Are you busy with a cluster feeding newborn? This will help you know what to do so you’re not up all night feeding a baby every hour.
Newborns are perfectly snuggly and sweet and warm and wonderful.
But it can be hard to survive.
If they won’t sleep well, don’t seem to be eating well, and are irritable due to gas pain, overtiredness, or even baby teething… then you can feel like you’re slowly starting to lose your mind from lack of sleep and complete world upheaval.
A common phenomenon with little ones… cluster feeding.
What is it?
Cluster feeding (n): A breastfeeding pattern when baby groups several feeding sessions in a short window of time. It can happen for a number of reasons (some purposeful, some not), which we’ll dive into below.
Some other names for this are topping up or tanking up (giving baby a bit more to make sure they aren’t hungry when they go to bed) or even split feeding.
Split feeding is used when you sort of divide up a feed into two so that baby gets what they need immediately, then some more again before going off into dreamland.
How babies cluster feed – 4 likely scenarios:
- Baby cluster feeds at night, but not during the day.
- Baby cluster feeds both day and night.
- Or baby snacks but never takes full long feeds.
- Baby cluster feeds sometime in the late afternoon/early evening period (5 pm to 11 pm) on purpose.
Rules of thumb while cluster feeding your newborn
Cluster feeding can really feel difficult or confusing, but I want to assure you that these newborns days are intense yet they will pass and the habits you start now can create a strong foundation then fade out naturally into a mutually beneficial routine.
Remember, during this time you may find your baby log comes in handy to refer back to.
In This Post...
Reasons cluster feeding works
So first of all, you’ll end up cluster feeding at some point in the day with your newborn. Their tummies are tiny and they need to fill them up at regular intervals.
This is actually a good thing and you can use this feeding rhythm to your benefit in a way that means baby gets more sleep and you do too.
Read: End Baby’s Witching Hour — In 4 Simple Steps
Reasons Tanking Up Is Beneficial And Why Babies Do It:
- Your baby gets lots of nourishment in a shorter period of time which is beneficial during the late afternoon/early evening hours when, depending on your personal stress levels, milk quality may be lower.
- Baby can sleep longer stretches after cluster feeding periods.
- Mom can sleep longer stretches because baby is sleeping longer stretches.
- Milk supply can be kept up with regular feeding.
- Cluster feeds help babies get through growth spurts by maintaining adequate milk supply.
Read: Dreamfeed: The Why, The How, & When To Stop
Hourly feedings at night: day night confusion?
If your baby cluster feeds at night, but not during the day then sweet baby probably has some day night confusion going on.
The goal is to make those cluster feeds during daytime hours so they’re sleeping longer stretches at night. If baby wants to nap for 4 hours during the day… well… don’t let him!
Follow my newborn sample routine or do what works for you, but know that if you let baby sleep long stretches during the day he will be up more frequently at night.
Read: What To Do When Baby Is Feeding Every Hour (& Not Sleeping!)
The way forward?
Purposefully cluster feed your newborn in late afternoon and early evening and make sure baby is taking full feeds.
This means at least 10 minutes per breast if you’re nursing, often times twice that.
PRO TIP
You can tell when baby is no longer actively nursing but just remaining latched on in a few ways.
First, look at the muscles on baby’s cheek. If they are nursing it will be moving up and down. Next, discern whether baby is swallowing or not. Then, look at baby’s chin, is it moving as it does during active sucking (aka nursing).
If none of these are happening baby is likely asleep and engaging in non-nutritive sucking.
Read: How To Fix Day/Night Confusion In 3 Nights Or Less
Cluster Feeding CHECKLIST
Use our checklist to use cluster feeding to your advantage without feeding every hour all day every day!
How to stop cluster feeding at night (if you’re ready)
Whew.
Ain’t no mama want to be up every hour at night. The good news is you don’t have to be. Even if you are feeding every hour through the night, you can shift that and begin getting longer stretches at night.
What’s the only way to stop cluster feeding at night?
Make sure baby is getting as much milk as they can throughout the day.
Don’t let baby snack while nursing. 10 minute feeds throughout the day mean baby will be up all night because baby is hungry and needs milk.
When you start giving baby full feeds throughout the day (this will mean you’ll have to do jump through some hoops to keep baby up) and baby settles into a predictable routine then they’ll sleep longer stretches at night.
Read These While You’re At It
Purposefully cluster feed in the late afternoon period when the milk supply is at its lowest quality (4 pm onwards) so that baby’s tummy is as full as it can be.
This will promote deeper sleep.
Eventually, even if baby wakes frequently at night for feeds, if you are not giving long full feeds throughout the night baby will get it.
It’s super hard when your newborn is cluster feeding all night, but you will get there and it will get easier!
Read These While You’re At It
Are you feeding your newborn both day and night?
If you have a cluster feeding newborn both day and night there are only a few likely alternatives.
- Milk supply is low and baby is starving.
- Baby is going through a growth spurt and is starving.
- Baby is only “snacking” and not taking full feeds or getting to the hindmilk rich in nutrients because he just takes a bit then stops.
The best way to help baby stop cluster feeding day and night is to determine which issue you’re having.
If it’s milk supply then continue feeding until your supply is up or supplement with formula (see a lactation expert).
Alternatively, if baby is going through a growth spurt then there’s nothing to do but wait it out and feed baby as much as possible to keep them full and get your supply up to meet the demand.
What to do if baby only “snacks”
- Keep baby awake during feeds by taking off their clothes except diaper. You can also rub their feet, cheeks, or hands with a baby wipe or keep trying to stimulate them to stay awake long enough to feed. You can put them on a soft blanket or tummy time mat and let them kick in their diaper until they’ve woken up, then continue feeding.
- Try not to put baby down to sleep if they fall asleep while nursing unless they just won’t wake up. Keep trying to feed baby even if it takes a bit of time so they’ll get as much as they can.
- Differentiate between active nursing and non-nutritive sucking, and let baby do one but maybe not the other.
- Give the baby a pacifier (the pacifier I recommend that stays in baby’s mouth) if they wake and want to nurse right after having nursed a short time ago. They might just need to satisfy the sucking urge and this will help. Also, the next time they feed after this will mean they’ll take more milk and keep your supply up. “Snacking” can contribute to a lower milk supply because baby is never emptying a breast and getting the rich milk.
Eventually by doing those things baby will stop snacking and start taking fuller feeds which will naturally result in longer times between feeds.
Read: The Ultimate Newborn Sleep Schedule: Week By Week For The Postpartum Period
Cluster feeding in the early evening
The prime time to have newborn cluster feeding sessions is the late afternoon early evening.
As I previously said, the milk supply can be lower in quantity and quality at this time due to the stresses of the day, so feeding baby every 2 hours for a few hours will help keep your supply up, will keep the little one happy, and will set them up to sleep longer stretches at night.
Your evening routine might look something like this.
4:30 p.m. Nurse and nap
6:30 p.m. Nurse and catnap (or skip nap)
8:30 p.m. Nurse and bed
10:30 p.m. Dreamfeed
By purposefully cluster feeding in the right time you’ll help everyone sleep more at night while keeping your precious one topped up on milk.
Summary
- Feed every 1.5 to 2 hours during the early evening.
- Give baby plenty of milk before their bedtime so they are satisfied and sleep longer.
- Cluster feed during the DAY so you don’t find yourself having to cluster feed at NIGHT.
- Drop the cluster feeds when baby is no longer interested in one of the feeds.
Remember, feeding at frequent intervals in the late afternoon early evening will not solve actual sleep problems, but it will help your little one have a full tummy.
Sleep issues might subside if they were hunger related.
Cluster Feeding CHECKLIST
Use our checklist to use cluster feeding to your advantage without feeding every hour all day every day!
Rhythms, Routines, & Schedules Pack
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By now, you know how to handle the early days, but what after? Here is the good news: you’ve set your baby up for a foundation of success.
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Cluster Feeding FAQ
Cluster feeding typically will happen until around 4 or 5 months of age. Once baby is around 5 months (see the 5 month old schedule here) and they are eating solids, there isn’t as much of a need for cluster feeding.
If your supply is low and baby is frequently feeding, this will increase your supply. Milk supply and quality is typically lower in the late afternoon early evening and cluster feeding can help fill baby.
Babies need to eat when they are hungry. Too much “snacking” can mean that baby is getting a lot of the foremilk which is less nutrient dense and will contribute to more feeding. Solution? Full feeds with hindmilk for baby.
Yes and no. Babies can tend to feed every hour all day long if they aren’t getting enough milk or they are snacking. If baby is feeding every hour all day long they’re not actually getting much food, they are using your breast as a snack bar. If you’re okay with this, then you’re good to go. And if not, focus on full feeds.
If babies take full feeds (nursing for 30 to 45 minutes typically) they won’t need food every half hour or even every two hours. If they snack they will feed more frequently.
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Hi! My only question is, with my 4 day old who is cluster feeding at all times right now, if he doesnt get to the hind milk, the nutrient milk, will it never come in? Im pumping after he eats each breast to continue the feeding process so my milk will come in full. Is that correct? Any tips.
I’m sure it’s past this now, but yes you keep pumping and it’ll all come in!
Hi Rachel,
I’m wondering about the late afternoon / early evening cluster feeding you recommend. My baby is 3 weeks old and feeds every 2.5 hours, including at night. Is it too early to try waking him to cluster feed to see if he will sleep for longer stretches at night? Also, when do you recommend stopping these afternoon / evening cluster feeds? Thanks so much for all of the advice and resources!
Yes, I would also like to know, for how many evenings do I cluster feed 0 is it just a temporary thing or do I cluster feed for months?
Also, full feedings are great, but am I the only one one who gets thrown off by extra diaper changes, burping the baby and unexpected changing of his clothes due to leakage, burping or smth else, that can interfere with that window of wakefulness?
We’re struggling with that too. After extra time sitting upright to help manage reflux, plus nappy / clothes change etc he’s getting too tired to settle back to sleep. He then seems to want to feed more and we get stuck in this cycle. Any advice?
I answered this in the bottom of the post, Dina! I updated it. Essentially you’ll want to cluster feed until he doesn’t really want one of those feeds, then you can drop it!
My son ate every 3 hours on the dot until about 6 weeks old. He had a routine of 6am feeding, 9ish am feeding, 12pm feeding, 3:30pm feeding, 6:30pm feeding, 10pm feeding, 12pm feeding and so on every 3ish hours. As he started to get older and taking more food (3.5-5oz areas) he began to sleep longer at night all on his own. As long as you help your baby understand night and day your baby should adapt on their own. Things I did to help him understand day and night:
Day: windows cracked open, tv always on for noise- especially if no one else is home, talk to him while feeding, walk around and show him things and tell him what things are, go around a short walk around the block, only swaddling with a light blanket or laying him down to sleep in a sleeper, keeping lights on.
Night time: Velcro swaddler, dark, minimal-low noise (I leave a fan on the lowest setting for a white noise), always laying him down in the bassinet so it’s a consistent memory thing where he sleeps at night.
Naps during the day are totally okay. Especially that young! They literally: eat sleep potty. :) Help baby know night and day and they should get it on their own! Good luck xoxo.
Thanks for sharing all you did, Bailey, I love seeing what other moms do :)
I’ve read you’re not supposed to wake new borns or keep them awake because it actually makes it harder for them to sleep at night. I’ve actually experienced this first hand after a long day of being passed around from one person to the next- baby girl was kept awake. The following night she was SCREAMING and terribly fussy/wanting to be on my breast constantly. She slept terrible and so did I. I’d never seen her like that. I think it’s terrible advice to not let a newborn sleep during the day. They need sleep for brain development…
What doctors and friends told me is that you are to let them nap but keep it somewhat noisy and bright so they don’t get a “deep sleep”. New borns need to eat when they are hungry and sleep when they are tired. You’re not supposed to sleep train until about 6 minths
Dana, waking a baby up after they’ve slept a couple hours to feed them is okay. Keeping a baby awake will make them overtired, surely! I definitely don’t say to keep a baby awake on this here blog, ha, I say the opposite! However, letting baby sleep long stretches during the day 3+ hours at a time will often mean they are up at night. Is that what I said?
Hi there, I have a very hungry baby who is just turned 2 weeks of age. And I seem to be feeding much more during the late afternoon evening periods. This can start anywhere from 4pm to 10-11pm. Do you have any advice on how to satisfy my hungry baby. Sometimes I feel she isn’t getting enough with the amount of feeds she’s having.
I edited the post to answer this question!
You should really change that photo of the woman and newborn. It is common instruction to have the babies head aligned with his body. That baby is in a very bad position! We are often told to imagine drinking a glass a water with your head turned sideways. Not easy.
Oh, thanks for catching that. I may change it later when I get a minute!
Hi. I have a 6 day old baby and she will not sleep more than an hour day or night unless she is held. I want to try the scheduling but she’s literally up every 20-30 minutes and I don’t know where to start. IM so tired and overwhelmed and don’t know how to get to sleep! I’m sure she is exhausted….
Will she take a full feed or is she falling asleep while feeding all the time, Marissa?
My six week old baby girl feeds non stop from 5pm – 10.30pm every night. I then give her 40 ml formula and she sleeps til 4 or 5am, then feed, straight back to sleep, up at 8am ish. Daytime she is easy – 3 hourly feeds, sleeps, hangs out. What can I do about the evening cluster feeding? It has been every night for 3 weeks now and it makes life for the family (I have two other kids) incredibly difficult.
Hi Anya, so she falls asleep and won’t take it or she literally ahs one bottle after the other that whole time?
My 4 week old feeds and naps every 2-3 hours during the day and in general is calm baby, but for for the past week and a half or so she’s been cluster feeding from around 11 pm to 4-5 am (we are going kind of crazy here!! She’s even started at 9 pm!!). We’ve even tried a 3.5 oz bottle of expressed milk at around 3 only to have her eat a full half an hour as a “top off” afterwards. She would have 3-4 hour stretches of sleep between 5(ish) and 11(ish) am. What can we do to move that cluster to the afternoon?? Sometimes I think it is just the anxiety and overtiredness that makes her want to stay sucking at the breast, rather than hunger, but I don’t know. Also, she really hates the pacifier. HELP!!!
IF she’s super hard to wake during the day and napping fine all day but then waking all night, could be day night reversal, search that on here I have a post on it :)
We’ve tried to dream feed our 8-wk old sometime btwn 10pm and 12am to get him to sleep longer, but we wakes up around 230am-330am no matter what. When you cluster feed in the early evening, how are you measuring out how much to feed? Are you feeding smaller feeds throughout the day?
Tiffany, great question :) If you are nursing then you just try to feed full feeds if able because the milk quality is lower. If you are bottle feeding then put in a full amount and see how it goes. I do NOT recommend feeding less during the day an you don’t want to stuff baby. You simply want to be sure baby is getting enough milk while AWAKE during the daytime and NOT at night. And making sure baby is getting enough high quality milk before bedtime. Your 8 week old will still need a couple of night feeds since he’s so small :)
This was so helpful, but after reading, I feel disheartened. My new I RN is 3 weeks old today and I feel so run down. He eats every 2 hours during the day and (with the exception of a few nights) he is up every hour feeding. I feel like I don’t know where to start.
Heather, it’s SO HARD. You are ready to STOP feeding so often. The good news is that you can feed 3 hourly (I am an infant and sleep consultant and most babies are able to go 3 hours if they have a full feed) during the day and then ONLY cluster feed in the late afternoons or early evenings. And, the reason to do that is EXACTLY SO you can sleep more in those early hours.
I have a 6 week old with acid reflux. I try to feed him a lot during the day (usually about every 2 hours at least 20-30 minutes). At night I give him much smaller feeds (7-12 minutes) since he usually spits up quite a bit again so I try to keep the feeds smaller. I hold him up after every feed for 20-30 minutes, but will always spit up a lot. He sleeps for a 3-4 hour stretch at around 8 or 9 on, but wakes up every 1.5-2 hours after. Any advice on helping him sleep longer with this reflux issue?
Reflux is tricky isn’t it, what does your doctor recommend? There are schools of thought that say longer times between feeding means less stress on the stomach and less acids going up, but I’d check with your doc!
His doctor says to just hold him upright, keep feeding and he will grow out of it eventually (it took my older son almost 1 full year!). I have been feeding him on demand, I’m worried if I prolong the feeding he will be hungrier and gulp in more air.
Angela if you feel he is doing well enough this way then keep it up! If you feel he is uncomfortable you’ve got nothing to lose but extended feeds slightly and seeing how he goes :)