Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Cluster Feeding Hell

12 replies

katmarie · 01/11/2019 20:03

My DD is 6 days old, and for the last 3 days she's cluster fed from about 8.30pm until 4.30am, at which point she's finally gone down to sleep for 3 hours or so. She's sleeping a lot in the day, and I don't know whether to try and just ride it out and hope it will improve, or to try and gently nudge her towards being more awake during the day so we get at least some sleep at night.

At the moment during the day she's downstairs with us in a well lit room, tv or music on, plenty of noise and activity, not trying to keep things especially quiet etc, and she goes in a moses basket when she sleeps during the day time. During the night she gets put down into a small rocking crib, but doesn't sleep for more than about 45 minutes at a time, and often if she falls asleep on the breast, I put her down and she's awake and rooting 20 minutes later, this goes on literally from about now until 4.30am.

I know it's very early days, and I'm reluctant to try and keep a tiny baby awake during the day, but we have a toddler too, who is up at 6.30 most days, so I'm not getting a great deal of sleep during the day and the nights are exhausting me. Plus my nipples are very tender. My DS also cluster fed, so this isn't a complete shock, but he cluster fed much earlier in the evening, so by midnight or so he was going down for 2-3 hours, and then having a good feed and going back down again. I'm starting to dread night time with DD. Anyone have any advice or experienced this? Please tell me it gets better?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
heynow12 · 01/11/2019 20:08

I experienced something similar with my DD. She would cluster feed from 7 ish til 2 in the morning and that felt grim so I feel your pain. I had some support from a lactation consultant who told me to wake DD every 2 hours during the day for feeds. She also told me to press my breast with the flat of my hand at night whilst DD was feeding to help her get the dregs of milk! After just a few days it started to get better and gradually improved over a couple of weeks so the cluster feeding calmed and became manageable

harrypotterfan1604 · 01/11/2019 20:15

Hang in there! Cluster feeding sucks but it’s what baby needs right now.
Sleep when baby sleeps if at all possible and if you can’t sleep at least rest. Is there anyone that can help with your toddler in the days?
Get some snacks, some water and something decent on Netflix to watch overnight while baby is feeding honestly it helps to just give up on hope of sleep and settle with the fact that your going to be up most the Night it’s less stressful than clock watching and to wondering when you’ll get to bed.
I remember it well it’s so hard. Good luck

M0reGinPlease · 01/11/2019 20:16

Hang in there, you're only six days in.

Prepare, prepare, prepare. Get comfy. Get drinks. A fully charged phone. Some box sets. Snacks.

It won't be forever.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

M0reGinPlease · 01/11/2019 20:17

Great minds @harrypotterfan1604 !

harrypotterfan1604 · 01/11/2019 21:13

@M0reGinPlease it was the best advise anyone ever gave me when I had my little girl. Everyone has lots of advice and honestly I didn’t listen to most of it but I feel like this advice saved my sanity a bit! Plus snacks are pretty much the answer to most problems are they not 🤔😂😂

M0reGinPlease · 01/11/2019 21:31

Plus snacks are pretty much the answer to most problems

This advice comes into its own in the toddler years!! 😂

katmarie · 02/11/2019 03:14

Thanks all. Amazingly shes been down for a couple of hours tonight and is just now having a feed. The difference a couple of hours sleep makes is amazing.

OP posts:
Kimberleigh · 02/11/2019 18:35

Hi. We went through this when DD was about 5/6 weeks. Feeding from 8/9pm until 2/3am.

Its passed for now and she is in a different phase of sleeping, we are getting big chunks of sleep but again, this will pass.

I like the 'give up on all hope of sleep' because it does make it less stressful having that mind set. I knew she would go to sleep at point. Netflix, candu crush and MN help me. Lol. And if we had a rough night, i had a duvet day! Not that easy with a toddler though i guess.

IrrationalIrational · 03/11/2019 19:06

I’ve been there op, I thought I wouldn’t survive it. It’s horrendous. It doesn’t last long in my experience. Are you doing the bath, bottle, bed routine that helped my DS so much.

sh13 · 03/11/2019 21:16

I’d try an get some help with the toddler so you can sleep in the day. I found this bit of breastfeeding hell I felt like I was on deaths door anyway from the birth, mine fed 8 till 3 am. I agree with accepting your not going to get sleep , but you definitely need some support in the day’s if you have anyone ? and it will get better the cluster feeding won’t last x

katmarie · 04/11/2019 09:03

It seems to be getting better, sort of. Last night she slept from 10pm - 1am, fed from 1am until 5am then woke again at 7.30am. My toddler is in nursery today thank god, so I'm going to spend a lot of time resting and sleeping hopefully.

OP posts:
IrrationalIrational · 04/11/2019 09:11

Glad your feeling better it’s hell & exhausting it’ll soon pass I promise

New posts on this thread. Refresh page