What is Cluster Feeding?

Cluster Feeding is exactly what it sounds like. It is where a baby picks a single time of day, typically in the evening and they nurse and nurse and nurse some more. Your typical nursing timeline may be every 2-3 hours, but then out of no where baby will nurse, then nurse again 10 minutes later, then again 15 minutes after that, and again shortly after that. This is very common on night 2 and 3. Baby will settle for a couple of weeks, and then they will start cluster feeding again.

At this point, many moms start to feel frustrated and fearful. They are transitioning from pregnancy to caring for a newborn all while healing from birth. They are tired, and now baby is wanting to nurse so frequently that they begin questioning their milk supply. Many mothers start to fear that they aren’t making enough milk because baby must be hungry if they are nursing so often.

Let me ease your mind by telling you that the last reason babies cluster feed is due to hunger. Breast feeding is so much more than just nutrition. It is where they develop their attachment, and it is what makes them feel safe and secure. Rest assured knowing that cluster feeding is a completely normal part of their development and intuition.

In fact, your baby is reacting to that instinct to help build your supply! The more frequently you remove milk, the more often is cues your body to make more. So, as baby nurses more frequently, this removal process tells your body to keep making more milk then leading to a stronger milk supply. This is why lactation professionals use the term “feeding on demand”. You aren’t nursing on a schedule per se, but following your baby’s cues.

We don’t know everything about newborn behavior as new parents, so when we experience something that is different than what we expect their behavior to be, we panic and want to fix the problem before we even know that there is a problem to fix. What we do know, however, is that babies have an immature nervous system. They can’t handle everything that’s going on in what to us may seem like a perfectly normal day. That’s why cluster feeding typically happens at night. After a full day of running errands, meeting and being held by new people, and even just being toted around in a car seat, they are exhausted, confused, overwhelmed, overstimulated, they need comfort.

Nursing is where they find that warmth and comfort. If your baby is currently cluster feeding, rest easy knowing that this is a developmental appropriate experience for them and you are where they find their rest.