Cluster Feeding: What To Expect And Tips For Managing It
Cluster feeding is when babies suddenly start feeding way more frequently and in clusters for some time. It lasts a few hours at a time, which contrasts with your the baby’s normal eating habits.
It is a normal phenomenon seen mostly in breastfeeding newborns in their first weeks of life. Also, it does not always mean that there is something wrong with the baby or its milk supply.
How To Identify Cluster Feeding
You know what is cluster feeding, but newborn cluster feeding can be hard to identify because babies do not have a particular feeding or sleep schedule. Some signs of cluster feeding are:
- Your baby is a few days or weeks old
- Your baby is showing usual hunger signs or won’t stop crying until they’re fed
- Your baby wants to eat constantly or eat frequently for short sessions each time
- Nothing else seems wrong, and they’re peaceful when being fed
- Your baby has regular wet and dirty diapers
Cluster feeding is more prevalent in the evenings. In older infants, there can be several consecutive days where they could be feeding more than their usual fill in a day. This could happen due to teething or baby growth spurts.
Normal Baby Feeding Schedule
Each baby is different, but on an average, a typical feeding session can last anywhere between 10-30 minutes. Experts recommend feeding a newborn 8-12 times on average in a day. Your baby could still show signs of hunger and require more feeding.
Frequent Feeding Is Known To Help:
- prevent jaundice
- promote healthy weight gain
- mothers develop milk supply
Cluster Feeding Or Colic
Having a fussy baby can make you wonder if your baby has colic. They have similar symptoms in that they come on just as suddenly, and it often occurs in the evening.
Babies with colid cannot be helped with nursing and formula. But a cluster-feeding baby can calm down with nursing sessions.
Colic has been defined as episodes of crying that last for at least 3 hours a day, 3 days in a week, 3 weeks in a row. It affects 10-40% of babies worldwide, and the susceptibility does not differ between genders. It does not differ between breastfed or formula-fed babies either.
Symptoms Of Colic Include:
- Baby’s cry sounds more like screaming
- Face and body appear tense and contorted
- Crying at a particular time each day, often in the evenings
- Crying that peaks at 6 weeks and stops by 3 months old
Why Do Babies Cluster Feed?
Research has not been able to find any substantial answer to why this happens. There have only been theories that lack proof. So far, it’s understood that cluster feeding meets a combination of requirements that your baby needs while it’s developing rapidly.
“Cluster feeding is likely a way for babies, who have maturing nervous systems, to regulate. It could also be a way to store up on food for the night. What we do know about breastfeeding is that it’s a supply and demand system. When little babies want to feed, that’s a good sign that we should let them, because trying to schedule or space feedings out doesn’t give that supply and demand system the right feedback. So while we can have theories about why they cluster feed, what matters is that we let them do it — that’s the way to establish and maintain mom’s milk supply,” says Heather Turgeon, MFT, psychotherapist and author of The Happy Sleeper.
It can be exhausting, and people stress the importance of having a feeding schedule for the baby, but it can be completely normal for babies to cluster feed during the developmental stages.
Is Cluster Feeding A Sign Of Low Milk Supply?
Frequent feeding should not be a reason for you to worry about the amount of milk being produced. Your doctor can tell by the amount of weight gained by your baby if they are getting enough milk.
If you still want to know, you can track the number of wet diapers you are throwing away. Here is the average number of wet diapers per day by age:
Age Average wet diapers per day
| Newborn | 1-2 |
| 4-5 days old | 6-8 |
| 1-2 months old | 4-6 |
If you are worried about your baby’s diet, you can ask your pediatrician and get connected to a lactation consultant. Babies who are struggling to gain weight or appear frustrated might not be getting their share of milk.
Other Night-time Issues Babies Face
Some babies tend to get finicky as evening draws. Some reasons why it could happen are:
- being overtired or overstimulated
- missing parents who’ve been at work or away all day
- needing to be burped if they’ve eaten a lot
Pros And Cons Of Custer Feeding
Cluster feeding could have positive as well as negative effects.
Pros
- Baby might sleep longer after cluster feeding
- It can help babies become emotionally and neurologically regulated
- It can increase your milk supply
- It can help you have more skin-to-skin time with your baby, known to be beneficial for both mom and baby
Cons
- It is unpredictable
- It can be exhausting, both physically and mentally
- It can make your nipples sore
- It can interrupt your life away from the baby in the evenings
How To Manage Cluster Feeding
If you want to know how long does cluster feeding lasts, it is normal for babies to cluster feed for a brief period in their first few weeks, but it can be exhausting for you as well as the whole family. We have some tips you can use to take care of yourself, your family, and your baby’s cluster-feeding needs.
- Stay stocked on water and snacks near your nursing area so that you don’t go hungry and dehydrated during these feedings.
- Set up a nursing area with a TV nearby, or you could listen to audiobooks and podcasts while feeding. Keep chargers within reach, too.
- Keep alternating between positions to avoid getting sore.
- Call a friend while you are idle. You could use earbuds to keep your hands free.
- Sit on a couch or the floor so other members of the family can have access to you.
- Have a basket of toys that your older children play with while you nurse your baby.
- Try placing your baby in a carrier while you nurse so that you can walk around in the near future.
- Plan ahead if you know when your baby typically gets fussy so you can allocate our work accordingly.
- As soon as you get a break, hand your baby over to someone else in the house to recharge.
- Share some duties with your partner to feel less burdened.
- In the weeks of postpartum, try keeping a housekeeper or letting some friends help you out with the chores, if possible.
In Conclusion…
Cluster feeding is normal for babies in the first few weeks, and it happens as evening draws in. Scientists have not understood this phenomenon as of yet, but it is not a sign of anything being wrong.
The schedule may be upturned for a few weeks this lasts, but it will eventually go away, leaving the baby smiling and playful for you to love and cuddle as much as you possibly can.
If you have questions or you have thoughts to share, please leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you!
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