Karen Graham LLL <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >I nursed 6, have small breasts, never felt a letdown ever, never >leaked or dripped a drop. Could not express for my first. Trial >and error worked for me, I really needed to rotate my fingers around >and get the rhythm down. I remember talking to a full time working >mom in S.Chicago who was a LLL leader (she didn't tell LLL at the >time) who expressed by hand. I also remember being told to heat up >a canning jar and put my breast inside and when the pressure started >to change, milk would come out! I never tried it. This canning-jar method used to be in old literature. It was often suggested for engorgement where it was hard to get any milk out. Any wide-mouth jar will do, that can withstand hot water without cracking. Fill jar with hot water to heat the glass. Pour off the water. When just cool enough to not burn the skin, place the jar over the breast. Apply a cool wet cloth to the outside of the jar to cool the glass. A vacuum will develop inside the jar, applying very gentle suction. The warmth also seems to help the let-down occur. Milk will start flowing. This is more for relieving engorgement rather than collecting milk. I also learnt to hand-express by experimentation, and not until I had my second child. Then I wondered how I had found it difficult. It really does seem to be a knack. I have witnessed a wide range of techniques, not just one, by different mothers, as others have mentioned. I have conducted workshop sessions on hand expressing for health professionals a few times and had demonstration mothers, and each one did it differently. When talking to mothers on the phone, I describe basically how to do it and suggest they experiment on themselves in the shower or bath. The warmth of the water helps with let-down and they don't need to be concerned with catching any milk that spurts out. This way, they can practise the best way for them and learn for later when they intend to collect the milk. In face-to-face situations, props like knitted breasts can be useful to demonstrate to mothers. -- ************************************************************************** Joy Anderson, South Eastern Suburbs Group WA. Counsellor since Jan 1987. Married to Keith, kids Craig (1984) and Keryn (1987). Group treasurer, group projects (name and address stickers; Helpline and library stickers), local assessor, manager of Publications Portfolio, member of Booklet Revision, Proofreading and Approval, Website and New Breastfeeding Information Working Groups mailto:[log in to unmask] 'Never forget... breastfeeding is a confidence trick.' - WHO handout ************************************************************************** *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome