Two questions about bre@stmilk/nursing.

[*********]

Ok, this seems like a good place to ask this question that I've wondered for years but don't have the nerve to discuss with friends IRL for fear that I'm freakish or something. :D

 

I nursed both of my boys; Zee for 6 months, Moose for a year. I never once, not ONCE, felt my milk 'let down'. I had friends talk about it, and it seems so 'normal' that I never did admit that I had no idea what that felt like.

 

I assumed that it was not a big deal, since I didn't have any problems with supply, and both boys nursed just fine. I'm just curious what I missed, I guess. :001_smile:

 

Also, since I'm feeling bold with my strange bre@stfeeding questions today, :tongue_smilie:, I'm curious if anyone else, (oh, I don't know how else to say this!) 'leaked' milk/colostrum while still pregnant. I had to wear a bra 24/7 (at least a sports bra) from the time I was 5 months or so with both boys, or else I would leak.

 

Anyone have either of those two experiences, or am I really some sort of freak of nature. :lol: (Good grief, I didn't even have the nerve to ask my OB about it when I was pregnant, but now I'm willing to ask on here. :001_huh::tongue_smilie:)

[happyhomemaker25]

I never experienced the let dow feeling or painful engorgement. I've felt very full in the beginning but it never hurt. I am almost a year with Lily.

[LittleIzumi]

I have STROOOOONG (painful!!) letdown, but I know one mom who has never, ever felt letdown, and her dd is still nursing at age 3!

 

Yes, leaking colostrum while pregnant is normal, esp in subsequent pregnancies. :)

[goldberry]

I never had let down or leaking either. My breasts stayed relatively soft most of the time. I always felt odd because my sister could shoot milk across the room!

 

ETA, the only reason I never worried was because I had a little roly poly baby who was CLEARLY getting enough to eat!

[Gailmegan]

I have 6.5 + years of bfing experience and I have felt let down only a few times with my first. I never leaked while pg though.

[Meriwether]

I only experienced let down when a newborn was crying. It didn't even have to be mine. The oddest thing I ever experienced nursing was when my milk came in with my oldest. I doubled in size in less than an hour. :001_huh: My mom, who never makes personal comments, laughed and said, "You've got some jugs." I didn't leak ahead of time, but I know people who did. I think there is a verrry large range of what is normal.

[gaillardia]

I've never heard of not feeling let-down. You missed it? In the first few days it hurt BAD, at least it did for me, every baby (seven). In the first month after birth, it still hurt. I had let-down sensation for the first 4-6 months, and if baby didn't nurse on time, it would leak bad.

While pregnant I had some leaking, but not enough to really notice. I mean it didn't get the clothing soaked.

I wouldn't say anything was wrong with you.:lol: Just different.;)

[T'smom]

My "let-down" doesn't hurt, it just feels like a twinge. I still have it and dd is 10 months. When I feel it, I know I'd better nurse ASAP or my shirt is going to be soaking wet.

 

I didn't leak while pregnant.....but I'm making up for it now!

[Farrar]

I nursed twins for 15 months and only felt it *once* when they were probably about two or three weeks old and unexpectedly slept for more than five minutes. I just assumed they dried me out every single time. :)

[Heatherwith4]

I never leaked while pg.

I *definitely* felt let-down early on with DD. It was painful sometimes, and milk would go everywhere. I'm still nursing, but done usually feel the letdown. Milk still goes everywhere, though. :)

Kellymom.com is an awesome resource for bfing info, if you're ever too nervous to ask someone. ;)

[WishboneDawn]

The feeling let-down for me was a tingling sensation. I leaked often. I was one of the ones that could shoot milk across a room.

 

ETA: I only had let down when I was exclusively breastfeeding. After food was introduced and the nursing slowed a bit everything seemed to get a little better.

Edited June 6, 2011 by WishboneDawn

[Homemaker]

I nursed my 3 for over 13 months each. For me, I had a strong let down for the babies' first few months and then it would fad and I would feel it that much. It is a tingling, pins and needles type of feeling in your breast that last for a few moments. It was painful the first couple weeks of life for each baby.

[Julie in CA]

I agree with the others who said there's a large range of "normal".

I had horribly painful, bring tears to this tough mama's eyes let-down for every single nursing with every single child the entire time. I didn't nurse for much longer than 6 months with each baby, mostly because that part of it was so painful. :sad:

[meggie]

There are billions of women having children throughout the world, a wide range of experience is normal;).

 

With my first pregnancy I leaked A LOT. After he was born, I didn't even know my milk had come in. I thought the only way to know milk came in was engorgement. Well, that kid was such a chugger, I never got engorged. I just thought he was chugging on colostrum for 20 minutes. My mom was the one who pointed out that it was milk (it was white). Also with him, I didn't know what let down was for a long time. I just knew it hurt. My mom said hers was always a tingling running down her bOOks. It took me a few months to realize that my letdown was always a pain in the ni**les. I also had to wear nursing pads the entire time because they would both letdown at the same time.

 

With the other two, I didn't have leaking of colostrum while pregnant, but was made painfully aware of what engorgement is.

[herbalgirl]

My let down was a tingly feeling, sometimes painful, sometimes not. I never have leaked while pregnant, and for the past couple of babies, didn't leak horribly after I had the baby and even when my milk came in.

 

Isn't it wild how much it can vary woman to woman, and even pregnancy to pregnancy?

[bluemongoose]

For me it felt like when my foot goes to sleep. That tingly, slightly painful feeling. It did lessen after a few months.

 

I did leak a lot with my pregnancies as well.

 

Once my milk came in the pain/engorgement was extreme. I guess I just have a lot of milk! I go up cup sizes in a couple of hours, and have even struggled with Rusty Pipe Syndrome after having a baby.

 

I have friend who have all be very different from me. Some find nursing easy, some hard, some painful, some not. We are all just really different!:001_smile:

[melissel]

There are billions of women having children throughout the world, a wide range of experience is normal;)

 

:iagree:

 

I'm another who never felt letdown while nursing either babe. The only time I ever did feel it was when I was pumping, and then only occasionally. For me, it was an ache, not horrible, but uncomfortable. I never leaked while PG, but I was not a leaker in general. DD8 was my little addict: she kept me pretty well emptied out, but because of that, if I delayed a nursing session for too long for some reason, I did get engorged. I might leak a little bit then, but nothing major. Everyone is very different--even the same woman from baby to baby. My nursing experience with DD5 was very different from my experience with DD8.

[Ellie]

I nursed both of my boys; Zee for 6 months, Moose for a year. I never once, not ONCE, felt my milk 'let down'. I had friends talk about it, and it seems so 'normal' that I never did admit that I had no idea what that felt like.

Most women do feel let-down, but clearly not all do. If your dc seemed to be well fed, well, there you go. :-)

Also, since I'm feeling bold with my strange bre@stfeeding questions today, :tongue_smilie:, I'm curious if anyone else, (oh, I don't know how else to say this!) 'leaked' milk/colostrum while still pregnant. I had to wear a bra 24/7 (at least a sports bra) from the time I was 5 months or so with both boys, or else I would leak.

Well, clearly some do. :001_smile: I didn't, but then I leaked all.the.time that I was nursing, and not just when my milk let down. Ugh.

[ktgrok]

I never felt let down with this one. I did sometimes with my first, but that was 11 years ago :)

 

And I leaked colostrum with my first, but not my second.

[kalanamak]

I felt a slight sensation of "let down" only after I'd nursed for a bit, and I learned to "will" the flow by putting baby up to the breast and "concentrating".

 

I leaked when pregnant. I was doing a lot of ER work at the time, and I recall one night when there was a baby crying and I told the old lady I was interviewing I was sorry, but I was going to have to talk to her with my left arm compressing both my breasts. :)

[Dawn in OH]

During the early months with all 4 babies I often felt as though someone swung a bag of bricks at my chest. It was over quickly most of the time, but it was shocking. I was also a milk shooter.

 

I never leaked during pregnancy.

Edited June 7, 2011 by Dawn in OH

[HS Mom in NC]

I experienced both of those things, but not with both full term pregnancies. I even produced some milk and leaked a little after my first miscarriage at 8 weeks baby development but 13 weeks into that pregnancy-meaning the baby died a month before we knew I was having a miscarriage.

[Lilymax]

I never leaked while pregnant, and didn't feel let-down with my first baby. With the second one I felt it, but it was never painful. It was just a very faint "shifting of pressure" feeling...like I'd feel slight pressure up close to my ribcage that would drop down closer to my nipples. But it wasn't at all uncomfortable. I still feel it every once in a while, especially if it's been a while since he nursed. But it's definitely not a regular occurance.

[nd293]

Yes, I leaked when pg, maybe from around 6 or 7 months.

 

I never felt the let down reflex, and fed for 2yrs and 4yrs respectively.

[nmoira]

Never felt let down in seven and a half straight years of nursing, other than two or three times I was out and heard someone else's baby screaming, screaming, screaming in hunger. :glare:

[UnsinkableKristen]

I'm on pregnancy #4, and I've leaked during pregnancy with every one. I've even had a slight leak when NOT pregnant. Totally normal.

 

I only felt let down at the very beginning while nursing. Very painful at first, tingly for a while, and then nothing. By the time I stopped nursing #3 at 14 months, I didn't ever feel a thing different.

 

 

Sounds like you have nothing to worry about!

[texasmama]

I never leaked while pg. I spewed like a faucet during the first month or so and had to wear pads. Let down was very strong (almost painful) for the first months to a year of nursing. I nursed at least a year for all of my babies and almost four years with my last one.

 

I say this - If you can't ask the Hive, who can you ask?;)

[Alphabetika]

I felt the letdown with my first two, even to the point of pain sometimes, but with #3, nothing. You're not a freak!

[*********]

Well thank you, ladies, for helping me feel I'm within the 'normal' range, and not weird. At least about this. :D

[Rivka]

I never felt letdown. Not while nursing, and not while pumping.

 

It was never an issue until my son had the stomach flu. He wasn't drinking from a cup, but I thought we were doing okay because he was nursing. Then he got so dehydrated he went twelve hours without a wet diaper, and we wound up in the ER. Because I don't feel letdown, I couldn't tell that he was comfort sucking instead of swallowing milk.

[Hannah C.]

For me, "letdown" is a tingling feeling - and it doesn't always happen. :) It took a while for me to identify that as what it was. Usually I feel it when baby's *not* nursing and it happens, or when baby's nursing on one side and it happens on the other.

 

I leaked while pregnant, but not very much - just enough that I noticed when I got ready for bed. :)