Little lady is almost 8 weeks old and it feels like things are progressively getting worse. I'm not in pain or anything, but I absolutely cannot stand the cluster feeding. The last few days she wants to eat every 1-2 hours, with the exception of a couple 3 hour stretches jere and there. It is making me crazy. We already went through the 6 week growth spurt so it's not that. I am seriously considering switching to just pumping because I cannot figure out how I can possibly keep doing this with a very active toddler at home.
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Ugh I went through the same thing (minus the toddler). I hated it and it seemed like he was eating non stop. He ate every two hours for a long time, but eventually it was only for a few minutes. I think around 3 months it for better.
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We struggled for what felt like a longer time than the 6 weeks I kept hearing. But at 3 months I looked down one day and realized I couldn't remember the last time it hurt.
The sleep nonsense is awful so big hugs to you. See if you can also when baby sleeps this weekend. It's twee advice but it helps when you are really struggling. Just climb in bed and stay there. Big hugs to you!
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@Mrs. Lion: is your wee one actively sucking / having good feeds during these frequent nursing sessions? Has she ever been checked for tongue or lip tie? It could be that she just really enjoys nursing but I'm also wondering if the frequent nursing is a symptom of a milk transfer issue caused by a tongue / lip tie.
Other than that you have my sympathies (signed, a mother who's been trying to get her one week old off the boob and into his bed for the last hour - it's almost midnight!!)
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My lo still nurses about once every 1-2 hrs except at night. And she's 6 months.
I feel like she just loves nursing. refuses a pacifier so if she's upset, anxious, sleepy, she wants to nurse.
Luckily she's my first so I've just gone with it.
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I wouldn't necessarily say that that was cluster feeding. My LO normally goes a maximum of 2 hours between feeds, and he's 6 months old. He feeds more often if we've been out or if he's been particularly active, making him hungry/thirsty.
It's normal, if demanding
How long does your daughter take at each feeding? I found it much less demanding once my little guy became a more efficient feeder, around 2-2.5 months. He only takes about 5min on average now.
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Maybe I'm crazy, but wouldn't pumping be even more work? You'd need to set aside time to pump on top of time to feed, plus cleaning and sanitizing everything all the time. the only benefit would be your SO being able to feed your LO every so often, which may be helpful I suppose depending on how often he is there to help out?
Eating every 1-2 hours at 8 weeks old isn't that unusual I don't think. My LO is 7 months and nurses every 4 hours minimum, but often more frequently than that. I agree that it might start feeling less demanding when your LO can eat quicker and doesn't take so long to feed.
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Cluster feeding ended around 12 weeks IIRC. Honestly, it got easier around 4 months for me.
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I think 1-2 hrs is normal....
DD is almost 4 months and some days still will only got 2 hrs between feedings -
@pui: I exclusively pumped for my first and the pumping/feeding combined was much less time consuming than breastfeeding has been this time
I know that what she is doing is normal for now, but the thought of it going on like this for the next 10 months makes me want to cry.
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@Mrs. Lion: I can only speak for my own experience but I'm 5 months in and I feel like it's gotten much easier. I'm still pumping at least twice a day on top of nursing (AM to save excess milk after his first feeding and late PM to keep supply up) but he eats every 3-3.5 hours during the day and it's working well for us. My son is a huge comfort nurser, and I struggled with it, and ultimately use a pacifier to give myself a break. No way I would have kept with it without the help of a paci and the fact that he'll happily take a pumped bottle. Do whatever feels best for you both! Hang in there...you're doing an awesome job for your little girl.
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@Mrs. Lion: it gets so much easier / faster / fun, as your LO gets older and it won't be like this forever! Those first twelve weeks are really important for establishing and maintaining supply and it sounds like by feeding so frequently your LO is doing a great job at setting herself up for the future!
Hang in there!
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@Mrs. Lion: probably around 10 weeks. But she still nurses a lot these days. I posted a couple days ago about cutting off nursing sessions because she will just be comfort nursing and not eating. The comfort nursing thing never really stopped with dd1, she would nurse to sleep for naps a lot. I didn't mind because she was my only child but now i have two and i have to cut the 2nd one off.
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I found there was always some challenge. She had breast rejection between 4-7 months. I worried about supply because she nursed so seldom. We had a couple of smooth months after that but then I got pregnant which somehow triggered her to want to nurse ALL the time. It was though cause my nipples were so sensitive and my supply was gone. We still nurse, mostly for comfort but it's not my favourite thing.
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How long does a session last and is it active the entire time? Can you try compressions to help the milk flow so it goes faster? Maybe pick one session to swap for a pump. I know I have to pump like twice as long compared to how a nursing session goes.
Can you find other ways to comfort/stimulate? Maybe it's just a comfort thing rather than a hungry thing?
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i can't imagine doing it with a toddler, but i think it got easier for me as 6 months. with some good/easy periods before that too.
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With my first LO it was right around the 3 month mark that sessions became much shorter (<10 mins). With my second I don't exactly remember but it was around the same time frame though he has never taken less than 20 mins.
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It got much easier for me at 6 months. She used to comfort nurse and stay latched forever but right around 6 months she started to pull away when she was done. Made such a difference in time spent nursing her! She also got more patient and would let me know she was hungry without heavy crying right around that time too.
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Honestly, I'd say the big turning point happened for me around 4 months. That's when I really didn't have to think About feeding, I could just feed on the go etc.
I would imagine that pumping would be even more time consuming with a toddler as well since you have to pump then feed, not to mention washing bottles and stuff!!
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1-2 hours seems normal for an 8-week old to me! Wait it out until 12 weeks... I am sure things will be much more spread out by then. Hang in there!
And just an idea since you have a toddler at home: What if you had a "nursing box" or some special bin of toys that was up on a shelf, that he/she only got to take down and play with while you were nursing? That way, she was occupied while you nursed and she didn't feel ignored since she got to play with her special toys? Maybe a sensory bin filled with rice or beans and a bunch of scoopers and cups? Or even play-doh with little rollers and safe plastic cutters? Even a bin of pipe cleaners and "fuzz balls" and yarn could be exciting and new!
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Turning point was actually going back to work and forced to pump so her eating has to be more scheduled. We now deal with on & off nursing strikes, but I got over it and just pump if she doesn't want the boob! Hang in there!
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Nursing every 1-2 hours was pretty common for H at that age. Do you babywear? I learned how to nurse in the Ergo when H was 7 months old and it was a lifesaver. I WOH, so being able to nurse her while I walked the dog saved me so much time on the days that I was flying solo. I think she enjoyed it too because she was able to look around while she nursed, and I enjoyed it because I was totally covered.
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I wrote a similar post a while ago, and the poll helped me feel better: http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-breastfeeding-become-easy-1
We had different issues than you're dealing with, but it finally became easier at around 6 months.
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My LO seemed to have another mini-spurt right around 8 weeks. I was getting really frustrated at that time because he was eating so often, and I couldn't understand why since it wasn't supposed to be a growth spurt, but all of a sudden his weight shot up and sure enough it was a little mini-spurt.
He still has a daily pattern of eating every 3-4 hours from morning until afternoon, but starting around 4pm he will want to nurse every 1.5-2 hours. It is very frustrating for me because I'm back at work now, and so after a full day at work I come home and basically nurse my baby all night (so I never get anything done at home!). But I have heard that this pattern ends around 12 weeks or so, and so I hope for the both of us that it's true!
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For us, it was the 4 month mark. I just had to keep making little goals to get us there.
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