Are you familiar with very frequent breastfeeding, especially at short intervals in the evening?
Perhaps you have also noticed that your child wants to breastfeed unusually often, especially in the evening, and you are wondering whether this is normal.
This is known as cluster feeding.
What is cluster feeding?
In the first few weeks of life, mothers breastfeed their children up to twelve times a day.
This is a guideline, but it cannot be applied to all children.
This is because every baby is different and finds its own breastfeeding rhythm together with its mother over time.
Some babies adjust to breastfeeding every two to three hours and do not deviate from this.
Others, on the other hand, demand breast milk more frequently, especially in the evening, so that sometimes a rhythm of one hour to every thirty minutes is established.
This behavior is called cluster feeding, i.e. the accumulation of feeds.
First-time mothers are often unsettled by this behavior as they do not know whether their child is getting enough to drink.
However, cluster feeding is completely normal.
We would like to provide you with more detailed information on this topic.
Newborns can have a tendency to cluster.
But what can cause this?
The beginning in particular is extremely difficult for babies.
They first have to learn how to feed.
Sucking at the breast is exhausting.
The events of the day can also be very exhausting.
By demanding several feeds, between which your child may also sleep, he or she will ensure that he or she gets enough rest.
In addition, babies are not used to eating very large meals, as their stomachs naturally have a smaller capacity.
During pregnancy, your baby was constantly supplied with food via the placenta and the umbilical cord.
Cluster feeding corresponds to this already familiar standard.
Cluster feeding also stimulates milk production.
Breastfeeding mothers produce the hormone prolactin, which stimulates the production of breast milk.
Its effect is usually felt after 8-16 hours.
Continuous breastfeeding in the evening ensures that your child has enough to eat the following day.
Children can also tend to cluster feed during a growth spurt, as there is an increased need for energy.
Cluster feeding can therefore be regarded as normal behavior.
Every child is different and so clustering can also occur in bottle-fed children.
However, children who are fed with formula milk tend to exhibit this behavior less frequently.
But why is that?
Experts believe that breast milk passes through the stomach after two to three hours.
This is why children who are breastfed may crave breast milk again after this time.
Bottle milk, on the other hand, is said to remain in the stomach for longer and can take up to four hours to pass through.
However, this does not mean that children who are fed with the replacement milk do not still tend to cluster.
This means that your child may ask for a second helping after the first bottle.
Experts therefore recommend feeding the formula slowly and gradually.
Cluster feeding is often observed in newborns.
This behavior can appear for the first time in the first few days of life.
This is the phase in which women experience milk letdown, which leads to a different composition of breast milk.
The first period is also extremely stressful for children, as many impressions have to be processed.
Clustering can therefore occur during this time as your child uses up a lot of energy.
Cluster feeding can last for four to six hours during this period.
This phase can be very exhausting for mothers, which is why the question often arises as to when children will stop.
It is not possible to make any precise statements as every child is different.
Cluster feeding can last between two and six days.
In some children it can last longer. It is important to know: Cluster feeding is not a permanent condition and is merely a phase.
Many parents develop anxiety when their child starts cluster feeding.
The fear is that your child is not getting enough to eat.
However, cluster feeding has nothing to do with the amount of milk.
So that you don’t have to worry any further, we would like to give you some tips on how to recognize that your child is eating enough milk.
You can also tell from the color of your child’s skin whether it is eating enough.
If your child has rosy skin, then the supply is optimal.
Every newborn is equipped with style reflexes in abundance.
It doesn’t need to learn or know much, because sucking on the breast or bottle is biologically pre-programmed.
A little more is required of the mother.
A healthy and balanced diet is part of your job.
The female body should be prepared for cluster feeding in particular.
We would like to give you a few more tips:
Finally, we would like to give you some advice.
Trust your child.
Continuous breastfeeding is not a problem because it is a natural reaction.
