Cluster feed, nw & length of feed

[Bozerlin]

Hi there,

First of all thankyou to everyone who contributes to this forum-it has really helped us with feeding and napping nightmares that we were having. I can't find the answers to these questions though! (Apologies if they are somewhere)

My lo is 12wk+2, bf with one ff at dream feed. Weighs 13lb6, been trying to follow easy since 5wks. Night and nap sleeping is currently going really well (im saying this quietly as its taken a while to get here and im scared it'll change soon!!) Lo doesn't really seem to give many cues to eat so I just feed her at 3hrs or when she wakes up. If Im going out I will wake her to ensure she's fed.

I've got 3 questions I'm hoping you can help me with:

1. The bw-top tips bf book says to cut the tanking up/cluster feeds at 8 weeks, why is this? We're still doing it at 12 wks, and as everything is going so well (touch wood!!) I'm reluctant to change anything!

2. Last few nights lo as woken in the night, last night at 3am but I just popped her hand back in (she is a big hand/finger sucker!) while I nipped to loo and by time I was back she was asleep... She then woke at 5am, i thought 5 more mins please lovely lo and i fell back to sleep(oops!!) and then next thing i knew it was 6.30 & lo was making gentle wimpers and i fed her straight away. Was I right not to feed her at these times?? I felt really mean after! But maybe she wasn't actually hungry?

3. Have recently weaned myself off nipple shields (would not have got to this stage without them) & feeding is suddenly a lot quicker... From 25mins on per side to 10mins per side. Is this normal? I always offer and re-offer both sides but lo starts to cry and refuses.

Sorry for the almighty message! Any thoughts grateful, thanks!

Here is our easy from today (this is pretty typical ish!)
E 06.30 (bf)
A
S 08.00
E 09.30 (bf)
A
S 11.30
E 12.30 (bf)
A
S 14.00
E 15.50 (bf)
A
S 16.30
E 17.15 (bf)
A
E 18.45 (bf-long feed approx 60mins)
S 20.00
Df 22.30 (ff)

[Erin M]

1. The bw-top tips bf book says to cut the tanking up/cluster feeds at 8 weeks, why is this? We're still doing it at 12 wks, and as everything is going so well (touch wood!!) I'm reluctant to change anything!

I believe the intention is to discourage snacking; however, if it's working for you I wouldn't change it!

2. Last few nights lo as woken in the night, last night at 3am but I just popped her hand back in (she is a big hand/finger sucker!) while I nipped to loo and by time I was back she was asleep... She then woke at 5am, i thought 5 more mins please lovely lo and i fell back to sleep(oops!!) and then next thing i knew it was 6.30 & lo was making gentle wimpers and i fed her straight away. Was I right not to feed her at these times?? I felt really mean after! But maybe she wasn't actually hungry?

You're fine.  A baby of her age will let you know if she's hungry!  When babies are hungry they can't be resettled for that long, they'll just keep waking again and again and again. 

3. Have recently weaned myself off nipple shields (would not have got to this stage without them) & feeding is suddenly a lot quicker... From 25mins on per side to 10mins per side. Is this normal? I always offer and re-offer both sides but lo starts to cry and refuses.

I've never used nipple shields, but 10 minutes at 3(ish) months is totally normal. 

You sound like you're doing a totally fabulous job. 

[Fiver]

Have recently weaned myself off nipple shields (would not have got to this stage without them) & feeding is suddenly a lot quicker... From 25mins on per side to 10mins per side. Is this normal? I always offer and re-offer both sides but lo starts to cry and refuses.

As Erin said, 10 minutes is totally normal.  LO will get milk more efficiently directly from the breast and you're getting much more skin to skin contact between the two of you now, which is also better in terms of eliciting letdown.  Sounds like you're doing great

[Bozerlin]

Thanks so much for your responses, as a ftm it's great to have reassurance! Her weight has increased and has started a positive curve again so I'm delighted!

Just wondering about cluster & night feeds now.

Today lo fed at 4 (after following 3hr easy with 1.5 a and 1.5s each time) then tonight had a catnap 5.30-6 in my arms. She then screamed as oh tried to do wd (bath/wash, cuddle & book). Usually i feed at 5 and then wd at 6 buy she still screams through it. Ideally id like wd to take us to bt feed at 7. But I always start feed early (6.45 tonight) as lo is so distressed. The night feed then takes till 8 so is a mammoth feed!

1. How can we get lo to be less distressed for wd? She always screams at this time and I feel so sorry for dh as its meant to be his time with lo! Should catnap be longer? Earlier? In cot?? I'm scared of changing it to later/longer as lo is so good at sttn.

2. Bt feed-60-90 mins.. how on earth can I make this shorter??  Should I be keeping her awake for it?

3. Does it matter that I put her down asleep? Sometimes she is just drowsy or wakes when put in cot but puts herself to sleep (self sooth by finger sucking) but mostly she is asleep.

Thanks again, this forum is fantastic!

[Fiver]

1. How can we get lo to be less distressed for wd? She always screams at this time and I feel so sorry for dh as its meant to be his time with lo! Should catnap be longer? Earlier? In cot?? I'm scared of changing it to later/longer as lo is so good at sttn.

You'll probably find that this eases given time. LOs often are tired and grumpy towards the end of the day.

2. Bt feed-60-90 mins.. how on earth can I make this shorter??  Should I be keeping her awake for it?

If she's awake and actively feeding it probably wouldn't take so long.  It may be that moving that feed/WD a little earlier would mean she wasn't quite so tired by BT and would feed a little quicker.  I used to just pop DD off the breast and into bed once she wasn't actively feeding at BT.

3. Does it matter that I put her down asleep? Sometimes she is just drowsy or wakes when put in cot but puts herself to sleep (self sooth by finger sucking) but mostly she is asleep.

Your ultimate aim will be to put her down drowsy but awake, but at this age, I personally didn't worry too much about putting DD down asleep.