Newborn-cluster feeding-cosleeping

[Digestivesmilk]

Hello,

My 3 week old baby (DC2) is cluster feeding constantly since his birth. I don’t feel my boobs hard as they don’t have time to fill properly as he is most of the time attached to them.

He is cluster feeding because I may have low supply, or his tongue tie is affecting him although it’s mild. We are waiting for an appointment for it.

The end result is that he got used to be held so much that he is either sleeping on his breastfeeding pillow during the day or next to me attached on boob at the bed during the night.

I tried topping him up with formula after feeding sessions and then he got asleep almost instantly. However he understands it when I put him down in his crib and wakes up.

The only other solution that I am thinking is to introduce a dummy but I am so afraid of them and the need having to stop them later. At the moment I am his dummy which is exhausting!

Any ideas to make our life easier?

My DC1 was the same and I coslept/cluster fed her for 4 months before we gently sleep trained her.

However now, as I have two kids to take care of, it’s not sustainable for me to stay all day as a couch potato at the sofa and take care only of the baby and forget my DC1!

Any solutions/past experiences will be very welcome!

This is normal. I wouldn't give him formula unless you want to combination feed because you will be compromising your supply, supply will not regulate until 6-8 weeks. Even one bottle will make a difference especially at this early stage. If you are concerned then join some breastfeeding pages on fb, look at la Leche league or join a IRL bf group, organise to speak to a lactation consultant that is IBCLC registered

@RedRobyn2021 thank you for your reply! I already had two appointments with lactation consultants, one of which advised to pump after each feed.

I fully appreciate that it’s all normal. This is also happened with my DC1 and she gained weight well and everything was fine despite constant cluster feeding and cosleeping.

My problem is that this way of living for the next months is not sustainable given that I have another child to take care of and my whole purpose of living is not just breastfeeding like it was first time around…

Have you tried using a sling for daytime naps? I've got a 6 week old and a toddler and I basically feed and change the baby, put him down somewhere or play with him until he gets fussy (doesn't take long!) and then he goes into the sling and I have hands free to play with toddler. Baby drops off quickly in the sling but will wake when hungry so we do it all again.

Is the co sleeping at night a problem if naps are sorted? Night feeds (especially between about midnight and 4am) are important for keeping your supply going, so I wouldn't want to limit those if you've got concerns about baby not getting enough breastmilk.