Cluster feeding/fussiness - how do you cope? Help!!?

[Supergoogler]

I just don't understand what to do in the evening cluster feeding? 6 week old as soon as I get him into position he contorts and shakes his head like mad making latching almost impossible then when I finally get him latched on he contorts, kicks and punches me and spits it out!!

Please help with suggestions on how to cope with this! Am I supposed to keep trying? Try something else? It's the most frustrating thing I have ever come across and I'm struggling!!

Any helpful suggestions would be amazing x

[Bunnychan]

Could it be your letdown? Does it spray & overwhelm him? (Unlatch- spray into a muslin & put back on). Or is too slow and frustrating? ( you could massage your breast to help stimulate flow or put a hot flannel on to encourage it)
Could it be something you've eaten affecting the taste? Have you changed shower gel/perfume etc?
Have you tried changing bf position? (YouTube ideas)
Is he getting too hungry? Do you wait until he cries to feed him?
This is the start of my mental checklist.
Also could it be a growth spurt?

Keep calm & drink lots of water :-)

[starfish12]

I don't have any suggestions but it's the same with my 4 week old... he fights to get on my boob, screams if I don't let him but then acts as you describe above. When he's on he sometimes just comfort sucks into a light doze and then protests at being moved.

I actually came online to post asking if it all gets better after 6 weeks but from your post clearly not!!

[domesticslattern]

God, evening cluster feeding, I remember it well! Frustrating doesn't begin to cover it! I am not an expert but this is what I would say to a friend based on my own experience with 2 DC.
May I start by recommending a large supply of chocolate, a comfy chair with decent back support, a few tv box sets.
Settle down for a few long hauls.
Relatch him again and again and again if he seems to want to feed. I once counted myself doing it 20 times before I lost count!
Then tomorrow investigate going to a local bf support group for some RL advice eg someone to have a look at positioning.

[NothingsLeft]

God the cluster feeding is quite tough going. It does get better and passes before you know it. kellymom has some good info on it.

I found over tiredness was making things worse too. There is s big growth spurt at 6 weeks. Hang in there, it does get better

[rcs19]

You've probably already done this anyway, but have you tried offering the other side? Dd2 sometimes develops an irrational dislike of one boob, but will feed from the other. Once she's feeding snoozily, I can swap her over if the other boob is uncomfortably full.

[Creamtea1]

Having now reached the dizzy heights off 7.5 weeks I try these things: winding, then cuddle/rocking, then put back

[Creamtea1]

Having now reached the dizzy heights off 7.5 weeks I try these things: winding, then cuddle/rocking, then put back on. If they still won't have it a quick nappy check.
It is almost always due to over tiredness. And a new one - sometimes they aren't actually hungry hence the fussing - try putting them down in cot/basket, they might surprise you!

[Supergoogler]

Thank you! This is all helpful stuff!

I saw a lactation consultant today who taught me how to latch, my boobs aren't full enough as he doesn't give them a chance to replenish :( I guess it's just normal behaviour which makes me feel better - hopefully it won't last forever! Anyone remember when it stops?!

[fl0b0t]

Ds is 8 weeks and Cluster feeds pretty much every evening regardless of how he had slept or fed during the day. ... someone he cluster feeds from midday to midnight and has been on and off for three weeks. ...

[tiktok]

Are you sure the lactation consulatant said he was not giving the breasts time to replenish? This is an odd thing to say....breasts don't need replenishing, and softer breasts are normally acceptable as another other sort to a baby :)

Cluster feeding is of course normal, and the frustrated frantic waving and bobbing is the baby trying to get on....yes, a different position is likely to help, and self-attachment (biological nurturing positions, laid back breastfeeding - google them if you need to) can often help a baby whose waving etc is actually making the whole thing more difficult.

Hope things get better soon :)

[NoisyBrain]

Tiktok, at what age roughly does a baby stop evening cluster feeding? I ask because although kellymom says they grow out of it by 3-4 months, I read elsewhere that it stops after about a month, except for during growth spurts! My nearly 10 week old ds who has been doing it since he was about 2 weeks old would beg to differ...

[Creamtea1]

Yep agreed noisy - my 7 week old still does it and sometimes even in the mornings too!

[LlamaAndOwl]

My ten week old is still cluster feeding every evening too. Would really like to hear that it is likely to stop soon!

[Supergoogler]

Oh my post wasn't clear! I saw a lactation consultant who showed me how to latch and that was that...she didn't say my breast were not replenishing! This is only my thought - I feel as though he fusses when the flow isn't fast enough like is in the beginning - replenish wasn't the right word!

[Sunflower1985]

I feel the same way, his fussiness being a result of wanting a faster flow. Hmm

[tiktok]

No one can say when babies will stop cluster feeding - it's a behaviour/need observed in many babies in the first few months of life and it's just not possible to be more accurate than that, given the individuality of babies :)

[Shatteredmamma1]

Mine stopped at 11/12 weeks but had been
getting much easier in the couple of weeks
before. Hang in there it's really tough- I
second the chocolate /tv suggestion. Or
feeding lying down helps too.