what do you do when they cluster feed until they vomit

[KateK21]

My baby is 4 weeks, bfing going well, but she has this manic session every evening lasting up to 3h where she gets wide-eyed, pants, grunts and shrieks and sucks fervently then vomits massively and continues fussing until passing out exhausted.

Is that normal? How to handle that?

I remember my dd and lots of babies on my Facebook group doing similar. Our general theory was that it was possibly a wind issue. They grew out of it.
For she burp if winded? Does it seem to help?

It's probably not currently fashionable advice, but if she wants to suck when she can't be hungry, you could try a dummy.

Can anyone help please

All 3 of mine done this - my turners was the worst for it (it maybe it's the freshest in my memory!) I didn't find a solution, just waited for the phase to pass. I always put it down to gas pains. I reckon they suck to soothe themselves but of course their tummies get full which is why they vomit.

Hang in there, it will pass!

Turners? I mean youngest.

Honestly I just feed him. He is growing out of it now but will eat until he's sick before eating more sometimes still. He's not doing it as much now he's hit 75th percentile.

Mine did this, it was wind. He grew out of it by 4/5 months but in the meantime just burp him as thoroughly as you can.

The clusterfeeding is normal. Just make sure you wind properly.

My first did this at the same age, in hind sight we could have benefited from a dummy, she did grow out of it

DD did this from about 2-5 weeks. She was combination fed (formula and expressed breast milk) so it may be different for ebf babies. She would start to feed frantically, screaming for the next until she was sick everywhere. It was awful. She would get tired and grumpy but would scream for a feed. My understanding is that it is normal although I bought an online sleep/feed schedule (I went with the little ones sleep programme for £30) and that seemed to help. I think that she wasn't feeding enough during the day because her naps were quite long so then she was really hungry. She stopped doing it 10 days after I started the new schedule and the nights were better to.

As above, this can be totally normal. Two of my three DC did it.

I used a dummy. Fed until they seemed full, burped and then offered the dummy. If they're feeding for pain relief/comfort then the dummy will be accepted. If they really are hungry then the dummy will be spat out when it fails to provide!

This is not medical advice, and if your baby is under about 6 weeks, or was premature, or has feeding/weight issues then a dummy may not be an acceptable solution.

This too shall pass .....

Mine did this, he is 6 weeks. Break off the feed at intervals and do a few minutes of winding. Sit the baby upright and rub and tap their back. Then switch and have them face over the shoulder. He or she is probably getting wind pain which they mistake for hunger. If they are still hungry then, go back and feed. Rinse and repeat. Also if they've had a few decent feeds, give them to daddy (who doesn't smell of delicious milk!) for a few minutes while you get a drink and relax. Cluster feeding is intense!

Mine did this, I would try regular burping but to be fair I did find this eating until sick boosted my supply quite well.