Milk flow throughout a feed

[Katteh]

I've been pondering over why my little man is so fussy when feeding, and I had a thought about whether something was normal or not...

When I'm feeding him, my milk lets down and he drinks it actively for a few miinutes or so, but then there's nothing (he will keep sucking but no swallowing) for a good 5-10 minutes before my milk lets down again. Once it has let down again he will actively swallow for a minute or so but then back to just sucking but no swallowing.

I feel like I spend half the time that he is feeding, waiting for my milk to let down..

I expressed a full feed earlier, and using a double pump (medela symphony), it took 30 seconds for my first let down where milk flowed for a minute or two, then nothing for 5 minutes, followed by a minute or so of milk then another letdown 10 minutes later.

Is this stop/start pattern the same for everyone?

 

[ooSweetPea]

When I nurse I can tell that my milk is letting down and then stopping, and letting down again when I'm pumping, usually I have 5 letdowns per pump: one big one about 30 seconds in, 2 smaller ones (about 5/10 mins apart) and two teeny ones (again about 5/10 mins apart).

 

[JenX]

I think it is slightly different for everyone, but very similar. Sounds completely normal.

 

[seaweed eater]

Normal if anything yours sound pretty close together. Mine are about 9-10 minutes apart.

 

[Katteh]

It's not so much the regularity of the letdowns, more that the milk flow is pretty much nothing in between letdowns. Is that really normal? Makes me wonder how on earth some babies manage to take a full feed in 5 minutes!

 

[meli1981]

My milk comes out regardless if i have a letdown or not. The first ld is the strongest and it comes out a great deal, then it slows abit but continues until the next one. Even after he stops feeding, i can still express it, i just had the impression its always there!