Low supply at night & Frequent feeding?

[littlebear]

Hi girls

Just after any ideas/advice/support... I'm breastfeeding my 12 week old and it's going really great so far except at night. I feel like I have a fantastic supply during the day, but when we get to around 9pm my breasts feel empty and my little girl fusses like she's not getting enough milk/getting it fast enough and constantly feeds until she's down for the night. This can sometimes last from 9pm until midnight. Tonight its lasted 2 hours so far (8.30 and still going at 10.30) I don't remember doing this with my first, and i don't think it's a wonder week/growth spurt thing because it's been going on for a couple weeks now. Does this happen to anyone else? Any suggestions would be great as feeding for 2 hours plus at night and coping with the fussing is taking its toll!

I should also mention that during the day (even though I'm confident in my supply during the day) I'm only having 1.5 - 2 hour breaks inbetween feeds. I'm demand feeding, and feeds are taking around 40 - 50 minutes to complete. Is this normal? My first fed 4 hourly from a very young age... I'm happy to feed her this often if it's what she wants but was wondering if there was anything I could do to spread out the time between feeds. I know I have plenty of milk, and she's growing rapidly with lots of wet nappies so I know it's not a supply thing.

Thanks for listening!

[Kmn]

It's normal - cluster feeding is something that some babies do more than others. So is 2 hourly feeding during the day.
Sometimes she may actually be wanting a hug more than a feed - so trying a sling might help "stretch" between feeds. But to be honest if she is sleeping for a reasonable stretch from midnight onwards then I wouldn't be trying to change it, because you might "break" that bit in the process!

[Arcadia]

Sounds like the arsenic hour to me. My dd was like that too, and she would fuss and cry at about 9pm for an hour or more.

She also had reflux, and would want to feed really frequently. Could that be a possibility too?

[onthefly]

Sounds like you're doing great!
Your breasts feel empty because your little one is emptying them frequently, that's all.
Babies are all quite different in how they feed - just like the rest of us. You can try making sure she has both sides at each feed, but if she's already doing that (or doesn't want to) it may just be that this way works better for her. Some people prefer fewer, bigger meals, some prefer more frequent, smaller ones. A sling could also help at those times of day.