Breast feeding letdown reflex question.

daisy wrote:


IF you hate it so much, then maybe you should concider pumping. That way he
gets your milk, but you dont have to breastfeed. I pump 6-7 times a day for
10 minutes and the only time my son doesnt get breastmilk is his feeding
right before bed.


I know you don't have a choice in the matter, but I
would recommend against exclusive pumping if possible. Even
the best pumps aren't as efficient at regulating supply as
a baby is, so many women find that over the long haul they
just can't keep up despite their best efforts. Also, you
limit the ability of some of the cooler features of the
nursing relationship to work, e.g., the mix of foremilk to
hindmilk and the custom-tailored antibodies and such.
Using EBM is certainly beneficial, and it's fabulous that
you're able to do that under difficult circumstances, but
it lacks some of the benefits of actually nursing. Also, nursing
is likely to get easier and less distasteful to the OP
over time as well (and kudos to her for hanging in there
when it's not her favorite thing too), while pumping
just continues to be tedious and time-consuming.

Best wishes,
Ericka

daisy wrote:


I try not to think that pumping is tedious and time consuming because I
know that its worth it, Robbie is doing really well and I like to think its
because of my time spent pumping : ).


I think it very likely that it has something to do with
it, and definitely a good idea for you not to dwell on pumping
being tedious under the circumstances! ;-)

Is it true that because I pump Im not
expressing the foremilk and hindmilk? if it is then how can I get that
milk? no one has explained that to me


No, you're getting both. It's just that your baby
gets them all mixed together in the bottle (or, I guess, in
the NG tube in your case). If a baby who was nursing was
just thirsty, he could just have a few nips at the breast
now and again and he'd be just getting watery foremilk and
would be able to assuage his thirst without overfeeding.
Similarly, by staying at the breast longer, he ends the feed
with the richer hindmilk, which satisfies more hunger and must
have some special potent knockout drug in it ;-) Once pumped
and put into a bottle, it's just all mixed together.
It's not the end of the earth, obviously--just one of
those cool little things that makes breastmilk the
ultimate convenience food ;-) You may actually even notice
the consistency of the milk changing during a pumping
session.

Best wishes,
Ericka