My baby cluster fed for 14 hours some days

by Nikki
(Brisbane)

When I was pregnant the placenta stopped functioning efficiently in the third trimester. I was naturally pretty worried about my baby but I was told everything would be fine, but that she would be small and pretty hungry when she got out, and was she ever.

She didn't have any of the fat rolls that most babies have, and to compensate for this she fed, all the time. There were many days in the first four months where she just fed every hour or half hour for a good 14 hours. I was absolutely exhausted.

I tried feeding lying down, which was restful but it just seemed to make her feed for longer. The only time out I had was for a shower when my husband would hold her and she would scream the whole time, so apart from being exhausted I was stressed. This meant that my milk supply was deteriorating, right when she needed it to increase.

It was so tough and i really wish that someone had told me about donor milk so that i could have had a break.

My daughter's now one year old and everything's going well though. We are through the tough times and she's only having 2-3 feeds a day now.