Tina writes:

How much  and how often should I be feeding him?  For the last month I have 
been  feeding him every 2 to 2 1/2 hours during the day.  Sometimes it 
takes  him a hour to eat.  He is still sleeping thru the night.  One of my  
friends suggested trying to stretch out his feedings so he isn't cluster  
feeding all the time. 
~~~ First, Ingrid's suggestion of LLL meetings, where mom can get both good 
 information and support from a trained peer-type counselor as well as be 
around  other moms, may help this mom a lot. Her friend is misinforming her 
by  suggesting that a baby who is nursing  every 2- 2 1/2 hours, ( and this  
while "sleeping through the night") is "cluster feeding". This baby is 
feeding  completely normally for a breastfeeding baby of less than 6-9 months. If 
baby is  actually sleeping through the night, which means different things 
to different  people, baby will need to feed normally at minimum, to make up 
for  skipped feeds at night anyway. Perhaps letting mom know that babies at 
this  stage normally feed, on average, every 1 1/2 to 3 hours, and normally 
8-14  times in 24 hours, plus acknowledging that many well-intentioned, 
caring people  are not aware of what normal is when it comes to feeding in our 
culture, will  help her look at her relationship with her baby with less 
stress. ? Perhaps this  reference is helpful for you, Tina, as you mention, 
someone new to  this role: 
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/117/3/e387.full
It can also be a leap into a new area to help a mom see that being at  
breast is about a lot more than the transfer of calories, so that each time at  
breast represents getting help with hunger, thirst, temperature regulation,  
unpredictable life outside the womb, a hug/snuggling, quiet time to 
reconnect,  etc. When we think of how many times, as grown-ups we have a meal, take 
a drink,  grab a snack, reach out for a loved one, touch someone when they 
are talking to  us, etc. it can help a mom see why those times are both so 
"often" and meeting  an important need that might actually put hunger at the 
bottom of the totem  pole. 
 
She's lucky to have you.
 
 
Peace,
Judy
 
 
Judy LeVan  Fram, PT, IBCLC, LLLL
Brooklyn, NY,  USA
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