hi all, new to this side, my little princess was born on 25/11/09

She seems to be what they call cluster feeding, everytime i put her down she just screams and will not stop till i put her on the breast. It is always early hours of the morning so pretty tiring.

The only thing is that its making my breast very full and my nipples sore.

She has normal feeds during the day. has a feed then goes to sleep and wakes up every 3 hours, this is what she is like till about 1am.

Is anybody else experiencing this and is there any advice that can make things a bit easier.

Thanks and its finally good to be posting in this forum

xxx

No advice really, just stick with it, it will get easier with time. It is so hard when they want to feed constantly, and it's harder at night when you are more tired! For the sore nipples, try expressing a few drops of milk after each feed and rubbing them in and leaving it to air dry, then put on Lansinoh cream which is a godsend. Sounds like you are doing a great job, and congrats on your beautiful little girl.

Hey,
Congratulations!
I have a clusterfeeder too. The first week was a nightmare, Emily fed for what seemed like 24 hours a day, and lost weight too initially. Then she started going for a bit longer between feeds, but still clusterfeeds. It is always between about 7pm-11.30 that she feeds constantly. She usually settles for the night at 11.45, and for the last couple of weeks, has been sleeping from 11.45pm to 6am, which is fabulous. Neither of my other 2 children were clusterfeeders, and neither slept through the night till they were on solids. So although the clusterfeeding is a pain and effectively means I cant do anything at night, the only thing that keeps me going is knowing I will get a good night's sleep!!

My breasts were like yours initially, but they seem to know when she will feed and have adjusted themselves now and it does make a difference. I used to wake up in the morning and have boobage spilling out my bras, but now they are a lot more normal.

The only advice I would give (cos this is what i do) is settle down when you know the clusterfeeding will start, and make sure you have plenty of drinks and snacks nearby and something decent to watch on telly or dvd. It DOES get better, and you will get into a routine.

And make sure you get a nap if you can during the day, its amazing how more human a bit of sleep can make you feel.

My LO cluster feeds in the evening like crazy every time he goes into a growth spurt (which is often for him). Just keep at it! Your LO would be just a week old, right? Just wanted to make sure, your milk came in well, right? As long as it did, then just keep at it and let her feed and suckle as often and for as long as she wants. It is frustrating for you, but what she needs. And will be worth it!

Well done you on your wonderful princess! Congratulations!!! And well done, too, on sticking with breastfeeding - the first few weeks can be very stressful.

One idea that can help with cluster feeding is breast compression. It acts to encourage babies to decide if they're hungry - in which case they get another let down - or not, in which case they usually come off the boob. There's a wonderful handout on it here: http://www.nbci.ca/index.php?option=...tion&Itemid=17

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Melanie