Is this cluster feeding?

[OopsieeDaisy]

DC is just over 3 weeks and since the day after birth, has had nights (probably around 50% of the time or slightly more) where he has fed continuously for hours on end. Last night was 6pm-12am and the night before was similar. He wouldn’t even be winded in between feeds last night without becoming angry and rooting to be back on the breast. He will fall asleep on me and seem settled when I place him in his crib but a couple of minutes later is awake and fussing/rooting. But once he settles for the night, he’ll sleep for 3 hours, wake for a feed and sleep again.

I spoke to the infant feeding team this morning and the lady I spoke to said this doesn’t sound like cluster feeding, despite the fact DC will do this for a couple of nights in a row and then have a night or two off. She said cluster feeding won’t happen until 6 weeks which is contradictory to what I’ve read online. She suggested using a dummy and said it should be ok introducing at this stage because he is ebf though this is also against what I have already been told! Her advice was to try settling him in different ways when he’s like this because he’s probably just wanting the comfort and it’s a bad habit.

Just wondering whether others have experienced similar and if this sounds like cluster feeding or not. I’m wondering whether to call the national breastfeeding helpline for a second opinion as I don’t feel confident that what I’ve been told is right.

Her advice was to try settling him in different ways when he’s like this because he’s probably just wanting the comfort and it’s a bad habit.

All of what she said is rubbish, but this......!

Of course he wants comfort - he's 3 weeks old and can barely work out that he is no longer inside you! You will not start bad habits.

Mine cluster fed from about 3 weeks - usually started at about 4 in the afternoon and were on and off until about 11ish.

Also only slept on me and would wake if I tried to put them down in crib/cot.

I remember my daughter started cluster feeding at 3 weeks. It only lasted a few days though so possibly a growth spurt.

You often hear "you can't overfeed a breastfed baby" which is absolute rubbish. You can. The boob is their safe place and so they often want to feed when they're not hungry. 3 weeks is still very little, but if it continues, it might be worth trying some other soothing techniques. My daughter was constantly after the breast, she was growing faster than you'd expect, but also throwing up because she would guzzle it down. She was much more settled when I began to track and monitor her feeds to make sure she didn't get too much. It got easier when she began self-soothing.

But 3 weeks! Are you giving it some time between feeding and putting the baby down? I sometimes found that reflux made her squirmy and fussy, so she looked for comfort and so we entered a vicious cycle. In the end I used to feed her. Put the boob away, burp her and go to the 'boring corner' (a white very uninteresting wall) and rock her gently until she started to drift off. She would winge a bit but the change of room was a good distraction.

Hope some of this helps. Just speaking form my experience. I'm no expert!

Classic cluster feeding. Infant feeding lady sounds beyond clueless..honestly I despair.

Sounds like cluster feeding to me, and that woman you spoke to doesn't know what she's talking about. Feed your baby. This is not a bad habit for a 3 week old 🙄 - baby is building up your milk supply.

Mine cluster fed for about 3 months 😅