Constant cluster feeding since birth ?? Will it get better ??

[Kelskiii]

My LO is 5 weeks old & likes to cluster feed 9am-12/1pm, sleeps on & off until 4/5pm (I have tried waking her but she will not latch on when tired) then cluster feeds on & off from 4/5pm-1am, waking again at 4am. I have introduced an expressed bottle at 4am as LO struggles to latch on when tired.

I can only express around 30-50ml a day, this is done throughout the day & mainly get the milk at 4am feeds. I have tried several pumps electric & manual.

I am quite happy to feed whenever LO wants to but the problem is it does hurt a lot after that long of feeding & i'm not convinced she is getting milk this whole time as she seems starving. I have had LOs latch checked & she is latching well when awake. I was advised to introduce formula bottle mid evening cluster feed to give my nipples a break but she still wants to feed on me after the bottle. I wish I could feed expressed milk at this point but unfortunately don't express enough.

Is this normal?? & does it get any easier??

All the breastfed babies I know feed for 10-30mins every 3-4hours, not for hours on end.

I know every baby is different but I don't know how much more my nipples can take.

 

[butterfly_85]

It seems like she may be comfort sucking some of the time have you thought about trying a dummy to save your nipples?

It does get better as they get older they get more efficient at feeding so dont take as long. Although if they have a growth spurt they tend to want to feed more. it does get better though!

 

[Kelskiii]

Thank you! I'm beginning to think the same thing. I've been told not to give her a dummy so she will suck to build my milk supply but I don't think I can take much more.

I gave LO some infacol earlier, she released some wind not long afterwards & seemed to settle & not suck as much.

I think she's using me as a dummy & when she has wind she thinks she needs to suck. Hopefully these 2 things will ease the pain & constant sucking.

 

[Rachel_C]

It does sound fairly normal to me but it does get better! If you think wind is an issue, pay extra attention to winding her really well and keep going with the Infacol if it works for her, but other than that it's best just to keep going. Follow all the advice people give for when you're just starting to BF e.g. lots of nipple cream, let them air dry etc and hopefully LO will stop feeding so often soon!

 

[Dawn11]

It does get better! for me it got better between 6-8 weeks with only the occasional day of constant cluster feeding. With regards to expressing have you tried expressing at the same time as your baby is feeding? I find that I'm able to express more milk when my son is feeding.

 

[I Love Lucy]

It does get better! I remember when DS was a newborn one nursing session could last as long as 40-60 minutes and with him nursing every couple of hours it was definitely hard. But as they get older they get more efficient and nursing sessions don't last as long. Plus your nipples get used to it, I still allow DS to comfort nurse to sleep every now and then and 40 minutes of that really doesn't bother me at all. Perhaps you could try unlatching your baby when she is asleep rather than allowing her to comfort nurse? Or try offering a pacifier (my DS refused them but your baby might not)?

As for expressing, milk supply is the highest from midnight to 6 AM if I'm not mistaken. I always managed to get the most milk when I would pump early in the morning. DS eventually started nursing on one side so I would just pump whatever side he didn't nurse on which resulted in a little more milk. Your milk supply is still be established though at this point so it's normal not to get very much right now.

Also, for your sore nipples have you tried any soothie gel pads? I know Lansinoh has some and I'm sure other brands do too. They worked wonders for my sore nipples in the beginning.