4 week old cluster feeding

[Holly0209]

Hi
My 4 week old baby has been cluster feeding since he was three days old. He cluster feedings in early morning with hours breaks from half 5 in morning until around 11-12am and then will have a break until 3-4pm. He is then cluster feeding CONSTANTLY from 3-4pm until half 1 in the morning. The only reason he goes to sleep then is because I give him a bottle. I caved in early because I didn't know what else to do as I am sat upright all day and I have no idea what time he would go to sleep if I didn't give him a bottle.
i am wondering if anyone has any advice but more really if anyone has had a similar experience as most threads I have read the mums have said their cluster feeding is 3-5 hours long and mine is much more than this and with having to give him a bottle at night just so I can go to sleep. Am also worried this will affect my milk supply but I don't know what else to do and I do need to sleep

Any experience would help greatly
Thanks :-)

Hi, I'm a brand new mum my baby is 4 months old now, I'm not sure if people will agree but at 4 weeks old things are still really new it will take a good few weeks to settle down and your baby is doing what's right for them i.e. Cluster feeding there really isn't a set time when they start. The best advice I can give you is don't put pressure on yourself - I did and was really struggling in the end I changed to combine feeding with formula in the day and breast at night while this wasn't what I wanted to do it happen and actually was the best thing for me and my baby. Expressing didn't work for me but maybe it will for you then someone else can feed while you rest up, just look at all your options and work out what is best for you as that is all that matters and get to a local breast feeding support group they really do help. Things will settle down I promise but for now work out what's best then try reduce the pressure we all put on ourselves and try and enjoy this amazing time as it really does fly by. Good luck ☺️

Oh and no your milk supply won't be affected, and baby will go from breast to bottle fine I was worried about everything then things just fell into place once I worked out what was best for me and my baby

Have you had the baby checked for tongue tie by an expert (sometimes HV and midwives can miss it) as that pattern could indicate that baby is not sucking very efficiently

Goodness me that sounds exhausting.
It sounds like tongue tie to me. DS had it and he fed constantly as well.
Please go to a breastfeeding drop-in or see a lactation consultant and ask for a tongue tie assessment.
Be wary of midwives or health visitors who say baby doesn't have tongue tie - they are not properly trained on it and often miss it.

www.tongue-tie.org.uk/Mobile/m-tongue-tie-information.html

Hi, it's not just you op there's many of us out here experiencing long cluster feeds. Baby is trying to establish your milk supply but yes there's could be the underlying issue of tongue tie.

My DD was taking 2-6 hours to feed as it was so hard for her. When she was actually cluster feeding during a growth spurt the longest was 12 hours of feeding and dozing on the breast. It's exhausting.

She her her tongue cut at 4 weeks. It's made a bit of a difference but not much, we are the unlucky ones as for many it improves feeding massively

If you want to get this possibility checked don't ask GP or midwives, see a proper lactation consultant. You should have an infant feeding team, ask your HV to refer you.

Is he gaining weight as expected?

You're doing a great job OP but please do not feel pressured to continue. It's easy for me to say as I feel pressured to continue and I'm still going at 9 weeks and I'm determined to push to 12 weeks and reassess. That was a break through for me as before there was no light at the end of the tunnel but giving myself a cut off point if no improvement helped massively.

Theres a balance between wanting to continue breast feeding and your sanity!!

Thankyou all for getting back to me so soon. :-) He is putting on weight absolutely fine he was quite small when born but is sometimes putting on 230g a week! I will speak to HV and ask to be seen by a specialist we have already been discharged from midwife as was putting the weight on fine.
I just hope we can get something sorted and find out if there is a problem as I have just been thinking it's the cluster feeding and soothing as he does have quite a few snoozes on me. It is just every time I put him down he starts crying. I would just really like to continue breastfeeding as had a shakey start and I worry enough about not topping up my supply enough when I give him the bottle at night! :-(

Cluster feeding is normal but cluster feeding every day for weeks is far less common. I second checking for tongue tie, my DS cluster fed for days on end which was one of the signs of it. He was gaining weight well.