Does letdown change as the baby gets older?

[etwahl]

this is a weird thing for me. Up until recently, I could always FEEL my letdown - very tingly. and it was also very forceful. if lauren wasn't all that hungry, the milk would be spilling all over the place, making a terrible mess.

just recently, around the 10 month mark, i no longer seem to feel my letdown. that's weird to me. plus, the milk never spills anymore. in fact, i never see it at all. and forget trying to pump. when i do, next to nothing comes out. but she's obviously getting milk because she eats every 2 hours as normal and stops when i assume she's full...right? i'm RARELY engorged because she eats all night, so i assume i shouldn't be worried about my supply, or should i? is this normal?

Tammy,
Mom to Lauren Genevieve
03/12/2003
www.evantammy.com

[aguinn]

hi tammy,

i can't answer your question about "normal", but i can commiserate with you. DS is 6 months next week and has started to eat cereal and sleep better at night. i'm so excited to be getting more sleep that i don't wake up to pump unless the little mister awakes. as a result, i have some of the same responses as you do as far as not feeling letdown and not having milk overflow when he does BF. is lauren only BF'ing or is she eating other foods, too?

i know you said pumping wasn't doing the trick, but i don't know of another way to increase your supply back to its earlier levels. have you contacted your LC? she might have some ideas that are helpful.

good luck!
:)amy
Proud momma to Aidan - 7/29/03

[Momof3Labs]

Tammy, your supply is just adjusting to Lauren's needs. She's probably eating more solids, so needing less from you, and the composition of your milk continues to change to meet her needs (I think that I've heard that it gets more "concentrated" as they get older). I know that I stopped feeling letdown somewhere along the way (though much earlier than you, but that's all normal) and for the last 3-4 months, can't pump worth a darn, even though I can tell by Colin's drenched diapers that he is getting plenty.

I'm sure that your supply is fine because she's nursing so much and seems to be satisfied (at least, sounds like it in your post). She might be shifting her intake to the nighttime, too, and taking less during the day (which is also just fine - your supply adapts to her demand).

Once again, it's hard, but try to just trust your body to do what's right! A little story along those lines -

Colin has been nursing (snacking?) three times a day for quite a few months now - maybe even 6 months? I can't pump worth a darn and it doesn't seem like he takes much, but I go with the flow. Well, Colin had the stomach flu a couple of weeks ago. He hardly ate for a week, would drink only a little water, but he kept on nursing and in fact demanded a few extra feedings each day. I couldn't believe how quickly my supply adapted to his demands! Within a day or so of the more frequent nursing, I could tell by his swallowing pattern that the letdowns were getting longer and more frequent. He was only mildly dehydrated that week (not enough to see the ped) and bounced back pretty quickly - and I credit our nursing. I was pretty amazed that my body was still able to be so responsive to his needs. Just like your body continues to respond to Lauren's needs!

HTH a little!

[COElizabeth]

That all fits my experience, too. Don't worry - just enjoy the freedom from leaks and engorgement!

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02

[Rachels]

Ditto! :)

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[missym]

Thanks for posting about this, Tammy. Gwen's a week older than Lauren, and I've experienced the same thing in the past month or so... with the addition that my breasts are noticeably smaller (sorry if too much info!).

I have been obsessing about it a bit, to the point of taking fenugreek, but after reading the responses, I feel reassured. It's so hard to trust our bodies sometimes!

Missy, mom to Gwen 03/03

[KGoes]

Another ditto.

Kelley DD born 7/03