having a quiet moment in the day try taking him to a quiet dark room for a feed. You may also find his cues are less pronounced so offering more regularly (as well as when he demands) during the day might help. I wouldn’t use a dummy as he will be getting some calories from the cluster feeding and also stimulating your supply.

When they start taking on solids substantially, IME.

All three of mine stopped cluster feeding of an evening like that between 10 and 13 weeks.

that's reassuring @BertieBotts

and good idea @Applesandpears23
he is certainly more distracted now but rarely turns down food when offered so will try doing that

Mine cluster fed until he was nearly five months. What you're describing was every evening for me for what felt like eternity! I got Netflix and took up boxsets.

My baby cluster fed until about 3 months but my NCT breastfeeding counsellor told me that it can carry on until you start weaning in some cases, hang in there!

Sorry, x-post with @BertieBotts

A friend of mines baby still does it at over a year.

Blueskyrain I'm hoping that's not the case

How is his weight gain? You mention dropping from 9th to 5th centile - when did that happen and has he continued to track the 5th centile since? Cluster feeding is supposed to be occasional, for a few days, around the time of growth spurts. If he needs to be endlessly latched for hours every single night and if he is dropping centiles, then I would actually worry he isn't getting enough. In the drive to promote breastfeeding, too much is dismissed as "normal" and I think your situation warrants further investigation if it is constant.

he dropped recently but was constantly on the 9th up until the 4 month mark. I did mention it to the health visitor and she didn't seem concerned. will get him 're weighed in a couple of weeks time.
also he isn't constantly latched during the evening period but during that window from 4.30 ish until bed at 9.30/10 he will want a feed every half hour. he has a good latch and is clearly swallowing most of the time.

Hiya my baby has just hit 4 months and is just reducing cluster feeds in eve now - prev it was just like you from 430 to 11pm pretty non stop - then there were bigger snoozes between each feed - and now baby has stopped feeding after 9pm so it seems to be adjusting itself now.

Also feeding seems to be speeding up, notices the conicided with baby discovery hands and mouth, wants to suck on & taste fabrics etc, think discovery of mouth has also affected feeding

If you're worried about weight (although doesn't sound like you are) then maybe get a bf counsellor to observe feed and check milk transfer etc is ok?

It is really hard isn't it to do anything at all when it's this full on, I haven't cooked in ages

Re dummy, try holding baby at breast after a feed in bf position & gentle wiggle dummy against mouth. Keep dummy where your breast is & hold it in gently in first few mins of baby sucking it, when it pops in & out before they find a rhythm with it. Try in a relaxed way after every feed for a few days in a row & I reckon baby might click with it. Then your dh could have some snuggles offering the dummy

Good luck

dustpan - thanks for that and tips regarding dummy. i hadn't thought of trying that so will give it a go.

I know this post was a long time ago, but it sounds identical to the problem I'm having now when you describe no time to eat etc as waking every 45, when did it get better?! :-)

My baby does this still and is the same age. It much better than the first few weeks in that it's not all morning as well. My baby is definitely a snacker so has little often from about 6pm until 11pm. All babies are different though and the infant feeding specialists like Kathryn Stagg and Lyndsey Hookway say it's all normal. Have a look at their advice and don't worry at all.