Breast feeding queries....

[Bekki]

Why do I get a 'rush' 20 seconds before let down? (I used to experience a whole body rush and feel elated but now its calmed down a little).

Why is my EBM green? (Its has a very obvious green tint to it).

Is it true that the breasts are never empty? (My ds2 seems to disagree with that, he won't take the breast that he fed from previously).

How long does it take for food/drink that I have consumed to turn into breast milk?

Will my breast tissue return when I stop feeding? (Please say yes!)

look at this thread about breast milk colour

I thought it might have something to do with that as the EBM didn't seperate so I assumed that it was all foremilk. But still its only myself and Mears with green milk. Thanks Popsycal!

EBM green.... could be orange or pink or blue,.... no worries - it can be due to something you ate (I was once told but not suire how that works.... Tiktok???)

Breasts are never empty or so research has proven.

• ?

• Yes

Nope breast tissue has gone for ever I'm afraid.

Fingers in ears, LalAlA! I'm not listening JimJams.

My boobs are like puppy dogs ears - are they to stay like this then!?!

Yup- they just go all empty. That's why I've carried on feeding so long- I know what will happen when I stop

like two bats hanging from your chest!!!

Oh my god! Why do I start these threads? I was quite happy not knowing that thankyou! My dh is now looking quite depressed.

Only joking
My breasts are fuller now than ever, and I've breastfed 4.
Trouble is I can tuck them in my knickers!!

EBM can be green if you take some vit supps (makes pee a diff colour too). In any case, it doesn't matter - culd be a trick of the light

Breasts can't ever be empty when bf is going well - but there are degrees of fullness. Babies get preferences and sometimes want to feed from a fuller or less full breast.

Food or drink don't turn into breastmilk....some flavours and some constituents of your food and drink (eg milk proteins) do reach the breastmilk in variable amounts in variable times.

Breast tissue - you mean the fat that gives the breasts their shape when you are not pg or lactating....of course it returns. Once you get back to non-pg and non-bf hormones, you start laying down normal 'woman fat' in the breasts, and the shape returns. Ok, it may not be exactly the same, but that's because you will be rather older than before you were pg in the first place, and time takes a bit of a toll. This is hugely variable though. Mine went back to what they were each time.

I don't know about the rush question, sorry. My guess is you are just very sensitive to body changes pre-let down.

Tiktok, you are just sooo sensible!!! lol

I was wondering about the pre-let down sensation because no one else ever mentions it and its quite a big reason why I'm still bf! I read somewhere about oxytocin (I'm guessing that this is the word I'm looking for) overload in bf mums, but I didn't take much notice at the time. Any ideas?

BTW, It only happens when I have let down before a feed, not during.

human physiology is such that we are supposed to find breast feeding enjoyable so that we look forward to and continue to nourish our infants. Despite the tiredness etc ....
It is nothing (contrary to those ignoramuses who suggest it) to do with sex, but a natural enjoyable and encouraging sensation.

Good point Norma.
I was just reading up on Oxytocin, fascinating stuff. Released in large quantities during sex, childbirth(don't remember that sensation during labour)and bf.
So it explains the feeling of elation before a feed and tiredness whilst bf.
Does the Oxytocin go through the breast milk and affect the baby in a similiar way?

Well, it would explain why they seem to be such hungry little addicts, wouldn't it!

There's tons of stuff in breastmilk, and yes, oxytocin is one constituent, but the mood-changing bit is generally thought to be the stimulation of the release of endorphins, in the mother and in the baby, which are hormone-like pain and stress relievers.

But there are probably other aspects that affect mood as well.

From tiktok the sensible

It's depressing but I had small breasts to begin with, though they were, cornily according to dp, 'perky.' When I got pregnant they looked like they had small tight implants in them, then when breastfeeding like they had huge implants and now my breast feeding days are virtually at an end they've gone back to small size but are, alas, no longer 'perky.' It's weird I feel like they're almost not there. Quite sad really.

More questions (a bit more focused on poo this time though)-
Ds2 (3 months) manages 8 full dirty nappies a day. Is his digestive system working properly?
This morning there was alot of red mucus in his nappy, what is it?
I don't understand how if what I eat doesn't directly influence what is in my milk then how can it change the colour of my milk and the quality of it?

ARe they green nappies, Bekki? That's the only bad thing I can think of that can make many bowel movements and be something to try to change.... You know, how often a person goes is very individual and I think that starts in Babyhood. Maybe he'll continue to go often all his life. Also very personal to your poor DS2 -- but Are you sure he doesn't have any tiny anal tears? That could explain the red in the nappy. DD was prone to them.

I had pretty strong tingles/dizzy rush feeling as part of letdown, too, although only with my 1st; it's very individual.

DS1 and 2 used to have a dirty nappy after every feed when exclusively breastfed. It settled down a little when we started solids and now they're nearly 3 and 5 they go only a couple of times a day Not sure abut the other questions, but I can comment on the frequency!!

Well at least 3 of them a day are green, what does that mean?
Its not blood as such as its very mucusy iykwim.

Bekki - I don't know what the red in the nappy is, sorry, apart from possible anal fissures.

Some aspects of what you eat do affect the milk - traces of milk protein for instance can reach the milk, and cause problems in babies susceptible to allergy. Flavours such as vanilla and garlic have been shown to be present in breastmilk. It's thought that this flavouring of the breastmilk acts as a sort of preparation for the baby, so he becomes familiarised with foods he's likely to eat later. This makes sense - people in different parts of the world may have radically different diets, according to their culture and according to what is available to them.

This is not the same as saying that 'everything you eat or drink gets into the milk.' Everything you eat and drink passes through your own digestive system first, for a start, and breastmilk is emphatically not a sort of milky version of your own diet. Quality of breastmilk - in terms of its ability to nourish - differs very little, in all studies done comparing the milk of different women. As long as the mother herself is not chronically undernourished and on the brink of starvation, she will make milk that's fine in quality and quantity. There is quite a lot of evidence to back this up.

Green poo with my daughter was always a sign that she was getting too much foremilk and not enough hind milk. And later on she'd get the odd greeny when she had a tooth coming. I think it's when the food rushes through the digestive system and is only partly digested that it comes out green. Too much foremilk over-stimulates the digestion and too much swallowed saliva does the same when teeth are coming. Try expressing an ounce or so from your breast before you offer it to your little one.