10 Jun
I remember sitting in the filing room in the middle school where I teach and frantically eyeing the clock as my ten allocated minutes for pumping ticked away. The more I worried about letdown, the less I was able to produce. Eventually I brought photos of my kids and a tiny bouquet of lavender to help that file room feel more comfortable for pumping. Now pumps like Hygeia’s EnJoye Breastpump (pictured above) actually record your children’s cries or coos so that you can play the sounds while pumping. Brilliant! I suppose you could do a quick video on your Ipod of your baby and get the same results. What do you do while you pump to help you relax enough to letdown quickly and maximize your time? Other moms will greatly appreciate your tricks!
4 Responses for "The Friday Question: What Helps With Milk Let Down?"
I find it helpful if I’m warm. My workplace is always chilly, so I make sure to bring small blanket or sweater to throw on while pumping. The breasts are actually sweat glands (evolutionarily) so being very chilled can make it difficult to let down. Other than that, just having pictures of my little peanut on my iphone helps alot.
Picture of my baby and my favorite music–helps me relax. A friend of mine swore by her People magazine–reading something else helped her relax and not think about work.
I used to close my eyes and take a deep breath in and imagine my breasts filling with milk, and then breathe out and picture the milk shooting out of my nipples.
Silly sounding, but by the end of 4 breaths my milk had almost always let down.
I would read or watch Daily show or Colbert report reruns on my computer.
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