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No let down...when do I give up? :(

duendefduendef member
in Breastfeeding
Hi ladies! TIA for taking the time to read this and provide any input. I'm so frustrated and sad, and at times I feel like I just need to give up. My DD is 9 mos. We had a lot of trouble nursing in the beginning, then were on a roll, and then a few months ago I started having a hard time getting my let down. It started just while pumping, and I tried everything and would relax and come back to it, and sooner or later I would end up getting it. It's now transferring over to her as well, and we are both very frustrated and upset about it. I try relaxation, visualization, breast compressions, massage before nursing, switching sides frequently (although I don't have a supply on my L side which is a whole different issue), looking at pictures, trying to think of other things, I've cut back her solids, I eat oatmeal with flax everyday, try to drink plenty of water, etc., it's just not happening. Out of 4 nursings yesterday, I got one let down in the morning. The night feeding is the worst because she'll cry and fuss and try to crawl away, and then we both get really upset about it. She gets one or two bottles (still a slow flow nipple) during the day, and we never had difficulty going between the two. I cry about it and feel like I just need to give up. Please, any advice or support would help. Also, I saw on kellymom something about taking rescue remedy before nursing, but there's no info when I open the link. Does anybody have any experience with this?
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Re: No let down...when do I give up? :(

  • MamaK818MamaK818 member
     I have never tried rescue remedy but I'm in a breastfeeding support group and several of those women use it and have a lot of success with it. They take it in tablet form usually, it just goes under the tongue. I think they buy it at the health food store in town... if you have a store like that around you that might be a good place to start.  GL!

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  • duendefduendef member
    Thank you! Glad to hear people have had success with it. I'm going to try it today!
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  • mommatotwo2mommatotwo2 member
    theresat858 said:
    What makes you think you aren't having a letdown when nursing baby?  It's normal to not be able to feel a letdown.
    This. Obviously you can tell with pumping, because you can see it, but I've pretty much never been able to tell with nursing. The only way I'd know I had letdown is when the other breast would start leaking while I was nursing, but that hasn't happened in a long time. Sometimes I can hear her gulping and swallowing, so I figure she's had letdown, but not all the time.
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  • duendefduendef member
    Thanks, ladies, for the support! And like others said, I have always felt my let down, and I know by the way she's sucking and then gulping once it comes. The fact that she gets very frustrated when it's not coming is just obvious that it's just not there. The thing is, if given enough time (I could sit on the pump for 45 mins and may finally get it...and I know that's the pump, so it' may take longer), I can finally get it, but she's just not really willing to give me that time. After 10 mins of working for it, she's more than ready to give up. I tried the rescue remedy, and that seemed to help a bit. I do the visualization too, similar to yours DHeckart, of waterfalls and rivers of milk flowing into her mouth, but nothing works consistently. I am an speech therapist, so my caseload will be much less in the summer and we will be spending much more time together, so I am really hoping that helps as well. If not, I may have to make the transition to EP since I can get the extended time to pump. I would really like for it not to go that way though. And I'm also hoping my supply isn't affected because of all of this, but it hasn't yet...fingers crossed! It's just nice to hear encouragement and support because I've been really upset about it and I'm just not ready to wean. Some women that I have spoken to (my mother, specifically), just don't really understand my desire to continue nursing, so I wanted to find that encouragement somewhere. So, thank you! And good luck to all of you other ladies who are struggling as well. And it's true, formula is not the devil. We've made it this far, and that's really something!
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