how long a wait if any?

[Lisness]

My DS of nearly 8 weeks suffers from intermittent reflux vomiting - ie. infrequent but lots of! Inevitably he is hungry again almost immediately afterwards. Thing is, my boobs feel completely drained by this point and not ready to provide more - how long does it take for them to refill? Or is waiting not necessary?

Breasts produce milk on demand - what was thought to be milk storage in the past has been proved to be nowt of the sort, so don't worry,put him back on when he asks!
Lisa x

No waiting necessary - just stick him back on.

Se this link for an explanation:
www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/milkproduction-faq.html#betweenfeeds

Thanks for advice and links. Would love to believe this. Thing is it does not fit with my experience. That very day I had just finished expressing from both breasts when he woke up and wanted to feed. With your replies in mind, I put him straight on. He was on for ages, appearing to suck very slowly and when finished became ravenous again within the space of 10 minutes. Put him back on other side which seemed to take the edge off it. He was unsettled rest of night. Meanwhile, my poor boobs hurt like hell!

Waiting's not necessary. DS had whooping cough as a small baby which meant that for ages he's have a coughing fit and projectile vomit entire feeds up again much of the time. Yes, obviously it's going to take longer to fill a baby from breasts that have just given a feed than from breasts that have had several hours of milk production to give them a head start -- so they are likely to take a while over the second feed, and you are likely to have to feed on both sides. But waiting isn't necessary and personally I'd find it mroe distressing to have a small hungry baby screaming for a feed while I waited than to take a bit longer over feeding him.

It's not that I'm disagreeing, I just want to understand a bit better, because I'm having problems expressing enough milk for this reason - I feel I have to time it carefully so the above scenario doesn't happen.

Why then was he screaming with hunger again very shortly after I had fed him for the second time if my breasts were producing enough milk? Or am I missing the point here? Because I, like you, find it very very distressing to have my baby screaming with hunger, ESPECIALLY after I've just fed him. Whereas sometimes he can be distracted for another 15-20 mins by taking him for a walk or putting him in a sling and then when he does feed, he seems to be more satisfied.

I'd have said because he hadn't really finished -- he was just taking a break. And he's going to prefer it if your breasts are fuller, because that's what he's used to and gives a supply of milk he prefers.

If I were really thirsty I'd prefer to have a big bottle of water to swig from, or at least a nice big straw. I could also drink through a really thin straw and it wouldn't be as satisfying, and it would take me longer, but I would end up just as hydrated.

It's a question of balance (as so much as parenting) -- if you can distract him and feed him a bit later then your own knowledge of your child tells you that he's happier with the feed he gets then, so that's a great way to go if you can. But if you can't, or he won't be distracted, then your breasts aren't "empty". They won't be ideal, from your son's point of view, but they are better than nothing and he can get a full feed from them if he has the determination to do it.

It was probably easier for me because DS was vomiting all the time, so my supply adjusted to the fact that he was feeding all the time. Whereas yours only vomits occasionally so your supply hasn't built up to compensate. The same principle still applies, though, just a bit more time-consuming and stressful for those involved...

Yes I think you are right in your description demonaid, the more I think about it. And you have a good point about the fact he only throws his feeds up occasionally affecting the milk supply.

I think probably on balance I will continue distracting him for just that wee while (obviously not to the extent he is starving and distressed) and then we will both enjoy the bf experience better. But it is great to know that, if necessary, he can begin to feed again straight away.