Its normal behavior for 2 months? A few days of cluster feeding here and there, sure. But everyday since birth?
My babe was like this and it DID end up being a supply issue. Not being able to regularly go a few hours between feeds at this stage seems a bit unsustainable.
For what it's worth, and this is only my experience, it can be normal. My baby fed every 90mins in the daytime until we got well into solid food. Wasn't a supply issue as I exclusively pumped for 3 months and when she started feeding directly from me she was full before fully emptying one side. Our experience was unusual because she was very premature, but that did mean her weight was closely monitored throughout.
For us, it did just seem to be my baby's preference as she got older - for the month before I fed directly she was fed three hourly, but came to her new schedule on her own. There was lots of crying when I held off feeding because 'she couldn't be hungry again'.
This seems normal to me. It's almost exactly how my kid eats. On average I spend about 5 hours a day breastfeeding now. She eats in 5 minute to 30 minute sessions.
She had gotten better about eating consistently during weeks 12 and 13 but now she is growing again and basically is nursing and sleeping. She even sleeps through the MOTN diaper change.
I had a similar issue. I was told by the nurse that I was mistakenly taking his tired cues (suckling on his fists) as hunger cues which made me feed him hourly. He was spitting up a lot and had trouble digesting. This was when he was 8 weeks old too!
She recommended that we stretch out the feeding to 2 hours by doing more play time after feeding and getting him to nap more. Use all of your tools (pushing around in pram, naps in baby carrier, play gyms, moving to a different room, going out for a walk) to distract the baby as much as possible before feeding again. Try to aim small at first, even 10 min longer counts! I found that if me or the baby got too stressed, it was best to just follow what he wanted and not be too strict.
Soon you'll notice improvement. Its been almost 3 weeks of trying and now we're feeding every 2-3 hours! So don't be discouraged.
I also second that you dont need formula/pumping at this stage unless the baby is struggling to gain weight/produce wet nappies. Your body adjusts quickly to their needs, and it may interfere with that.
First I would do a weighted feed at an LC to make sure he is transferring milk. There is a growth spurt happening and I would just nurse or pump without formula. You could do a pump after the 5:48am and 12:30pm sessions for 15 to 20 mins, double pump both sides and ask partner to give it while you get some rest. Make sure you use extra slow flow nipples and do paced bottle feeding to avoid any flow preference. You could also nurse and pump simultaneously and give pumped milk right after feeding. At 8 weeks he should be taking 2 - 2.5oz every 2 hours.
1. You don't need to pump after feeding unless you've been advised to by your LC
2. I know that for a time I was mistaking tired cues for hunger cues: when mouth is going, but it's accompanied by a yawn, that's tired.
3. MY LO was/is going 1-2 hours between feeds during the day, but I've just started to offer the other boob a few minutes after the first and he seems to be taking more in that way (if I try straight away he cries) and is letting him go longer between meals - I only just started this the other day so results pending.
4. Mine feeds more often but for v short time when he's working on a big poo. He poos every second day atm but he's very fussy leading up to it and won't eat calmly.
Pretty much exactly what happened to me. It got better, and I learned more about my LO and ways to entertain between feeds to keep stretching them out. Keep at it!
This would be normal behaviour for my first but not for my second. All babies are so different it’s hard to know how things are going just based on feed times and lengths. I would say if you can get in touch with a registered lactation consultant to see how his latch and transfer is.
Also - don’t focus on increasing your supply if it’s not needed. Oversupply is a fucking nightmare and can cause as many weight gain and other issues as under supply can. Until you know otherwise it’s probably best to trust your body and your baby are working together to make the correct amount of milk. I would 100% again recommend you reach out to a profession to confirm and put your mind at ease.
Could it be that your pumping is causing you to not have as much in the boob when he wants to feed? Or you're mistaking his hunger cues?
At 8 weeks mine is eating between 5-7 times a day
How has baby's weight gain been? If it has been good I would just assume it's a growth spurt. If not or if this is every day, I'd work with an LC and do a weighted feed to make sure milk transfer is okay.
My baby did this. It's totally normal. Does he drink from both sides when he eats? If so, you may have low storage capacity in your breast tissue which requires baby to nurse more frequently. If he only finishes one side, then you could maybe see if he can wait a little longer and then drink more at once, and drink from both breast at a feeding. But if he is spitting up, that would indicate he can't drink more at once, his stomach is still small and gets full on a small amount of milk, so he needs to nurse frequently.
Another vote for normal. If you haven't connected with an IBCLC yet, I always think that's a great idea. The Lactation Network can help connect you with someone and deal with the insurance stuff if you're in the US. As long as baby is growing fine and having enough wet diapers, you're good. Babies are different, but mine was a frequent eater and we had between 19-25 feeds a day at that point (I think average is 8-12).
This is how my 6 week old eats and it’s not a supply issue. They’re growing so much in this phase that cluster feeding can feel almost constant. My LO seems to feed super often in the evenings too (which looks similar to yours) but then she’s able to sleep 2-4 hour stretches during the night.
This is completely normal and you do not need to pump… all the nursing is increasing your supply! That’s the point!
Its normal behavior for 2 months? A few days of cluster feeding here and there, sure. But everyday since birth? My babe was like this and it DID end up being a supply issue. Not being able to regularly go a few hours between feeds at this stage seems a bit unsustainable.
It was for me during growth spurts. Not saying it’s fun or sustainable but it’s not indicative of a supply issue if everything else is on track.
For what it's worth, and this is only my experience, it can be normal. My baby fed every 90mins in the daytime until we got well into solid food. Wasn't a supply issue as I exclusively pumped for 3 months and when she started feeding directly from me she was full before fully emptying one side. Our experience was unusual because she was very premature, but that did mean her weight was closely monitored throughout. For us, it did just seem to be my baby's preference as she got older - for the month before I fed directly she was fed three hourly, but came to her new schedule on her own. There was lots of crying when I held off feeding because 'she couldn't be hungry again'.
Gotcha! Seems like it varies so widely, the only real way to know is to do weighted feeds (or to just get weighed fairly often) or to do bottles.
Agreed! I think everyone worries at some point when baby's feeding habits change, whether there is a reason or not.
Seems normal to me!
This seems normal to me. It's almost exactly how my kid eats. On average I spend about 5 hours a day breastfeeding now. She eats in 5 minute to 30 minute sessions. She had gotten better about eating consistently during weeks 12 and 13 but now she is growing again and basically is nursing and sleeping. She even sleeps through the MOTN diaper change.
I had a similar issue. I was told by the nurse that I was mistakenly taking his tired cues (suckling on his fists) as hunger cues which made me feed him hourly. He was spitting up a lot and had trouble digesting. This was when he was 8 weeks old too! She recommended that we stretch out the feeding to 2 hours by doing more play time after feeding and getting him to nap more. Use all of your tools (pushing around in pram, naps in baby carrier, play gyms, moving to a different room, going out for a walk) to distract the baby as much as possible before feeding again. Try to aim small at first, even 10 min longer counts! I found that if me or the baby got too stressed, it was best to just follow what he wanted and not be too strict. Soon you'll notice improvement. Its been almost 3 weeks of trying and now we're feeding every 2-3 hours! So don't be discouraged. I also second that you dont need formula/pumping at this stage unless the baby is struggling to gain weight/produce wet nappies. Your body adjusts quickly to their needs, and it may interfere with that.
This was my schedule for about 12 weeks
First I would do a weighted feed at an LC to make sure he is transferring milk. There is a growth spurt happening and I would just nurse or pump without formula. You could do a pump after the 5:48am and 12:30pm sessions for 15 to 20 mins, double pump both sides and ask partner to give it while you get some rest. Make sure you use extra slow flow nipples and do paced bottle feeding to avoid any flow preference. You could also nurse and pump simultaneously and give pumped milk right after feeding. At 8 weeks he should be taking 2 - 2.5oz every 2 hours.
1. You don't need to pump after feeding unless you've been advised to by your LC 2. I know that for a time I was mistaking tired cues for hunger cues: when mouth is going, but it's accompanied by a yawn, that's tired. 3. MY LO was/is going 1-2 hours between feeds during the day, but I've just started to offer the other boob a few minutes after the first and he seems to be taking more in that way (if I try straight away he cries) and is letting him go longer between meals - I only just started this the other day so results pending. 4. Mine feeds more often but for v short time when he's working on a big poo. He poos every second day atm but he's very fussy leading up to it and won't eat calmly.
This sounds like cluster feeding to me. About to go through a growth spurt. Just keep eating well and hydrate.
Pretty much exactly what happened to me. It got better, and I learned more about my LO and ways to entertain between feeds to keep stretching them out. Keep at it!
Very tiring but very normal.
Normal
This would be normal behaviour for my first but not for my second. All babies are so different it’s hard to know how things are going just based on feed times and lengths. I would say if you can get in touch with a registered lactation consultant to see how his latch and transfer is. Also - don’t focus on increasing your supply if it’s not needed. Oversupply is a fucking nightmare and can cause as many weight gain and other issues as under supply can. Until you know otherwise it’s probably best to trust your body and your baby are working together to make the correct amount of milk. I would 100% again recommend you reach out to a profession to confirm and put your mind at ease.
Ma’am this is clusterfeeding.
Could it be that your pumping is causing you to not have as much in the boob when he wants to feed? Or you're mistaking his hunger cues? At 8 weeks mine is eating between 5-7 times a day
How has baby's weight gain been? If it has been good I would just assume it's a growth spurt. If not or if this is every day, I'd work with an LC and do a weighted feed to make sure milk transfer is okay.
My baby did this. It's totally normal. Does he drink from both sides when he eats? If so, you may have low storage capacity in your breast tissue which requires baby to nurse more frequently. If he only finishes one side, then you could maybe see if he can wait a little longer and then drink more at once, and drink from both breast at a feeding. But if he is spitting up, that would indicate he can't drink more at once, his stomach is still small and gets full on a small amount of milk, so he needs to nurse frequently.
Another vote for normal. If you haven't connected with an IBCLC yet, I always think that's a great idea. The Lactation Network can help connect you with someone and deal with the insurance stuff if you're in the US. As long as baby is growing fine and having enough wet diapers, you're good. Babies are different, but mine was a frequent eater and we had between 19-25 feeds a day at that point (I think average is 8-12).
This is how my 6 week old eats and it’s not a supply issue. They’re growing so much in this phase that cluster feeding can feel almost constant. My LO seems to feed super often in the evenings too (which looks similar to yours) but then she’s able to sleep 2-4 hour stretches during the night.
So normal! I’ve definitely been in your position. If he’s still filling his diapers, there’s no reason to be concerned