Tag: cluster feeding

Boob barnacle

- Julie Matheney

I hear this all the time from breastfeeding moms. You feel like you’re feeding the baby. All. The. Time. Trapped on the couch. In bed. Clustering feeding for days to weeks at a time.

Babies double their birth weight by six months and triple it by one year. They go through multiple back to back growth spurts. They feed more frequently during growth spurts. This increases your milk production. The closer together the feedings are, the higher the fat content in your milk, helping baby get the calories they need to grow. Each time they feed more often, it actually causes your body to make milk faster!! They are completely dependent on you for all of their nutrition and caloric intake, and your milk is the primary staple in their diet until ONE YEAR!!

Babies also want the breast for more than nutrition. During teething, being at the breast relieves pain. When baby is in an emotional or cognitive leap, being at the breast regulates their nervous system and can help calm them down. When baby is scared or stressed, your baby’s heart and respiratory rate will slow to match yours, helping them relax and regulate. Being at the breast also helps baby with temperature regulation. Your breast can warm or cool by a few degrees to help warm or cool baby.

While it can feel like you’re trapped feeding all the time, this is a short stage in your child’s development. As your child matures and grows, they will depend on you for these things less and less. Grab a snack, some water, a phone charger and the remote. I promise it won’t last forever.
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Where has my breast milk gone?

- Julie Matheney

Some times we can sabotage our own milk supply from little things that we don’t understand will make a difference. Here are the top ways to accidentally drop your milk supply:

😳Putting baby on a feeding schedule in the first 3-4 months

😳Watching the clock instead of feeding baby on demand

😳Sleep training in the first 3-4 months after birth

😳Waiting for your breasts/chest to feel full to pump or feed

😳Not pumping when baby is getting a bottle

😳Letting partner feed a bottle in the middle of the night to get more sleep (and not getting up to pump)

😳”Topping off baby” after feeding, especially during the witching hour phase. (I’m not talking about when supplementing is necessary or if you’re on a triple feeding plan because of true low supply or baby weight gain. Supplementing after breastfeeding can be needed, but you would also be pumping at that time)

😳 Not pumping enough when returning to work

😳Using the wrong size pump flanges

😳Using a poor quality pump (insurance companies have to provide you with one, but that doesn’t mean they’ll give you one of quality)

😳Going back on hormonal birth control at your 6 week postpartum checkup

😳Taking nasal decongestants or allergy medications

While these seem like normal recommendations from many parent groups or even your health care providers, these subtle things can sabotage milk supply. Your body works on a demand and supply basis. The more you empty or demand from the breast/chest, the more milk it will make. Want to increase supply? Increase the number of milk removals, give young infants free access to feed on demand, and watch out for medications, hormones, of pumping traps that can sabotage your success.

Cluster feeding

- Julie Matheney

CLUSTER FEEDING. Two words when paired together that drive fear and trembling to parents. Cluster feeding is NORMAL for ALL breastfed babies. It has nothing to do with your supply. It has nothing to do with the clock. It has nothing to do with what you’re eating or drinking or those supplements you just took. It may not even have anything to even do with being hungry. Babies typically cluster feed in the afternoon/evening. When your milk supply naturally and appropriately dips. When your milk is a smaller water concentration with a higher fat content. As long as baby is happy to feed the rest of the day, is making plenty of wet and dirty diapers, is content and sleeping routinely between feedings, and gaining weight over time, DON’T BLAME THE BOOB!! Even if baby seems like they want to feed constantly. Cluster feeding is normal. It typically happens MORE when baby is going through a growth spurt (body growing), developmental leap (mind/skills growing), or teething/illness. Why does baby want the breast more?

• Preparing for a longer sleep: Some babies just prefer to fill up on milk for a few hours before a longer sleep.

• Milk flow is slower at night: Some babies nurse longer to fill up due to the slower flow.

• A growth spurt: they usually occur around 3, 6, and 8weeks of age.

• They need of comfort. Breast milk has hormones to develop baby’s circadian rhythm. At nighttime baby may just seek comfort to help them sleep.

• Developmental leap: Mental and emotional growth spurts when they acquire new skills.

• Baby is sick, thirsty, or teething: breast feeding is a pain reliever, medicine and hydration all in one

Know that it’s normal. Be patient through the process. Be prepared with snacks and water for yourself, a comfy spot, a good pillow for support and the remote and your phone charger close by to get you through. You’re not alone and it doesn’t last forever!!