Here' what you wrote: "I'm a bit reluctant to use softening of the breast, because it implies there has to be fullness/firmness before we can bf," You bring up a good point! For a minute there, I was thinking that this might be a better description than"emptying the breast but you are right! I love all of the analogies that everyone has presented but I rarely have the luxury of a sentence or two or three to describe this. I'm more and more convinced that there is no word that adequately, accurately describes this thing we know as "emptying the breast." -- Marie Biancuzzo, RN MS Perinatal Nurse Consultant PO Box 1562 Phone: 703-758-0092 Herndon, Virginia 22070-1562 email: [log in to unmask]