Weaning - Lenexa,KS

The way that I did it, quite painlessly, with both of my children was to pump only and pump a bit less each time, and gradually I went from pumping like 8 ounces per breast all the way to only being able to get 1 or 2 ounces (I could have brought my supply back, but I chose not to). After that I just let it go and honeslty I had very little discomfort. It took me a while to get there but if ou have patience... this is what worked for me. Good luck. I have some friends that have gone cold turkey and I have no idea why anyone would subject themselves to that insaneness, even with cabbage leaves or whatever they claim works for them! ;o)

When I weaned by baby at 9 months I started stretching out the time in-between pumps and shortening the time that I pumped as well. I would go an hour longer at a time until I had stretched the pump I was trying to cut out to the next one. For instance my 10 am pump moved to 11, then to 12, then 1pm when it was ready for my 1 pm pump anyways. So I would pump at 6am then not again until 1pm. I did that again to the 1pm pump until I cut that one out as well. Then eventually I was only pumping morning and night, and by that time my milk production was so low anyway, I just stopped the night one, then a few days later stopped the morning one. I never felt engorged once and no clogged ducts. I will say though, keep wearing your breast pads becuase I leaked up to a few months after I stoped completely!!! Good luck to you and I will way GOOD JOB for nursing/pumping as long as you did!

Jody -

I'm going to tell you what I did when I weaned my daughter off breastfeeding so hopefully this will help you!! I breastfed my daughter until she was 1 year old. Around 11 months old, I cut out 1 feeding a day (usually during the middle part of the day when I was at work). For you, I would cut out the middle of the day pumping. You may be engorged for a few days but I never got clogged ducts or anything. If you usually pump every 3-4 hours (or 4-5 hours) stretch it out a few more hours (but I would not double the time in between). Do this for one week. The second week, cut out a second pumping. Cut out one per week (I'd leave the morning nursing for last as it's probably the most special to you both - my last one was the nighttime feeding and I kept this up for a few weeks). I never had any problems with engorgement and I'm not even sure how much milk my daughter was getting (as she was breastfeeding so I couldn't 'see' how much) but I will wean my children this way every time!! NO pain, no engorgement, no cold turkey, no cabbage leave...it was great! Good luck!!

When I went to stopping, I did exactly what you asked about...I gradually pumped less and less and then started to skip some of the pumping times. It was harder when you completely skipped one normal time than gradually weaning yourself. So do it gradually and when you are only pumping an once or two then you can stop and you wont feel engorged. Cut out each time gradually. Don't stop all of them all at once...that hurts. Hope this helps some. Good luck and God Bless and I pray that your little girl will get better.

Firstly, let me say I'm so sorry that you have had a hard time with your baby- being a first time mom is hard enough and then when it doesn't go perfectly, well, that just stinks- you've done a great job providing for her- way to go!!
Now, to decrease your milk supply without being in pain, simply start to increase the amount of time between pumpings. If you usually pump every 3 hours, stretch it to 4 and so on. Then when you've gotten used to that, drop the one pumping where you usually get the least amount (usually later in the day for most moms). Keep dropping them one by one and before you know it you'll be done. Don't be surprised if you continue to have some milk and maybe even a little leaking after you've weaned- it will take your body some time to completely quit producing, but you should not have any discomfort or anything.
Good luck to you and I will be praying for your little angel.

Hi Jody,

How old is your little girl? I can only imagine how frightening the Infantile spasms must be. Is it something that she will outgrow? I will keep you and your daughter in my prayers.

The same thing you described happened with my son. Eventually, he weaned himself off completely. What I did was I still pumped milk but dropped a "pumping" a few days at a time (so my body could adjust). For example, I nursed at 6:30 am and then pumped every four hours. On Monday I would drop the 2:30 pm pumping session and keep with the others for about 4 days. Then, I would drop another session for about 4 days. With this schedule, I did not experience any pain or engorgement (this could have been partly due to the fact that I got pregnant again and wasn't producing as much milk).
Good luck with everything. Like I said, I will keep your daughter (and your family) in my prayers.

K.

Gradually is always better. I would start cutting out a pumping session here and there. If you are uncomfortable before the next normal pumping time then pump earlier. This will still put the sessions farther apart. Keep lengthening the space between pumping until you don't feel like you are getting full anymore. Remember that babies naturally will wean slowly, not cold turkey so it will take a while. I would give it at least a couple weeks. As long as you do it gradually, you shouldn't have to worry about engorgement or clogged ducts. If you start to feel engorged, just pump enough to releave some of the pressure but not enough to drain the breast. Also don't pump as much each time. As you are gradually pumping less, you can gradually add formula into the breastmilk as well when you give it to her so you aren't switching her directly onto the formula when she is used to the breastmilk. This will help her digestive system to adjust as well. Breastfeeding is a supply and demand process so if you decrease the demand, the supply will start to go away as well.

I bf and formula fed all 3 of my kids and they did fine. I bf for 6 weeks and then after that I would feed them at least one formula bottle a day usually during the busy time of my day as they would drink a bottle quicker than bf so that worked out real well for our family and also gave Dad time to feed the baby. In the feeding schedule I just took one feeding away at a time. Go a few days skipping one, then take another one away when you feel your milk has depleted that feeding. With my first I went cold turkey as he threw up everything I fed him so went to formula and it was very painful. With the 2nd I started skipping one feeding the same time everyday and fed her formula for that feeding then after a few days I took another feeding away usually like an alternating pattern. for example
1st feeding BF
2nd feeding bottle
3rd feeding BF
4th feeding Bottle and so on. not sure how many times your baby eats. Mine ate about every 3-4 hours during the day and slept from 9PM-5:30 am bf then went back to sleep until 8:30 am.
As long as you alternate feedings you shouldn't get engorged and your body will quit supplying milk for those feedings but since you are already pumping you can also pump less for those feedings that you are pumping and it will make it easier as well as you probably won't get engorged at all.
after about 3 weeks of depleting feedings I was down to just the one morning feeding a day mainly because I wasn't ready to let it totally go and wanted to still bf some but when I was ready to let that last one go it was so much easier as it wasn't painful at all to just quit.

Even when we were still in the hospital, I told the nurses if I was sleeping to go ahead and give the baby a bottle of formula and that I planned to supplement and do both and I didn't have any problems weaning my kids to the bottle at all as they were used to it from the beginning and were all good at latching on and weren't picky whether they got the bottle or bf. This also helped to find out if the baby would be allergic to their brand of formula or not which none of mine had any problems with the formula the hospital provided while they were there but did have to use soy as the first one threw everything up and seemed to hold the soy down a little better, 2nd one started colic at 2 weeks and the dr thought the soy based formula might help which nothing seemed to help her for 5 months but we got through it. 3rd one we just put on soy since the other 2 were on it and he had a little colic too and seemed to do better with it so if one doesn't work ask your doctor about other brands that may work better if your baby has problems digesting that brand. Using the bottle part of the time made it easier for Dad to have some feeding/bonding time and when we were at church they always got a bottle while they were in nursery and I usually didn't leak unless I missed 2 feedings in a row when I first started skipping feedings. It is possible to do both and you can have that one bf time a day as long as you want to do it. It is possible as your body will supply the amount you are demanding.

I pray that your little angel gets better and pray for you to gain strength and support from good friends through this time.

THank you to all the moms who knew what to do. I was going to ask the same ?s. I have a 4 month old and she is not gaining enough weight from my breast feeding. She had already done half day BF and the evenings formula when I am at work and she is with dad. So now I am going to switch to just formula and fatten her up. When I pump I only get about 2 oz out anyways. So I guess for me I would just pump as I get engorged? and the milk will slowly go away?

Jody, how has it worked out for you on stopping your milk supply? I noticed your question is from June about a month ago. Are you all dried up now? How long did it take to dry up?

I agree with Cari. Reduce pumpings one at a time and try to give some time (like a week) between reducing. Many women swear by fresh green cabbage leaves in their bra, both to help with engorgement and reduce their milk supply. Avoiding things that stimulate milk supply (oatmeal, certain teas, etc.) makes sense. Also sudifed dries up ALL sinuses, and milk ducts are sinuses. If you're trying to be quick (or are having allergy issues anyway) you might want to try that. Mostly, watch for lumps (you don't want mastitis) and only pump a little if you're feeling engorged. As far as milk supply goes, it's all about quantity not duration. Also, if you're having trouble, call a La Leche League leader. They're all about helping you nurse as long as is appropriate for YOUR family and will be happy to help you with weaning information.

K.

I'll just chime in and agree with the others. Slowly cut out pumping sessions. That's how I weaned nursing. I cut out the "less important" nursing sessions, like the mid-morning session, first, then the mid-afternoon, then the afternoon, then the morning, and lastly the night-time feeding. I waited about 5 days to a week between each session that I cut out. It did take a while (a little over a month or so) but, I didn't have any engorgement or leaking by doing it this way.

Simply replace any skipped breastmilk feedings with formula (or milk, or solids - not sure how old your daughter is). If she's younger and going to be switching to formula... has she had formula before? If not, try mixing your breastmilk in with the formula. First start out with 1/4 parts formula to 3/4 parts breastmilk, then 1/2 and 1/2, then 3/4 formula to 1/4 breastmilk, and lastly formula. Wait a few days to a week between each change to let her get used to it and her tummy to adjust.

If you do notice you're getting engorged, or start having pain, apply warm compresses, and make sure you're wearing well-fitted and supportive bras, even overnight. When you pump, you can try to massage your breasts in a downward motion, this will help the milk move down and help massage out clogs/and help with soreness. Also, don't stop pumping if you get a clog, keep it moving!

Good luck!