Intermittent let-down reflex

[Gavotte]

Hello. I have a let-down reflex that comes and goes during a feed - it will come for around 30 seconds, then disappear for a couple of minutes, then return, in waves. I was reading a breastfeeding book last night which said that most women get a constant let-down until the end of a feed (some occassionally get it in waves, but the book implied that this would be on occasion rather than every time they fed). It was a potential eureka moment for me - my daughter has been struggling to put on weight (cf previous thread), and I wonder if this is related. I had just assumed that everyone let down in this way (and now realise that a constant let-down would make the feed so much shorter and easier!). (I'm pretty sure this is the case as my daughter has a loud swallow when she is actually getting the milk, I can see the milk when the let-down is happening - when it actually arrives it is a strong let-down - and the same pattern happens when I express milk). Two questions - have other mothers experienced this, and what can I do to encourage a more consistent let-down (have tried warm flannels etc, but same thing happens)? Thank you for any thoughts.

[whomovedmychocolate]

What book is that then? AFAIK everyone has this - I've fed two monsters for ummm 2.10 years so far (DS is only 1 but DD is still nursing at 2.10) and I have always experienced feeding this way.

I thought it was to do with the way there are little sacs of milk in the boob and the baby stimulates the first bit to come down, then the next bit etc. etc. but it takes a while between them to release the next 'batch' as it were.

Oh and with DD feeds generally took an hour or more. With DS about twenty minutes even from the start. So I think it's a bit more complicated than we might wish.

Some babies do gain weight slowly and they are perfectly happy. Mine are monsters and just burst off the top of the charts but that's not normal - your experience is much more close to normal than you'd think.

You are doing great. Just keep on going.

[tiktok]

Let-down is intermittent - which book told you different, Gavotte? There are several let downs per feed - you may be aware of one, several or none of them. I have never heard of it being 'constant', ever.