any kind of routine possible for BF - seven wk old baby

[trixiechick]

My darling pirhana has absolutely no pattern to her feeding during the day. She seems to be cluster feeding ALL evening from five pm onwards until about ten. two questions - is this normal? and - is it possible/advisable to introduce any kind of routine while breast feeding?
I'm first timer and a bit clueless at this so any help would be appreciated, getting good at one handed typing while breast feeding though don't you think?

Totally normal!!! Especially that evening cluster feeding!

Hooray for MN, eh, keeps you going!

I tried with dd1 to introduce a certain "well known" routine as I didn't know any better. It didn't work, I ended up very depressed, crying cos dd1 would not do what she was 'told'.

Binned the book = happy baby, recovering mummy!!

I learned to enjoy the evenings, watched loads of films, etc. Can you get some choccy, nice cuppa and a box-set you haven't watched yet and sit down and snuggle up?

Congratulations and enjoy your baby!

I can remember at about 8 weeks or so dd fell into to a 2 1/2 to 3 hourly bf routine during the day - roughly 7, 10, 12.30, 3, then cluster feed between 5 and 8pm and then the odd feed at night.

It was about this time that I also had a rough bedtime routine. Basically bath, in her grobag and then last feed in the dark.

Her feeding was completely led by her though - she never really cried to be fed as I think I fed her before she got hungry enough to cry. Sometimes she'd feed for 20 mins and other times it would be up to an hour but I generally stuck to the above times - it meant I could factor in a walk in the afternoon when I knew she'd need a sleep after her lunchtime feed and she'd only sleep in the pram or on me in the early days.

Totally normal!!

You might want to try writing down what dd does every day and comparing it with the next. You might be surprised that there is a little bit of routine in there!

Most breastfed babies do not get into a routine until they're fully weaned though, once they have 'set' meal times.

As said before though, nothing wring with getting a bedtime routine going!

my 5 week dd has a routine we get up at 7 get her dressed she cluster feeds till 11 then goes to sleep I do cleaning and make me and ds lunch she wakes at 2 then more cluster feeds till 4 down for two hours then she is happy till 8 she cluster feeds till 11 then goes down for 4 hours has a hour feed and then goes back down till 7.

I think that is about the best routine you can hope for if you write it down you will probably find she is in a routine.

Sometimes if you stretch them out between feeds, it means they feed longer and more efficiently cos they're hungrier. But don't let them go any longer than 3 or 4 hours in the day! Have you got a sling? I have a stretchy wrap for my 8 week old that I use to carry him round when he cries / is unsettled. He loves it and goes off to sleep. Great for housework. I find by using that I can keep him to some sort of routine...

But tbh, evening cluster feeds sounds pretty normal. Baby's probaby going through a growth spurt as well so needing to feed more. Cluster feeding or 'tanking up' could be helping ur baby sleep better at night, so don't be too quick to change it!

Try a website called kellymom - which is all about breastfeeding. And if you want something to read, I've just got Baby Bliss by Dr Harvey Karp which is great for getting babies to sleep!

Yep, normal! There's a notorious growth spurt around the 6-8 week mark and my son fed constantly when he was that age! I think there's a change from hormone-led to demand-led milk supply at around the 8-week mark as well, so all the cluster feeding is doing wonders to keep your supply up.