How to cluster feed?

[txaggiemama]

So I've seen on a few posts where people talk about cluster feeding before bed time. I can't remember if BW book talked about how to do it, but I let a friend borrow it and can't look to see. Can someone explain what it is and what an EASY looks like with it? Does it help them sleep through the night? Just curious because DD's evening nap right before bed time is the worst and maybe cluster feeding will help..TIA

[Erin M]

How old is your dd?  The BW book recommends cluster feeding until somewhere around 8 (maybe 12?) weeks (can't quite remember).  My dd1 and my ds were natural cluster feeders as they were just so fussy in the early evening that I ended up feeding more often to keep them content.  It would look something like feeding at 7, 10, 1, 4, 5/6, and 7 -- just throwing another feed in between the last two.  The book actually suggests something like feeding at 7, 10, 1, 4, 7, 9, and 10/11 (dream feed) -- dd2 would do this as a baby -- she would go to sleep around 7 and wake around 9 and I would feed her then -- she dropped this a few weeks in. 

The general idea is just to add an extra feed or two to tank up the baby in order to get a longer stretch of sleep at night.  Does that help? 

[txaggiemama]

Oops I should have added that DD is 13 weeks. Would cluster feeding not work for her then? I feed at 5pm, 8 pm (bed time), and again at 10 for DF. She wakes usually once at 3:30 sometimes again at 5 am but is up for the day at 7:30. Would adding an extra feed in the evening help her sleep longer? Thanks!

[Erin M]

If she's going 10-3:30 without feeding you're probably not going to get a whole lot better at 13 weeks!  She'll stretch out eventually.