Should I be waking baby to feed if I get a milk 'let down' feeling and leaky breasts?

[meglet]

DD is 5 weeks and bf is going suprisingly well. She usually naps most of the afternoon for 3-4 hours, but I get lots of 'let down' and leaky breasts during that time. I can't bear the thought of wasting milk and try to rouse her for a feed but she doesn't want to know.

So, if I am getting a tingly let down in my breasts should I just relax and ignore it, or should I try and get her to feed or express a bit for future use?

BTW I am a huge worrier even though bf is going well, I don't really relax about it .

I used to get this in the early days when dd slept a lot. Personally I didn't wake her, assuming that if she was hungry she'd wake anyway.

Now I barely get a let down when she's not feeding - one growth spurt runs into another so she's latched on most of the time!

Make the most of the quiet afternoons!

I used to grab the pump and express it - or shove some breast shells in and collect it that way.

Never wake a sleeping baby is my motto, particularly if she doesn't want to know when you do try to wake her for a feed - as long as she is taking plenty when she does feed.

Thank you! I will do exactly that, enjoy the peace and express some milk. She has gained weight really well so far so I should chill out a bit!

Expressing is fine, particularly if you want to freeze a bit in case of future evenings out, or hand over to DP for a couple of hours. It will also mean your DD has less work to do to boost your supply when she next has a growth spurt!

But do bear in mind that expressing will stimulate your breast to make more milk than is needed, for longer. To reach that lovely supply/demand equilibrium point, when your breast are usually soft and comfy and there's less leakage, you could either just wait for her to wake, or just express enough to make sure you're not too full for her to latch on properly when she next feeds.

Glad it's going well for you - well done!