My boy & his feeding..

I think Cooper has just started doing this cluster feeding that I've heard people talk about, last night for example: He woke at 9.20pm for what I thought would be his last feed before settling in for the night. I feed him one side, then changed him then did the other. He conked out and I put him to bed approx an hour later. He woke up screaming and was really unsettled, so I fed him again, and we basically went through the above process on and off till around midnight. Then it turned to custard, I couldn't settle him down I tried patting, swinging, rocking, even put him back onto both breasts to see if that would help...I think around 2ish I found a dummy and stuck that in his mouth, but would have to get up to put it back in...FINALLY 4.30am I got him to sleep, and today my nipples are paying for it, they are cracked, bleeding and very sore and throbbing, and the Purelan isn't helping at all.

Today he's done a similar thing but that only lasted from around 1.30 to 5pm and he's asleep now...I have been trying to feed him every 3 hours as he was slightly jaundice when we left birthcare.

Did I do the right thing by constantly feeding him? Should I have left him to try and settle himself (thought he was too young)...
Does he need a top up of formula somewhere along the night to give me a rest?
Is it normal and how long do I have to endure the pain?

I'm not coping very well with this feeding like I did with the other two (I don't remember it being so demanding and hard)...

Caleb does the same thing and I used to get a bit sore after so many (3) feeds close together. When he was a month old I starting giving him a bottle of EBM or formula in between two breast feeds. I usually try to express in the morning when I have lots of milk so he can have a bottle at night. He then sleeps for about 6-7 hours, sometimes longer.

Have you tried him with nipple shields to give your nipples a little bit of a break?

Daniel use to cluster feed, it does help if you express off during the day and then give him a bottle as at night your milk has more carbs rather than proteins in it (I think) so it's not as filling for them which makes them want to cluster feed.

Caprece is also a cluster feeder. She used to just cry all evening with a few feeds but generally unsettled and then just go to sleep. I found tho she sometimes didn't want milk just to suck so I would let her have one side and then stay there as long as she liked so she could suck without getting lots of milk. I wouldn't go for formula unless he isn't gaining weight. Hes just trying to make a good supply.

Make sure hes latched on properly maybe get your midwife to check his latch. In the mean time you could give the nipple sheilds a go.

When I was in the hospital they told me that a newborn is often cluster feeding anywhere in between (and sometimes all of) 10pm to 5am. I don't know why that is, but I sure don't like it either! If you can have an afternoon nap, it really helps.

Anyway, keep persevering, he is trying to get your milk established properly (so best not to introduce formula yet). Were your other two bubs girls? Because apparently boys are hungrier babies. Get your mw to check your latch because it sounds like he may not have latched properly for you to be that sore . She can probably also give you something more soothing for your nipples.

Ayja did the cluster feed thing from day 1, i got 10 mins sleep per hour through the night and she darn well slept all day instead! she continued that until a few weeks old (hence the extreme exhaustion ending in a certain hospital admission)

All i could do was sleep during the day when she slepts and try stick at it at night. After a few weeks she settled down, but i definately noticed her efforts from cluster feeding, she had been 6lb 2 oz at birth and never lost weight, instead all that feeding made her go up by half and sometimes whole pounds in the first few weeks! she was just doing it to catch up, then slowed off again.

Once he gets your milk supply up from doing all that cluster feeding, it should settle back down, Like aimmee said, i would hold off on the formula top ups as the more he feeds from you the more milk hes going to make you produce.. so the cluster feeding should settle once that happens.

Hi,
Avent have some nipple shields that are shaped so that the baby can still have skin to skin contact. The ones I tried didn't have this and I think that may be why he wouldn't latch on to them. Just make sure you don't use them all the time as bub can then end up only wanting to feed with shields.

Handmade Jewellery

Thats great lying down works for ya. If you feel comfortable with it you can let him drink while you have a wee doze. Its how I got through those first few weeks.

Yeah I got a sore nipple because of a fissure(?) and was also told that my fair skin made me more prone to soreness, so is not always a latching problem but is good to check. Thats why I suggested changing position as it worked for me. Rachandjack's idea of doozing while feeding laying down is good as well, I did that a few times without meaning too!!!

Handmade Jewellery

.Mel wrote: We definitely had a better night last night, and this morning has been good too. I did feed him at 5.30 laying down, and that seemed to make alot of difference, I'm not as sore as I have been.

When I had Kryssi, she managed to get me a little split between the nipple and areola and it hurt like crazy!! My mw suggested feeding her only lying down on that side because it put her mouth in a different position and then allowed the split to heal.

Overuse of nipple shields can lead to reduced milk supply or mastitis... I was also tempted but my mw convinced me to not go there. Just be careful