Cluster feeding?

Question

What exactly is cluster feeding? Why would you do it? My baby is 6 weeks old today and is eating 3-4 oz every 2-3 hrs. Does this sound about right?

Answer 1

Cluster feeding is not something you do because you want to. Rather, it is something you do because your baby wants to. It is more common with breast fed babies, but formula fed babies can do it, too. When you are feeding on demand, which is generally the recommended way, you feed your baby when he is hungry. If you remember back to when your baby was first born, he did not eat 3-4 ounces at a time probably. It was likely more like 1-2 ounces at first and when he began to get hungry more often, you increased the amount of formula you gave him. With breast feeding, it is the same concept, as a baby's needs change so do his nursing habits for a few days. Because breast milk production is based on supply and demand, when a baby needs more milk he will want to nurse more often which in turns increases the breast milk made. This results in cluster feedings which only means that the baby needs to be fed frequently. Some breast fed babies also have cluster feeding times at certain times of the day if it is a fussy time for them. Nursing is a soothing activity and babies may want to nurse often to get through that fussy time. 6-8 weeks is a pretty common age when a growth spurt occurs and your baby will likely soon go to 4 ounces every 4 hours. What he is eating now is perfectly fine as long as he is happy and content.

Answer 2

Cluster feeding, also called bunch feeding, is when babies space feeding closer together at certain times of the day and go longer between feedings at other times. This is very common, and often occurs in the evenings. It's often -but not always- followed by a longer sleep period than usual: baby may be "tanking up" before a long sleep. For example, your baby may nurse every hour (or even constantly) between 6 and 10 PM, then have a longish stretch of sleep at night - baby may even sleep all night.

Cluster feeding often coincides with your baby's fussy time. Baby will nurse a few minutes, pull off, fuss/cry, nurse a few minutes, pull off, fuss/cry... on and on... for hours. This can be VERY frustrating, and mom starts wondering if baby is getting enough milk, if something she is eating is bothering baby, if EVERYTHING she is doing is bothering baby... It can really ruin your confidence, particularly if there is someone else around asking the same questions (your mother, your husband, your mother-in-law).

This behavior is NORMAL! It has nothing to do with your breastmilk or your mothering. If baby is happy the rest of the day, and baby doesn't seem to be in pain (as with colic) during the fussy time - just keep trying to soothe your baby and don't beat yourself up about the cause. Let baby nurse as long and as often as he will. Recruit dad (or another helper) to bring you food/drink and fetch things (book/remote/phone/etc.) while you are nursing and holding baby.

Answer 3

I'm not sure exactly what cluster feeding is either. Someone mentioned that it means feeding them more milk more often for a short period of time (like right before bed) to really fill them up.

In my opinion that is not a good thing and I wouldn't do it.

Feed your baby on demand for at least the first couple months. The schedule you mentioned for your baby sounds perfectly normal!

Answer 4

Cluster feeding just means that the baby is filling up his or her tummy by eating a lot in a short period of time. If you're breastfeeding, your baby is pretty much attached permanently for an hour, and if you're bottle feeding, you're giving a bottle nonstop for an hour or two. It sounds like your baby is having a growth spurt. Let him/her eat as much as it wants when it wants it. Don't try to force the baby to drink more, but just what it wants.

Answer 5

I'm not sure what cluster feeding is. But my baby is almost 4 weeks old and eats the same amount

Answer 6

That is how much my 2 week old eats :) Sounds good. as to cluster feeding, I found a link...
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/fussy-evening.html
Thats all I know!!

Answer 7

sounds fine to me. We were on demand feeders in my family, I don't know what cluster feeding is!

Answer 8

yes it sounds great, i never kept a schedule when my kids were baby's i fed them when they were hungry, i made sure they ate enough daily, and some days they ate more and some days less, i think i would have gone coocoo if i had to keep up with a schedule

Answer 9

from what i remember from my 2 yr old and 3yr old, That good. you should look in the babycenter.com for more info its helps