My Breastfed Baby is Clingy – Myth Busted

Today, we are here to talk about another myth, which is really common in desi households. Usually, old ladies say that a breastfed baby is clingy to the mother. Let’s bust this myth once and for all.

In the early days of postpartum, it is very common for the babies to cluster feed. Cluster feeding is a phenomenon in which babies ask for breast milk after every few minutes for longer periods of time. They can ask for milk, even just after being fed. Cluster feeding usually lasts till the 4th to 10th week of the baby’s life, but it can last for longer too. Moreover, babies cluster feed later in life too before approaching a growth spurt Check online (https://www.healthline.com/health/parenting/cluster-feeding).

Now being a new mom is already an overwhelming experience. While babies need you all the time, during those cluster feeding time periods, it is very difficult to cater to their needs as well as focus on your mental and physical health simultaneously.

A few weeks after birth is a difficult time for the babies too, because a lot has changed for them. They are out of the cozy dark environment of the womb and are now in an environment in which there are lights, hunger, noises, poops, etc. So babies need comfort to manage better in such environments. One of the main reasons for cluster feeding is this. Babies not only nurse for hunger, but they also nurse because they are afraid, they need comfort, and they need reassurance that mommy is there for them.

This is what we call ”a clingy breastfed baby” in desi households.

Dear mommies, we know it’s a very very tough phase of your life, but the truth is it is as difficult for your baby who is trying to adjust to all this. Your baby finds comfort only in nursing when he/she is closest to the mommy. And believe me, all of this is temporary, babies outgrow the comfort feeding so fast that one moment it’s a hassle and the other moment it’s a loving memory.

Usually, in households, it is said that; the mother is spoiling the baby by nursing him/her every time he/she cries; he must be crying without a reason, and he will get clingy to the breast if the mother keeps on doing this; the baby will not let mother do another task in future too, because he/she will remain at the breast the whole time.

In short, a mother is blamed for nursing a baby every time he/she asks for breast, and this becomes the reason for the clinginess of breastfed babies.

Mommies, let’s clear one thing first, there is nothing more important for you than your baby, and this kind of myth is just to hinder you from doing the best for your baby and yourself.
Exclusively breastfed babies are satisfied and happy and except for a few earlier months of clinginess, they grow into gentle human beings who know that they are loved and protected by the never-ending love of their mother.

And as the baby grows, this overwhelming phase will end for sure and you will start loving everything about this nursing relationship between you and your bubs
Good luck and Happy Nursing