10/21/2025
Let’s talk about making more milk .. MMMM 😋
🥛 This week’s pro tip is to embrace cluster feeding. Sometimes mothers misinterpret cluster feeding behavior from their baby as a sign of danger or low supply. If given inappropriate advice, some parents rush immediately to supplementing or “topping off” with milk or formula in a bottle. This is a fast track way to decreasing your milk supply and encouraging breast refusal behavior from your baby.
Did you know that the only way your body knows to make more milk is to receive cluster feeding messages from your baby? More ni**le stimulation = more oxytocin to your pituitary gland = more prolactin released = more milk produced. It’s a feedback 🔂 loop! Embrace the cluster feeding; don’t be scared!
Babies cluster feed any time they need to communicate a growth spurt to their mother. Usually this behavior happens in the late afternoon/ evening and can be exhausting. Cluster feeding usually behavior varies and usually lasts 2-3 days. After about 48 hours of increased stimulation, your breasts should respond by feeling more full and cluster feeding should subside. It will happen again with baby’s next growth spurt.
As usual, every scenario is nuanced and a care plan should involve guidance by an IBCLC. If you are directed to give a top off after nursing, consider reaching out to an IBCLC for expert care. Cluster feeding can seem scary or be super exhausting but, like many things in life, good things come after a season of struggle. Don’t avoid the struggle!
Tell us in the comments about your last cluster feeding journey.
Exclusive pumping moms, do you have any questions about how to increase supply if your baby is not giving that feedback directly to your breasts?
Schedule an in person or telehealth visit with us if you have concerns about your milk supply!
