Keith and Dalia Abrams wrote:

> Someone posted about initiation of lactation being triphasic (my husband
> deleted the post before I got to replying... sorry I don't remember the
> exact words or who posted). I found this description of how lactation
> changes in the first months really interesting and it got me wondering. Re
> the first stage, putting down prolactin receptors: do we do this again with
> each baby, or does it only occur after the first birth, or do you add more
> receptors with each birth and does this maybe explain why the milk comes in
> faster for multiparas? Where are these receptors? In the pituitary? And
> what about tandem nursing (nursing an older baby/child and a newborn
> together)? Also, how does tandem nursing effect the second stage: "hormonal
> lactation" I think you called it?
(SNIP)

Bwaahaahaaha!  I wrote that post and I have to say I have NO IDEA.  I
know lactation is pretty *hormonal* in the  postpartum time frame -
while we are lactating on the endocrine system.  Later (and I always
associated 3-4 months as later) we start to switch over to the autocrine
system.  I have recently learned on this list and through Jan Barger
(and others) that the first few days/weeks we are laying down prolactin
receptors but the where's and how's haven't quite been explained to me
yet (or I have failed to remember them).

I have never tandem nursed and my experience with tandem nursers is
pretty limited.  Hopefully someone else can answer all these great
questions for us.

--
Monique
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