HELP: Baby constantly feeding!! Is this normal cluster feeding?

[LLL2023]

My 3 week old will not stop feeding. 2 days ago he fed/sucked non-stop (and I really mean non-stop) from 1am-7am. Yesterday he fed from 10pm-3:30am, and today has been 3pm-9pm and 11pm-3am (which is now - DH just managed to calm him down with some skin to skin)

He will be comfort sucking for a lot of it and then as soon as there’s milk let-down he’ll drink it immediately. He is very unsettled and will cry loudly if removed.

He usually eats in 3 hour increments otherwise and is happy and healthy, gaining weight very well and makes wet and dirty nappies very regularly.

But clearly this kind of “cluster eating” is not normal no? It’s constant and sooo long!

Any advice or sharing of personal experiences would be MUCH appreciated!

It is likely that this is the 3 week developmental/growth spurt. This is a moment that babies will drink more often or will cluster feed. He is upping your production...

It is tough. But your little one is telling you what he needs. The being unsettled is also normal for a spurt like this. Also make sure that you eat and drink enough (and get a toilet break when needed.) Hang in there!

My little one did exactly this at 3 weeks, he had a wee spurt around then. It's normal and it is rough. Best thing you can do is make sure you've good support from other half in terms of feeding you/ other kids/ housework and you put your feet up on the sofa with Netflix and find something good to binge watch. It doesn't last forever and I found it helpful to look up when their growth spurts are - there's another one at 6 weeks we've just gone through so I feel your pain. I'd recommend joining a bf support group if there's one near you and during those times screw literally everything and you sleep when baby sleeps - get whatever naps you can (I know easier said than done). He's working to increase your production of milk (I find oats really help so I have porridge every morning and then when he's cluster feeding I have them at night sometimes too) so he has what he needs, it's all supply and demand. Skin to skin is great, so is the bath for calming them down. Nipple balm or silver cups are also lifesavers if you start to get sore. And don't book in lots of visitors if you're too tired, just do what you feel like.

100% normal and 100% exhausting. It does get easier!

Yes to echo PP it's part of the 3 week growth spurt, totally normal but rough! Doesn't last forever so just do what you have to do to get through it

If you don't use one already, try a dummy for those times when you feel he's just using you for comfort sucking.

Very normal. Especially at this time of night. Keep going. You got this ❤️

Totally normal, he’s having a growth spurt and is building your supply. It’s tough but it will pass. You produce the more of the milk making hormone at night.

I binged a lot of Schitts Creek around this stage with my little one. Up feeding her now at 10 months. It’s an amazingly thing you are doing, it gets better soon, keep going!

Just echoing what others are saying, my (now 9 week) LO did this. I bought some dummies to help with the sucking as my poor nipples just couldn't take any more. Although I never wanted to introduce a dummy so early honestly it's worth it!

Feeds were short and constant for hours on end. In the end I survived by my partner adding in 1 formula feed overnight so I could sleep and let my boobs recover a little! Now LO sleeps pretty much overnight with a single feed around 4-5am (although I'm sure that'll change again at 12 weeks 😅)

Hang in there, it does get better!!

Thank you SO much for your fast replies everyone, it is very reassuring and motivates me to keep going even though it is absolutely brutal. Can I ask when your babies started and stopped cluster feeding like this?

Also, he has now wanted to be on my breasts with only very few and short-lasting breaks since 11pm yesterday, which is currently 12,5 hours and ongoing. Would you still consider this normal or is it worrying?

If you're unsure in any way you can call the NCT infant feeding helpline to ask a qualified person.

Alternatively have a look for any in person support groups in your area. Pop down and chat to the breastfeeding consultant there.

It does sound quite normal for a growth spurt. It does pass and it is ok to give baby to dad for a moment while you go to the loo / get some food. Make sure dad is looking after you.

It's normal, basically he will have "emptied" your breasts and is then continuing to suck in order to tell your body to produce more milk so that he gets enough for the spurt in growth. So it's not entirely comfort sucking although I'm sure he's finding it very comforting as well . Dummy helps give you a break but I'd say use it sparingly because he's sucking like this to stimulate your production so if he's sucking the dummy a lot instead that's not going to happen, but I do use one for a break when it's getting uncomfortable or I need to use the loo or can't have him latched for some reason to give me a bit of a break. I'd just be careful because at 3 weeks you're really just establishing your supply and latch etc so don't over use the dummy. For me it lasted 3-4 days and then he put on loads of weight and then slept lots for the next couple of days. I found at that point I needed to pump a bit because he didn't need the level of supply I then had when he wasn't cluster feeding any more so might be handy to have a wee hand pump if you feel engorged but you can also hand express a bit in the shower or into a cloth if you don't have one. I found that a the start of me expressing a bottle a day which dh could give when i need a rest.

If you use Insta I recommended following mamas.milk she’s a feeding expert and has loads of helpful posts.
if you live in Lancashire contact the FAB team. I’d you don’t I’d still recommend looking at their page.

below are screen shots from my now 3m olds first month of feeding. Orange is the feeds, green is sleep. the first m bar charts and times correlates to the same month, and the second the month following. hope it’s reassuring

Hi there. Im currently going through this now with 2.5week old. Hopefully given this was a few weeks ago for you, it’s all settled. This is my baby no3 & still brutal!

All the best

Currently with a 2 and a half week old. The endless feeding is exhausting beyond belief for my wife. Doing my best to support her but it's very trying. He's been feeding near constantly now since 10am and has had practically no sleep. What do I do or is this 'normal'?

What’s his weight gain like? Is he back at birth weight?

@Manchat23 cluster feeding is normal.

you can help by;

ringing the NCT infant feeding line with her to get qualified support

taking her to a local breastfeeding group to get some in person support.

providing her with 3 meals a day and all the water / tea / coffee she can drink

have skin to skin cuddles with baby when she needs to nap / pee / shower. Great for your bonding and as you don’t smell like milk baby might settle on your chest for a bit

do all the household chores and gate keep visitors etc. until she’s ready.

tell her you love her and that she’s doing an awesome job.

Practically by now. Only 100 grams shy a few days ago. Next weighing is tomorrow.