Author Topic: Cluster feeding 5 month old  (Read 2206 times)

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Offline cosmicangel007

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Cluster feeding 5 month old
« on: August 22, 2014, 18:54:07 pm »
I have been getting longer stetches during the day, 4 hours give or take but night time we get 3 hours.
Is it too late to start cluster feeding? How exactly do I implement it?

She take 4.75oz 6 bottles which includes a dream  feed (although sometimes she wakes earlier than we can get to it)
There is no pattern to her time line except the 4hour spacing during the day.

Any thoughts on how to increase her sleep at night and frequency of bottles?
And she is on exclusive breastmilk in bottles.
Thanks

Offline Lolly

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Re: Cluster feeding 5 month old
« Reply #1 on: August 22, 2014, 19:15:07 pm »
To increase time between bottles she needs to be taking more at each bottle less than 5oz a bottle is a small amount for a 5 month old, even breastmilk. Breastmilk is digested quicker than formula too, not all breastfed babies make it to 4 hours between milk feeds before they start solids. 

Is she draining those bottles? What flow teat do you have her on?

Rather than cluster feeding which is the opposite of what you want you would be better off increasing the size of the feeds she takes.

Laura





Offline cosmicangel007

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Re: Cluster feeding 5 month old
« Reply #2 on: August 22, 2014, 22:28:19 pm »
I've tried increasing her oz's but she spits up  with more than 5 oz and I find the just under she doesn't as much.
She's still on a premi nipple, I tried the level 1 and it flooded her mouth and then she chokes.
i have found that it was taking her 30 minutes to finish a bottle and the last 5 or so days its less than 25 minutes.

so now what?
thanks

Offline Lolly

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Re: Cluster feeding 5 month old
« Reply #3 on: August 23, 2014, 17:06:06 pm »
How long ago did you try the faster teat? Don't forget it can take a day or so of feeds to get used to the new speed.

I would try the faster teat again, a bottle feed should be done in 20 mins really. If she seems better on smaller feeds then you would be better off going back to a 3 hour feed rather than clustering as she would be having feeds closer together and that would probably make her spit up more as her tummy would get too full (and she may not take more anyway). It will mess the EASY pattern up but would get more calories into her during the day. Worth a try?

Laura