Weaning and Comfort

If you do not like the above answers of doing it slowly
You can do it fast with ace wraps, tylenol and keeping your back to the shower/no stimulation to the breast.

pump just long enough to relieve the pressure and stretch the time out between pumping. i got to the point of pumping only every 36 hours and then quit cold turkey. i was sore for a day or so and then fine.

You could always pump off some of the discomfort, and then cut the pumping down by one minute every day, then drop it to every other day, then every two days, hten stop. You can easily still use the milk.... and it will give your body the chance to adjust without keeping your daughter on the morning feeding. Then do the same thing for the bedtime feeding.... pump instead, and then slowly wean yourself down the pumpings by the minute, and then every other night.

When this happened for me, my friend suggested to wear REALLY tight sports bras and use ice packs for swelling if needed. The tightness helped keep down the "pain" -- kind of like a swollen ankle and an ace-bandage. I actually wore 2 sports bras -- and slept in them too.

I was uncomfortable for about 3-4 days (tops).

I was trying to reduce the amount at each feeding and it seemed to prolong the process -- the above trick was more like ripping off a band-aid. Maybe initally more uncomfortable, but the pain didn't last as long.

Good luck.

When I cut out feedings each time, the engorgement eventually went away. You kind of just tough it out a couple days and your body will realize that morning feedings are not neccessary. I would wait until your body has adjusted before ending the night feedings.

Just do it slowly...very slowly. Remember that it takes your body a couple of days to adjust to the decreased demand and make less milk. I did use cabbage leaves in my bra to help dry up my milk at the end...I'm not sure if they really worked, but the coldness of them felt good.

hm. it would help to do it every other night. however, its going to be the go-to solution for bedtime... and thats not a bad thing.
my son nursed until he self weaned at 19 months. i think the more laid back you are about it, the eaiser it is for her to wean. and you will be uncomfortable. im sure there are things to do for engorgement, but i dont remember any of them. i know it was a month or so before i didnt feel like i should nurse, however, it was MUCH longer before my breasts wouldnt readily give milk. haha.
anyway,
just be laid back about it.
the 'dont ask dont refuse' method is the best idea for weaning. i hope by now you have some form of communication for her to ask for it, for my son it was sign language for milk. and one day he just didnt ask anymore. about 2 weeks later, he started doing the sign for milk, and i would have not refused, but then he stopped and started shaking his head no. since i had never refused, i was confident that he was making the decision to not need it instead of me making it for him
there are SO MANY benefits to breastfeeding longer. let me tell you - youve done a FANTASTIC JOB nursing this long. if you are comfortable, theres no reason to rush weaning, as its very healthy for both of you. i lost another 5 pounds when my son was around 14 months - and i wasnt doing any real exersize or anything... so it had to have been breastfeeding. i lost more weight again when my son was around 18 months. so in all, i lost 8 lbs MORE than i gained with my son in the first place.
anyway
its probably not going to be hard if you already have her down to just the night feeding. if you wanted to continue to just give that one for a while longer, theres nothing wrong with that, and its fantastic. :D
www.askdrsears.com might have some good info on helping wean. :D peacefully and lovingly.
good luck!

I must be the lucky one. When I started cutting out feedings/pumpings, I never felt any different. I still do morning and evening feedings, and the occasional nap, but this leads me to believe I am truly just a human pacifier now! I plan to let him decide when to wean totally ( he's 14mo. now) Good luck, sorry I don't actually have any advice!

I just know how it was for me - I was always somewhat uncomfortable each time I cut out a breastfeeding time, but I remember going from 2 to 1 a day being worse than the others since I was only feeding from one breast each time and had to go from 24 hours to 48 hours between feedings. BUT then once I was down to 1 time a day I actually started really drying up (my boobs got much smaller and I got my period back) and it ended up being a really easy way of weaning my son, who I think after a few weeks of not really getting much milk was just as happy not breastfeeding any more. I was also totally fine once he stopped nursing and didn't get sore at all. I don't know if this is typical, but hopefully you'll have the same experience.

I would pump off the excess just a little at a time (and use it to make cereal or mix it with the whole milk or whatever milk you're giving daughter now). Your body will adjust pretty quickly!

Best of luck!

Refrigerated cabbage leaves. Method as old as the hills, and it works great to take down the swelling and reduce pain. Also, you may just want to give a "half feeding" for a few nights and don't overdue your water intake.

Good luck,
S.

You can also take an antihistamine to help. I nursed for 13 months, was down to one feeding a day as well at the end.
Since I have bad allergies and had been avoiding my regular allergy medicine (and my doctor knew this) when I asked my doctor about weaning she suggested I start taking my Claritin D again.
I have no idea if that made the difference, or the fact that we were down to one nursing session at the end, but I really didn't experience much engorgement. And my son didn't notice at ALL, lol.
Be sure your supply has evened out to the one feeding before you cut back the second, and that will definitely help.
Good luck!

I'm gonna say the cabbage leaves also! They are the perfect shape and nice and cool (fridge or freezer). Fit right in your bra.

Do they work??? ;) lol