What is the point of cluster feeding, exhausted moms want to know!

Newborn babies are notorious for "cluster feeding" at the breast. They nursed recently, passed out, and now they're getting fussy again within the hour. It sounds intense, and it is. But it's not just the inconvenience of having to haul your breasts out AGAIN, even though you put them away twenty minutes ago, it's the mental anguish of feeling insecure about your milk supply, that is the most frustrating aspect of these marathon nursing sessions. What can be done to make sense of this? Is there any way around it?

I'll be camping out here for the foreseeable future, if anyone needs me

New mom vibe: "I feel like I'm living in a nudist colony, mostly topless, with this baby attached to me 24/7, like a little marsupial." The struggle is real, but there IS a light at the end of the tunnel. After a few months, babies become quick and efficient at the breast - so fast, that when you sit down to nurse, and tune into your favorite show, baby is done well before you can finish it, which is kind of a bummer! The number of minutes per day that you spend nursing a 3 month old, is a fraction of what you will spend nursing a 4 week old. But that's of little solace to you right now. If you're sitting there with a newborn baby stuck on you like velcro, your own little "boob barnacle," you may feel overwhelmed, touched-out, and certain that this is not sustainable. Keep in mind the cluster feeding phase is short-lived, although it can return during growth spurts or periods of stress, like illness. You and your newborn are building skills and pathways that sustain the rest of your nursing relationship. When you look back, you may even miss this phase!

Let's examine why this is occurring. Is there a reason new babies can't take a huge meal and be content for three full hours? Yes! They aren't built to do that, especially at night, and it wouldn't be good for your supply, anyway. Cluster feeding is a newborn's way of getting lots of practice, and taking small meals very frequently. Tiny servings of colostrum are perfect in the first few days when baby's stomach is the size of a walnut, and as your volume increases, baby takes more and more with each passing day, which gradually stretches stomach capacity to the size of a ping pong ball, and then a chicken egg by Day 10. Newborn babies develop efficiency at breastfeeding over the first several weeks, increasing their stamina, as well. After two to three months, babies can quickly consume many ounces of milk, and their stomachs can hold greater amounts than when they were just a few weeks old. In the meantime, the newborn baby needs to go back to breast even though he nursed 30 minutes ago. He has rapidly digested his previous meal, and is ready for more. Think of yourself like a 24 hour buffet, and your baby may need to graze the table all day and night to get enough milk to gain weight well.

What effect does this have on your supply? A powerful one. Every time the breasts are emptied, it revs up production. If baby lets the breasts sit full, production slows. (This is why it is important to wake your baby when he is under birth weight, if he is still sleepy at the three hour mark.) A more scientific explanation: There is a protein in your milk that inhibits the synthesis of milk. So if your baby hasn't nursed in over three hours, that protein level accumulates, because there's a maximum amount of milk, just sitting in the breasts. The protein, called FIL*, sends the message to STOP MAKING MILK. This is protective for you, so your breasts don't explode! By contrast, when your hungry baby keeps visiting the breastaurant like a little hummingbird, over and over again, turning on the spigot and releasing the stream, the protein level keeps getting lowered, and your breasts understand to continually run the production line. Your supply will meet demand, especially if you take advantage of the "window of opportunity" that exists when your mature milk starts to come in. This window will close, however. So it is important for new moms to allow cluster feeding, and not interfere by offering baby a pacifier or bottle. Those interventions are best utilized after a month, when supply is established and good weight gain is happening. (In the event that baby needs a supplement, moms should pump their breasts to stimulate them.)

The frequent nursing sessions in those early weeks lay down numerous milk-making pathways, and this forms a basis for your milk-making potential. Once a generous supply is established and then maintained, that ample volume becomes pretty stable for the long haul. If your supply dips when you return to work, right before your menstrual cycle, or during a period of stress, it will usually rebound easily with added stimulation, which can be provided by an eager baby, or a breast pump.

Now that you understand why your baby is cluster feeding and how it develops your milk supply, let's consider what it looks like and how you cope with it.

When your newborn gets fussy shortly after nursing, it's tempting to offer a pacifier, or to feel insecure about how much milk you provided him at his last session. Sometimes you won't even know whether to count this feeding as a new feeding, or a continuation of the last feeding. You might have a feeding log and wonder, what type of crazy pattern is this creating? The best advice is to try not to overthink it. If baby took both breasts and was immediately fussy after coming off the second side, you can offer the "third breast" which means he goes back to the first breast. You can think of it as dessert, or a second helping. But don't go down the rabbit hole of doubting your supply, unless there is hard evidence that baby's 24 hr intake is insufficient, such as: not enough wet & dirty diapers, or a documented weight loss/slow weight gain.

Tiny babies often cluster feed at night, and this can feel like Navy Seal Training. Here's a comforting thought: frequent night waking is protective against SIDS! So that's one less thing to worry about. But the only way to survive with your new little night owl, is to nap during the day. Your lactation hormones are naturally high at night, and no surprise - they are synced up with your baby, who is likely nocturnal. When the sun comes up in the morning after a night of frequent sessions, you will not have logged enough hours of REM to feel human. You will need to take a nap at some point, and if you can't nap, then stay in bed until 10 am if you need to! You cannot run on fumes; that is a myth. You need to get creative with finding time to sneak in some shut-eye.

Your days might be filled with frequent sessions, too. One thing to contemplate if you feel stranded at your nursing station, feeding constantly, is that your baby is helping you heal from your delivery. Your postpartum body needs rest to recover from childbirth, or a C-section. If you weren't stuck on the couch, you might be foolishly trying to do too much, like laundry and Target runs, and your recovery would be compromised. Every time your baby nurses, lactation hormones help your uterus contract, and that's helpful to keep your fundus firm, and your bleeding minimized. Isn't Mother Nature smart?!

All right then, cluster feeding is normal, but how do you get through this all-consuming phase in your baby's life? Here are some tips and suggestions:

• If your baby is too sleepy for the second breast, give him a few minutes to digest the first before offering the second, and change his diaper in between breasts to rouse him.

• Try some gentle breast massage while baby nurses, which will help him get a little more, a little faster.

• When baby gets fussy soon after nursing, confidently offer the breast again, knowing this behavior is normal and he will get more efficient in time. If baby is gaining weight well by exclusively nursing, then don't ever second guess whether or not he got enough milk. Baby takes what he wants, and sometimes it's a snack. Sometimes it's Thanksgiving dinner!

• Try nursing him while skin-to-skin, because he will stay more alert and have a larger meal.

• Try wearing your baby and nursing in a carrier, so that you don't have to stop what you're doing every time.

• Create a stash of snacks that you can eat one-handed, while nursing, and keep it in hand's reach of your favorite nursing station. You have to stay energized to make milk all day!

• Get invested in a TV series that you enjoy without your partner. Turn it on during those daytime sessions when you can't get off the couch! Watch it at night too, if it doesn't stimulate you too much that it interferes with sleep. Surrender to this time in your child's life and remember, it will pass.

  
  

*FIL - feedback inhibitor of lactation