strange feeling when let down happens

[mamaofthree]

for everyone of my children, when i have nursed them i get this weird sort of feeling when let down happens... like i want to cry. i am not sad, it doesn't hurt... just this overwhelming feeling like i want to cry. sometimes i do, mostly i don't do it... heck as often as i nurse i would be crying all day. lol

anyone else have a weird sort of hormonal reaction like that?

h

[MommyToAveryKyleen]

I just had my baby a few weeks ago and have never read or heard about feeling like that. But I feel like that when I nurse too. I don't feel really sad ... I just feel like I'm going to cry. And sometimes I do a little. It's comforting to hear that I'm not the only one! Thanks for posting this.

[Viola]

Does it only last for the first couple months or so, or does it persist?  Is it like the dysmorphic ejection reflex?  http://www.d-mer.org/   

[PatioGardener]

For me it is several seconds of awe. That same feeling you get when you see a gorgeous sunset, a breathtaking mountain vista, or hear that most beautiful music. I love it - it makes me remember that there is such good in the world. It's good for my soul.

I still get it every other day or so and I've been breastfeeding for 9 months.

eta: that feeling makes me cry (or feel the need to cry) too

[Drummer's Wife]

I believe there is a term for this sensation, and I had it at times, too.  I can't recall what it is, though, but I remember wondering about it and reading about it (maybe even here?), years ago when I was nursing.  Funny thing is I don't remember it being so apparent when I was tandem nursing my last two. 

[Llyra]

It used to happen to me, too, when mine were still nursing. I am pretty sure it's got to do the the strong rush of oxytocin that comes with letdown. The hormone has a strong effect on the emotions, and each of us experiences it differently. For me, it was like the way you feel at the end of a really sad, emotionally-moving movie. That kind of weepy happy/sad feeling, you know? I don't have good words for it.

[sweetpea_119]

My right ear itches like crazy everytime I nurse for the first few months with each of my kids! LOL!

I have a sister-in-law who experiences the same thing, so we must now be crazies, right?!

[averlee]

What I think, is it is a whole fluid-rushing-out thing. Like when you get bopped in the nose, your eyes water, too. I sometimes had the overwhelming need to pee at let-down, like all my wires get crossed in the hormone flood, and every thing that can release fluid is going to have a go.

In my opinion, totally normal. I'd just wipe my eyes on my nursing pad and drink some hot chocolate (it's very comforting).

[mamaofthree]

nice to know i'm not the only one. :) it isn't d-mer (thankfully). and when i think back it doesn't happen the whole time i nurse a child, just when they are really little when the let down is really strong (it tends to ease up for me when they get older). 

h