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Letdown and supply questions

B&K706B&K706 member
edited August 2013 in May 2013 Moms
Hey ladies! I occasionally lurk when I have time, but had a couple questions and was hoping you could help.

Background: I have b/g 12 week old twins. They were born at 34w5d and were in the NICU for 14 days as feeders and growers. I had to supplement from the start but have been trying to move to EBF. I've been struggling with my supply and don't know where to go from here. There is only one IBCLC in my area and I have consulted with her, but nothing has really worked.

1. Is there such a thing as having a short letdown? I don't actually feel any letdowns, but can tell by the change in their sucking pattern and swallowing. However, it seems like they only get milk flow for 30-60 seconds. Then they stop swallowing and have to work another several minutes to have another short let down. I realize this may be a ridiculous question, but I guess I'm not sure how long a letdown is supposed to "last". Are letdowns usually this short or is this a valid concern?

2. To increase my supply, I have tried just about everything. I drink about 140 oz of just water every day. This doesn't include the 3-5 cups of mothers milk tea. I try to eat as balanced if a diet as I can. I was seeing some improvement with fenugreek, but only by taking 12+ pills a day and it was wreaking havoc on my babies stomachs. They were so fussy and gassy I had to stop. I have oatmeal with flaxseed and brewers yeast every morning. What else can I try?

Sorry for the novel and thanks for any help you can give :)

ETA: oops, I meant to post this on the breastfeeding board. I will take any suggestions though!
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Re: Letdown and supply questions

  • flyliceandcoffeeflyliceandcoffee member
    I'm not sure how much I can help, but here's my experience.

    I think you can have multiple let downs. I know I do. I'm not sure how long they are supposed to last though. For me, in a 20 minute pumping session, I get maybe 2 or 3 let downs, the first 2 usually within the first 10 minutes and then another short one about 15 minutes in. Have you tried pumping just to see how much you get in a typical feeding? It could be that your letdown is short, but a lot comes out at the time so there's no need for it to last very long?

    As for increasing supply, I use More Milk Plus and/or More Milk Plus Special Blend. It has the fenugreek, but also has other herbs like blessed thistle and some other things that I can't remember off the top of my head. The special blend also includes goats rue which is supposed to help develop the milk ducts. They have both a pill and liquid form and I take the liquid form and it's definitely helped me. S doesn't have any excess fussiness or gas from what I can tell, so that might be an option for you. There's also lactation cookies that are supposed to be good. I haven't tried it, but supposedly they are quite tasty and work pretty well. You could also do what my LC calls power pumping. It is supposed to simulate a cluster feeding, and what you do is pump for 20 minutes, take a break for 10 minutes, pump for another 10 minutes, then repeat the 10 minutes on, 10 minutes off for an hour or so. If you do this 1-2 times a day for a couple days to a week, it helps increase supply. With all of that, we've gone from barely half an ounce to closer to 2-3 oz at each pumping. It doesn't sound like much, but for me, it's a huge accomplishment.

    Hope that helps!
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  • B&K706B&K706 member
    Thanks for the reply! I haven't pumped to replace a feed in a while because I've been trying so hard to get them back to breast. So I'm not for sure how much I would get if I pumped. I did power pump for a while, but I think I should add that back in.
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