Once you've had your first let-down and milk has stopped flowing, you can make an attempt at a second let-down by hand expressing and here's how: Unhook from the pump and wait 5 minutes.
If you want additional letdowns, you will have to commit to a longer pumping session. A good rule of thumb is one letdown every 20 minutes. Having a hands-free pump bra will greatly help get through longer pump sessions.
Most pumping sessions will last 10 to 20 minutes. But you can pump as long as the milk is flowing and it's comfortable for you. Some women will have a second let-down. After the milk has stopped flowing, if they keep pumping, it will flow again.
How many letdowns you should aim for depends on the length of your sessions – if you're pumping for 20 minutes, many women are able to get two; if you're pumping for 30, you might be able to get three.
Hindmilk is the name coined for the breast milk towards the end of a feed as the breast empties. There is less of it but it has a higher fat content and all the other nutritious ingredients found in milk.
So yes, let-down can happen more than once during pumping sessions, while you're feeding from the breast, or even at inconvenient times. Luckily, it's your body's way of releasing all the milk from your breasts so they'll no longer feel full and so your baby will get all the milk they need.
Get in a warm bath with baby and nurse there. Before putting baby to breast, massage your breasts and do some nipple rolls and gentle tugging. Moist heat on the breasts should be helpful, too. See “Assisting the Milk Ejection Reflex” in this information on the Marmet technique of manual expression.
Some things may delay your let-down or cause your milk flow to be slower: feeling stressed or anxious - because stress hormones can inhibit the oxytocin that triggers your let-down. being in pain or uncomfortable. feeling very tired.
An infant who is exclusively breastfed might need anywhere between 478-1356 mL/16.16-48.85 oz breastmilk every day. For infants between 1-6 months old, the average is around 750 mL/25.36 oz a day. A single breastfeeding session might produce between 54-234 mL/1.82-7.91 oz of milk.
How long should a baby nurse to get hindmilk? After about 10 to 15 minutes of breastfeeding, the milk flow slows and transitions to the sweet and creamy hindmilk, which contains vitamins A and E, and has more fat and calories than foremilk.
One thing to consider is that, even if you are nursing from one breast, let down typically happens to both breasts at the same time. Some women also feel their uterus contract during let down, and that is totally normal.
Many women find that if they cycle through their pump settings again, they can trigger a second or even a third let-down over a period of 30-45 minutes.
Let downs often happen more than once while you feed or pump, but most of the time you only notice the first one.
Each time baby begins to nurse the nerves in your breast send signals that release the milk in your milk ducts. This let down reflex usually happens after your baby has been sucking the breast for about two minutes.
Emotional stress, fatigue, anxiety, smoking, pain, or being cold are common causes of poor let-down. With poor let-down, you may not experience the tingling and leaking of milk that usually occurs when your milk begins to flow.
Signs of forceful letdown
With a forceful letdown the tingling sensation may be painful. You may notice excessive leaking from the side where your baby is not feeding. Your baby may pull off the breast and the milk squirts out. You may have blanching (whitening) of the nipple with burning nipple pain after nursing.
Gently hand expressing milk behind the nipple may be more effective than a breast pump when milk won't seem to flow. Alternating a gentle breast massage (below) with hand expressing may help to gently clear the “traffic jam” behind the nipple or release blocked ducts within the breast.
Haakaa and your supply
Breastmilk works on supply and demand so like any pumping method, the Haakaa's suction does extract milk which may increase your supply. It's not the Haakaa – or any other pump – that directly causes an over supply, it's how you use it.
Signs of a fast or forceful let-down
Pulling on the breast and nipples (babies can also do this when the flow of milk is too slow) Rapid swallowing of milk with stress cues e.g. fussing, frowning, crying, finger splaying. Short feeds if baby gets a lot of breast milk in a short time.
The milk let-down sensation (aka “milk ejection reflex”) is often experienced as a tingling or a prickly pins-and-needles kind of feeling. But for some, the sensation is felt deep in the breasts and can hurt or be achy, especially when milk production is in overdrive.
Many moms choose to alternate between massage and expression mode to stimulate second or third letdowns. Some moms even prefer to stay in one mode the entire time. You can play around to find what works the best and feels the most comfortable for you.
When you first start pumping, you might see milk start to dribble out. Then, after a few minutes, milk may start to spray - this is your milk letting down. After some time, the letdown will finish and you'll be back to a dribble.