Longer let down?
Show your support
If you swap sides, the milk may seem like it’s gone at first but babe will trigger another let down. It may take a minute or two if you don’t have a strong flow/high milk production. Make sure you’re always hydrated, drinking water is the most important thing you can do for milk production (besides milk removal). It’s also helpful to have a high calorie intake, about 300-400 more calories than your body would normally need. It may also help to massage the breasts before and during feeding to loosen up the milk ducts and help the milk flow more freely.
@Libby @Alicia Thanks ladies! I'll work on eating and hydration. I eat 1 cup of oats for breakfast everyday and I made lactation bars. Is that enough? What's the longest it's taken your let down to come in?
@Amanda I've got a pretty strong let down (too strong so he chokes) but it always comes in within a few seconds for me. Doesn't last that long thankfully before settling
@Amanda in the first week of feeding, it sometimes took about 30 seconds for me, now it’s within a few seconds. I noticed your LO is 2 months now - this is around the time your milk starts regulating and you may not feel those strong letdowns anymore. With my last baby, I stopped feeling the letdowns around that time! Also, remember that certain foods can help with milk production but the number one thing is to feed/pump every 2-4 hours (or whenever baby eats) and do your best to “empty” the milk, potentially with a pump after feedings if needed. Any stretches longer than that can make your supply dip. You may already be doing this, but just wanted to put it out there for you as I had supply issues with my now 2yo and I didn’t get this kind of advice until it was too late and I had already kinda given up. Now that I have my second, I’ve been able to keep my supply steady so far with all of this insight
@Alicia Thank you, I can feel the let down each time but it takes up to 5 minutes. When I power pump after the 10 minute rest, nothing ever comes out. I've been doing this for 2 weeks now. I power pump at 3am and produce 1 ounce every 2 hours but baby always cries after a feed like she's still hungry. I've also been taking fenugreek for 2 weeks now. I've introduced formula but it's my mission to be EBF again
The let down is just an initial reflex. After that it's down to baby to take what she needs and your body will make it on demand. Try eating more oats as that's good for milk production.