Weaning from Exclusive Pumping

I second the warning about 'binding' your breasts, even with a sports bra. The only times I ever had issues with clogged ducts was when I tried to wear a sports bra or a 'regular bra.' I had the best luck with wearing tanks with built-in shelf bras.
The hands-down best online source for breastfeeding/pumping/mastitis info is kellymom.com. I'd trust anything on that thorough, well-researched site over anything my doctors or my kids' peds said!

As for the mastitis issue...antibiotics are great and definitely have their place, however, with so much recurring infection there might be 2 things I would address first: 1) the pumping 'technique' and 2) the lifestyle (i.e. diet, sleep, stress, water intake)
I exclusively pumped for my son for a long time, so am familiar with different postures, ways to hold the pumps/hands-free, etc. Have you tried changing anything about the way you pump? I noticed sometimes I would be tilting the horns, pressing them into my breasts, or leaning on them a bit, or something like that, & once corrected, it felt better.
I'm not sure if I would have been able to pump exclusively for more than 2 days had it not been for the information I found on Kellymom.com! It also has some good tips and gives the background story behind some simple lifestyle stuff like ensuring you get as much sleep as you can (I know...I know...;), reducing your stress (I know...I know...;), drinking about twice the amount of water you think you should be drinking, **avoiding sugar/simple carbohydrates**, and getting plenty of calories from nutrient-dense foods (i.e. avocado, lean meats, etc.). Some other tips that helped me: watching those fish oil tabs (coincidence or not, they always seemed to correlate with a clogged duct or two! ??), and supplementing with sodium ascorbate (a buffered, crystalline form of vitamin C suitable for therapeutic dosing; note: this is different from the non-desirable calcium ascorbate). I get my sodium ascorbate from Central Market, Whole Foods, or online. In addition to helping prevent/treat infection in me, it's awesome stuff to take/give my kiddos too when they're up late, exposed to something, or at the first sign of a sniffle. Motheringdotcommunity message boards offer much good info as far as sodium ascorbate is concerned too. In addition to the sodium ascorbate, I highly recommend hot showers and massaging "out" the breast. It hurts like &*@%, but sooo worth it if you can dislodge any clogs.

I'd also like to commiserate with the desire to spend time with your sons v. being attached to a pump! BTDT! However, mine is also a BTDT-experience that revealed to me that the world of formula is not all it was cracked up to be in terms of freeing up time for baby bonding. My son was a miserable baby on formula and has long-term issues as a result of his exposure to formula. The >2 months it took to finally get a formula he could tolerate were insane!! Looking back, it would have been flat out *easy* to eat chicken & brown rice and just pump his milk - even if I had an infection, I'd rather me be sick than him -- I could take better drugs! - compared to dealing with all the issues that resulted from formula intake and that will affect him for the rest of his life. Your boys might not have any issues with reflux or with allergies like mine did/does, but then again, there's no way to know until it happens - and you can't go back in time. It's one of those mommy decisions that I just had to make, do my best, and go on. Regret is a wasted emotion, IMHO, but I felt it would be cruel of me to not give you a heads up on my experience -if nothing else, so that you could be more fully informed of the risks of choosing either path! <3 Best wishes to you & your twin men!

Whatever you do don't follow outdated advice to bind your breasts in any way. That will only make the problem worse. Yes, wear something supportive for comfort but binding your breasts can make the mastitis worse and could lead to an abscess:

http://www.breastfeeding.com/helpme/helpme_asklc_ans119.html

Pump just enough for comfort. don't watch the clock. By pumping enough for comfort you help alleviate the pressure and this will not signal your body to continue to produce. It takes time for milk to dry up.

Sorry that you are having issues. Typically cracked nipples are caused by baby not latching on properly. Some soreness is to be expected in the early days. I really wish that most hospitals did a better job helping moms get started on the right foot. Especially when you have 2 babies to handle!

I did not have your issues but I did have horrible problems breastfeeding my first child. A private lactation consultant really helped me out (and our insurance even covered it). The good ones aren't going to preach to you about breastfeeding; their agenda will be what is best for you and your babies, and it sounds like you already know what that is.

I found this website: http://www.breastfeeding.com/directory/lcdirectory.html
--my apologies if you know of it already.

And BTW, tell your OB that he/she needs to have a nurse practitioner or lactation consultant ON STAFF to help patients with these problems--or at least a list of places to call that includes more than one entry for a hospital help line. Shame on your doc for not being more helpful!

Rather than reducing the time spent pumping, you may have more luck by eliminating a pumping session entirely. Every day or two, give up one session and see how your body responds. And just pump for as long as you are expressing milk. Longer than that is probably not doing any good and may be causing soreness. Try to massage the blocked areas when you are pumping and when taking a warm shower - that might help open up the ducts, too. I know that the decision to wean before you wanted to is difficult and wish you luck.

I don't think it's dangerous. It does hurt like the dickens though doesn't it?? Weaning hurts regardless of mastitis, so it may be okay to wean and the pain is just part of the whole process. But, I might continue pumping just a bit to help alleviate the pain of the mastitis. Don't increase your time, just maybe don't decrease too dramatically for a couple days until the majority of the pain goes away. Yes, continue wearing the sports bra, although I would say that you should probably wear two bras. The tighter it is the faster your milk will dry up. ...Oh okay, sorry, but I just reread that you're only getting 1 oz/12 minutes...uh, scratch what I said earlier, just smash those boobs down and dry up, Girl! 1oz isn't worth the energy and effort on that pump!

Good luck! I hope it goes easier for you!

i'm sorry i have no practical advice to offer, just wanted to say that i'm sorry you're having such painful challenges! and to hope that you don't get inundated with suggestions as to how to keep breastfeeding under these circumstances. i think it's immanently sensible to want to spend these precious early days with your babies enjoying them, not stressing over uncooperative boobs.
khairete
S.