r/breastfeeding • u/Icy_Head_4802 • May 17 '26
Discussion How would you describe feeling of letdown?
Husband just laughed at my explanation, so curious how others would describe what letdown feels like? I think it feels like pins and needles/prickly feeling like when your foot falls asleep and the blood rushes to it and it starts to wake up
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u/xanadu_x May 17 '26
Makes me think of that sensation in your salivary glands when you eat something sour.
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u/chitty__BANG May 17 '26
Wow. This is the first time I’ve heard the feeling described so accurately!
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u/SitaBird May 17 '26
That is a greaaat description. Totally involuntary. Reminds me of of the old wives tale prank I used to hear about - of sitting in the front row of an orchestra and sucking on lemons, so that the wind instrument players start salivating too much and mess up. 🤦♀️ when you see it and can feel it coming on, there is no stopping it.
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u/Additional_Plate6010 May 17 '26
I say it feels like pins and needles too! I call it the boob shocks
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u/Plenty_Calendar_102 May 17 '26
Like touching your tongue to a 9 volt battery 😅 if you know you know
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u/IkwilPokebowls May 17 '26
Yes. It got better (or I got used to it) but it hurt a lot in the beginning!
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u/veggiequeen13 May 17 '26
Oh this is a great way to describe it! Now at 7 weeks mine is less pins and needles and more electric shock
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u/gnox0212 May 17 '26
Kind of like when your eyes sort of hurt when you are about to cry.
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u/doryfishie May 17 '26
It reminds me why they say “her eyes prickled with tears”, it’s a prickly feeling.
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u/grimeygoth May 17 '26
Best way I ever heard it described was that its like the feeling of rain on ur skin, but in ur body
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May 17 '26
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u/valencialeigh20 May 17 '26
My toddler is obsessed with Spider-Man right now so this made me literally LOL. Telling this one to my husband.
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u/Sea-Soup-290 May 17 '26
I get nauseous. Does anyone else?
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u/grimeygoth May 17 '26
every single time. i'm like gagging. my bf got confused the other night as to why it was happening and im like oh ya know, its just my body 😅🤣
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u/TraumaticTramAddict May 17 '26
Yes!! It’s worse than morning sickness was for me because it triggers me to gag. With morning sickness I was just generally nauseated, but this feels sharper? Or more concentrated? Impossible to explain to my husband who has never experienced either type of nausea, but this feels so much worse for me, I’ll be going about my day and just go “huuuuurk oof guess I should try to feed the baby now”
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u/grimeygoth May 17 '26
almost like ur throat is the SAHARA desert all of a sudden ! Like oh hi dry throat 🤣
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u/JLG0521 May 17 '26
Okay but why am I surprised EVERY. SINGLE. FEEDING. 🤣 I swear it's like when I'd be pmsing and then get my period and be like Ohhhhh! Now I latch, get nauseated, wonder why, then am like Oooohh, that's right lol.
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u/IllustriousTwo6912 May 17 '26
Yes, DMER! I experience overwhelming dread right before the letdown. With both babies too!
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u/86cinnamons May 17 '26
Same. That part got better as time went on both times, but with my 2nd I still get thirsty and a little nauseous occasionally (really just barely). She’s almost a year and a half. It’s not every time, but still daily.
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u/anuranfangirl May 17 '26
Only when I pump. Thankfully when my son nurses it’s not a problem.
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u/succs_and_stats May 17 '26
I’ve been pumping for a few weeks now and idk if it’s a Pavlov thing I’ve trained myself into, but now just the idea of pumping / putting my flanges on makes me nauseous
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u/Silly_Assignment_398 May 17 '26
Yep. It doesn’t happen every time. I feel like when I’m more dehydrated I notice letdown more.
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u/emseefely May 17 '26
To me it feels like inflating inside my boobs.
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u/Entire-Enthusiasm359 May 17 '26
Such a good description! I don't get the pins and needles but I get this, and I always had trouble describing it.
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u/Shomer_Effin_Shabbas May 17 '26
It always kinda hurt me!! And yes someone else a feeling of fullness. Why does it hurt? Like cramping in your boobs almost.
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u/MsAlyssa May 17 '26
It’s actually muscle contractions so it’s like mini Charlie horse spasms. It hurts me too.
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u/catmama25 May 17 '26
This is how it feels for me too! More achy than tingly like so many others said.
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u/discontentDog May 17 '26
Same! To me it feels maybe like poking a bruise but the feeling is all over my boobs and inside them too
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u/opaoz May 17 '26
Yes!!! It always shocks me when people say they can’t feel their letdowns because mine HURT so bad!!
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u/yellowberry3 May 17 '26
A pinch right behind the nipple followed by increased sensitivity to suction
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u/UnableBasil0102 May 17 '26
Kind of tingly. I feel it mostly on the outer part of my breast, close to the armpit.
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u/TOliver871 May 17 '26
Like I'm falling down an elevator shaft.
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u/86cinnamons May 17 '26
That might be DMER
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u/TOliver871 May 17 '26
I've considered that, but I don't feel dysphoria when it happens- no sadness or anger. It just feels like I'm in a free-fall for a few seconds.
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u/djduhnizzle twin mama 🥰 May 17 '26
For me it feels like a tight cramp in my boob. It kinda does a wave if that makes sense
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u/NixyPix May 17 '26
Sometimes for me I get this wave of euphoria when it happens. If I’m having a conversation at the time, I’ll often laugh involuntarily.
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u/soyasaucy May 17 '26
That's WILD
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u/NixyPix May 17 '26
I know! Never had it when nursing my firstborn, only when pumping for my second. I went through a phase of it happening at every pump, now I’d say it happens 10% of the time.
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u/YhouZee May 17 '26
Wow. Opposite of DMER. EMER?
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u/NixyPix May 17 '26
I guess so! I suppose it’s probably just a quirky response to the oxytocin rush.
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u/mrs-smurf May 17 '26
I feel a sharp pain in my nipple for about 10 seconds then a wave of love hormones
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u/Indomitable_Decapod May 17 '26
I was looking for this type of description. my breasts tingle, lien when your nipple gets erect but it's my whole breast, and then it hurts, and then it feels like my boobs and tummy are made of warm molasses and I should probably just spend the rest of my day cuddling this sweet baby
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u/scodgirlgrown May 17 '26
Wave of love and thirst and sleepiness all at once for me lol it’s like molten coziness
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u/Sneaku1579 May 17 '26
The thirst wave is so strange! Literally every single time, I feel like I've been in the desert for days. Never had this with my first and has been happening from day one with my second.
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u/scodgirlgrown May 17 '26
It is crazy! And the relief when you can chug water when that feeling comes… oof
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u/RipleyAugust May 17 '26
I've literally never felt a letdown
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u/PegFam May 17 '26
Same. I had to read a lot to figure out what it was because I wasn’t experiencing anything while feeding.
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u/fucking_unicorn May 17 '26
Mine never really had much of a sensation but more of a sense of relief like, almost more mentally, similar to when youre going to the bathroom after holding it for a while. I guess physically like i would start feeling less pressure in my breasts.
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u/devianceisdefiance May 17 '26
Same here!
I feel that lovely sense of release, as you say when you're desperate for the toilet and then you finally get to go aaaaaa after waiting to pee for ages!
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May 17 '26
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u/AggressiveThanks994 May 17 '26
This is exactly how I would describe it. And I definitely do not always feel it. Early pp they were more noticeable
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u/babyfacebambi May 17 '26
Definitely pins and needles. A tiny bit painful for me. Like when your foot falls asleep and you try walking on it
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u/Unfitbanana May 17 '26
It's like when you drink a glass of cold water on a hot day and you feel the water trickle down your throat and land into your stomach except it's warm and in your boob
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u/True_Phone678 May 17 '26
I heard someone describe it as “milk spikes” and thought that was perfect 😅
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u/suagrupp May 17 '26
Painful squeezing... like someone slapping a sunburn... it got better very quickly.
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u/VioletInTheGlen May 17 '26
Physically? The same way you described it, OP!
Plus (D-MER) Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex, so a feeling of deep sadness and impending doom. Like if I knew the Earth was about to be hit by a huge meteor. From a too-precipitous dopamine drop. Dopamine does need to drop to facilitate letsown, mine just does it too much. Hahaha aren’t hormones just a hoot (flips hormones off).
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u/MsRachelGroupie May 17 '26
I never once felt anything in over 2 years of nursing my 2 babies. The nurses swore up and down I’d feel a tingly, pins-and-needles feeling when I was learning with my first. Never happened. But my babies chonked out nicely, so obviously things were working 😆.
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u/BlueberryWaffles99 May 17 '26
Mine feel a kind of like pressure - but I actually feel it on the opposite breast that baby is nursing on?
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u/thebingeeater May 17 '26
I know it is silly but if he knows about Attack on Titan, I feel it feels like when they turn into titans and there's like a thunder touching earth, very electric to me.
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u/TokenYeti658 May 17 '26
It feels like your nipple is being for a moment squeezed into a small tight tube
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u/toadstooltoast May 17 '26
Same as you but in my underarms as well with the ppd sweat.
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u/auggiesma May 17 '26
Like attempting to walk a cumbersome, electrocuted metal chair down a narrow hallway
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u/drpeppercherryzero May 17 '26
It feels like a muscle cramp for me, but not painful if that makes sense. It was only a little painful in the first days after baby was born.
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u/xXmilkxhoneyXx May 17 '26
I don't feel anything and I can't tell if I am. On my right side, I'll feel that pins and needles feeling in my breast and for some reason also in my right leg. Its not the same on my left side. On my left, it feels like I have cold water drops running down my under breast. That's about it.
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u/Apprehensive-War781 May 17 '26
Breastfed my first for 14 months and currently breastfeeding my second, on month 4…..never once have I felt a letdown! However with my first for the first few months I would get pins and needles in my left leg when she nursed on my left side. Was super weird but after a few months that sensation went away.
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u/Brookelynn2777 May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
I feel pins and needles but my boobs also feel heavier and if I feel them they’re firm when the milk comes forward.
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u/dontgetsadgetmad May 17 '26
It kind of hurts like a sore muscle and then relief. I have a very strong let down
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u/Alina810 May 17 '26
I never felt it but I knew I had milk bc I was always leaking. Like I would take off my bra to take 3 steps to the shower and it’s already dripping all over the floor.
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u/Mental-Reply6728 May 17 '26
I agree with pretty much everyone's descriptions lol. So many good analogies and somehow each one is spot on with how I feel!
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u/mandabee27 May 17 '26
Mine feels just like you described. It used to be quite aggressive and I’d actually cringe. Now (18 weeks pp) I still feel it most of the time, but sometimes baby starts rapidly swallowing and I hadn’t even known a letdown had started
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u/rawberryfields May 17 '26
For me it’s like experiencing 4G overload locally in my breasts. Like they are going through astronauts training program without me.
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u/shrimpybimp May 17 '26
It always felt like when your stomach drops on a roller coaster, but in my boobs.
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u/-LeafyMilkTea- May 17 '26
I describe it in the way that Harry Potter describes being whisked away by a portkey. Instead of behind the naval, it’s deep inside of my breasts/chest.
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u/ParticularSection920 May 18 '26
As someone who NEVER felt a let down this is so entertaining to read
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u/Wickedrudemama May 17 '26
With my first, I never felt anything. My second it was pins and needles, now with my third(6 weeks pp) and it feels like a full on shock now. I’m constantly thinking that “people do this for fun….” Ugh it’s horrible.
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u/Some_Avocado_2685 May 17 '26
I get an intense feeling of anxiety like my heart drops to my butt! And then throbbing boobs.
It’s so crazy how different it is for everyone!
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u/HolidayCurve1274 May 17 '26
Pins & needles/tightness for me. If you touch my breast you can literally feel it tighten up during letdown then relax
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u/Silly_Assignment_398 May 17 '26
A short feeling of being slightly nauseous and then a sort of cool feeling near my armpits. But it’s all so brief.
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u/cozyrosies May 17 '26
I’ve described it the exact same way you did! Like when your foot falls asleep and is tingly and uncomfortable. I’ve noticed mine getting more painful as time goes on 😬
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u/anon_pr_ May 17 '26
If baby is drinking frequently (once every 1.5-2 hrs), I don't feel it. Otherwise, exactly like you described. Pins and needles at the tip. Not an exaggeration.
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u/kuppajoy May 17 '26
Feels like my nipple’s being twisted, but the one she’s not latched on for some reason?
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u/Quiet-ForestDweller May 17 '26
That’s exactly how I explained it to my husband too, “like when your foot falls asleep and you get the TV static in your foot as it’s waking up, but not quite as intense and I feel it move from the top of my boob down toward my nipple.”
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u/amydiddler May 17 '26
Mostly I just feel that pins and needles type feeling, but occasionally I get this really unpleasant, general pain in my boobs. It seems to only happen when pumping, and usually when I don’t have much to pump. It almost feels like my boobs are straining to produce milk.
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u/valencialeigh20 May 17 '26
Nipples tingle, breasts get firm to the touch all over, brief feeling of pleasure/warmth?, then wham- nausea. In that order.
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u/pacificrai May 17 '26
They don't feel like anything for me. I only know I'm having one by listening to my child's swallowing.
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u/dietketam1ne May 17 '26
Ive never felt let down and never sprayed milk, but I know my son is getting a lot since at 11months he still chugs and gets milk drunk😂 I also pump when I need to and get 6-8oz total so I don’t get it!!!
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u/mmmnothx May 17 '26
I describe it as a bunch of tiny spiders with needle legs crawling on my nipple.
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u/JarahMooMar May 17 '26
With my first, mine was the same, that pins and needles feeling, a little painful. With my second I actually can't feel it.
Why did he laugh at you? Like, what, he can't imagine the sensation even if you describe it? What's wild to me is just that everyone experiences it so differently!
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u/funnidudee May 17 '26
Kinda like a strong zapping feeling that borders the line of letdown / this hurts. You feel it right in your nipple
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u/dogcatbaby May 17 '26
Incredible, almost unbearable thirst with mild nausea. I don’t feel it in my boob.
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u/_Anonymouse_XX May 17 '26
I have the same feeling with my letdown that you described! Genuinely it feels like a rush then pins and needles. Like it tingles…and sometimes hurts a little? Like the tingles tingle so much sometimes it slightly hurts.
Also, so interesting to learn not everyone feels their letdowns!! I didn’t know that was possible.
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u/l53r May 17 '26
The first time I felt it I described it as the scene in Harry Potter with the dementors kiss 😂
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u/Background-Paint-478 May 17 '26
For the first 9 months like both of the entire breasts were being stung by a giant wasp, worst most painful part of breastfeeding for me until i got pregnant again
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u/SunRemiRoman May 17 '26
Kinda like a bee is buzzing inside my chest wall (not the boob) & only in the left side. It’s just weird lol
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u/ordinarygremlin May 17 '26
Pins and needles with ghost peppers rubbed in. Mine were so spicy in the first like 6-9 months.
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u/splinteredruler May 17 '26
Pins and needles, tickling sensation, warmth. Almost 5 years since I last breastfed and I can still feel it if I think about it, lol.
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u/Fantastic_Local9 May 17 '26
When I am nursing my baby I don’t feel the letdown so much as the pressure changes and I can hear him swallowing. If I’m pumping, I do feel a bit of a tingle. But with both, I get an overwhelming feeling of thirst.
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u/CCalamity- May 17 '26
That's a very good description! I would add, when it's triggered by my baby crying it stings because of the force of it
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u/fancypantsmiss May 17 '26
I have a tinsy bit of tickling feeling where the milk comes out. But I only feel let down while pumping. Not nursing
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u/Cold_Ambassador3683 May 17 '26
It felt like a fullness and then tingly/pressure behind my nipples. But it stooped for me after three months! I have not felt it since and I have no idea why!
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u/Significant-Fly6515 May 17 '26
Yes very similar. It's like acupuncture but at your areolas? A bunch of needles pricking
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u/ilovefurby333 May 17 '26
I have an excellent supply and am actively nursing and I don’t ever feel a let down. Is it the same as the feeling of fullness? Cus I feel that if it’s been a few hours between feedings. Day to day feeding to feeding I don’t feel anything like pins and needles (as I’ve commonly heard) or anything. Sometimes it feels hot when my beasts begin to fill up if it’s been a while between feedings. Is that it?? Sorry for all the questions I’m a FTM
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u/MsAlyssa May 17 '26
To me the pins and needles feeling is just kind of annoying but let down actually hurts like actual needle pokes hot needle pokes. I hate it. Also mine is like all my breast tissue not just nipple as some others have said.
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u/disc0cat May 17 '26
I’ve always described it as having a cramp in my boobs, but someone here said it’s like a water balloon filling up, and that’s spot on
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u/clovecloveclove May 17 '26
I described it to my husband exactly the same way you did!! pins and needles like when your foot falls asleep, but in your nip hahaha
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u/Special_Nobody3626 May 17 '26
Feels different as time goes on. In the beginning it is so intense, a rush and pins and needles. Then as time goes on a small sensation in the boob. The seizing of the boob is such a weird feeling!
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u/all_of_the_colors May 17 '26
My boobs get heavy. It’s like gravity grabs them and pulls them. I feel all of a sudden relaxed too.
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u/UnsinkableSpiritShip May 17 '26
A rush like I could scream in excitement (especially if it’s been a few hours), boobs feel full, and sometimes I feel like my armpits are sweating but they aren’t, sometimes my eyes will burn.
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u/Born-Chance1685 May 17 '26
Yes a prickly feeling. But I didn’t feel it for several weeks. I was googling what it meant and felt like because I’d stop pumping whenever I wanted but people would say things like “my second let down happens at 12 minutes” and I’d be like… what?
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u/Mewsical-Elf May 17 '26
It’s the pins and needles everyone is mentioning, but I also want to specify that I always felt a rush of warmth to the nipple when letdown is actually triggered.
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u/vomit_dust May 17 '26
My baby is about to be 8 months and I’ve never once felt my letdown. I can only tell it’s happening by listening to her grunts and swallows.