It tends to arrive at the same time each evening. The baby who fed beautifully all day suddenly wants to be on the breast constantly, comes off, fusses, roots, goes back on, and nothing seems to settle them for long. It is the hour when a great many parents quietly wonder whether they have run out of milk. Almost always, they have not.
Cluster feeding is exactly what it sounds like: a run of short, frequent feeds close together, most common in the early weeks and most common in the evening. Newborn stomachs are tiny and breastmilk digests quickly, so babies are built to feed little and often. In the evenings many want to feed in a cluster and then, often, sleep a slightly longer stretch afterwards.
Milk supply works on demand. The more often the breast is emptied, the more milk your body is told to make. Frequent evening feeding is one of the clearest signals your baby can send to set your supply at the right level. So the very behaviour that feels like proof of too little is part of how your supply is built. Around certain points in the early weeks, often called growth spurts, this can intensify for a day or two before settling again.
The behaviour that feels like proof of too little is often exactly how your supply is built.
Look down, not at the clock. The signs that matter are steady over days, not minutes:
A baby can feed very often and still be getting plenty. How long they go between feeds in the evening is one of the least reliable measures of all.
None of this makes the witching hour shorter, but a little setting up makes it kinder. Get ready before it starts, with water, a snack and something to watch. Feed lying down or well propped so your back is not paying for it. Share the load, so a partner can wind, change and hold. And try not to count the feeds. Cluster feeding is a phase, not a verdict.