I stopped nursing my one year old last week. He was really only nursing first thing in the morning and last thing at night, so it was easy to wean him. The problem I have is that it's been over a week and my breasts are throbbing and leaking if I lean against anything. I feel more engorged than I did when I was actually nursing him! I've asked friends, who've said that women usually stop producing by a week after nursinig? Anybody have any suggestions?
My milk didn't run out until my second child was about 2 1/2. I stopped breast feeding him about 11 months. Women are all different some can't breastfeed after 1 month and some can breast feed until 2 years. I just took warm baths to relieve the engorgment, wore breast pads until I didn't need them anymore.
It took me about 2 weeks and i had to hand express a bit of milk during the day otherwise i was in a lot of pain. I would just squeeze a tiny bit of milk out and it helped. Also, use cold cabbage leaves. That helped too. Good luck. I know its painful at first.
Hi S. Call your OB/GYN and hear what he/she has to say about it. They can give you the best answer because every women experience is different.
a week? not true! can have milk in there for a LONG time! I have even heard of a year+...BUT you will not be engorged or leaking for that long. If it is uncomfortable you should pump just long enough to feel more comfortable, but not too much. You may end up with mastitis if you let it get too engorged. It should feel better in a few days
It took me a full 3 weeks to stop producing milk. I woke up one morning and my breasts were smaller and "mushy". It just happened overnight. I was never engorged like you, though. I have heard others say to use wet cabbage leaves in your bra and then change them when they dry out. Sounds a tad bit uncomfortable, but if you are already uncomfortable, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try. Good luck!
It can take up to a month for your milk to dry up. You could try pumping just a little out, just enough to relieve the pressure. But yes, I went through this 3 times and it could take weeks for the pain and milk to go away, sorry, I hope it's sooner for you!
Hi S.,
I stopped nursing my daughter a little over 2 weeks ago and I can tell you that I'm still producing milk, but there is no engorgement or pain at all. The first few days were painful so I would pump once a day to relieve the pressure (if you don't have a pump, then I would nurse once a day). After that there was no pain. I think it can take up to a month to completely dry up, but with my first child it was much faster than this time. Just don't do what I did, after the first week I thought I was home free and forgot to use breast pads. BIG mistake! HA HA
Good Luck.
C.
Although I'm not sure how long it will take for your supply to diminish, you can put green cabbage leaves on your engorged breasts and they will help. Even better if you store the cabbage in the refrigerator first as the cold is soothing. http://www.drgreene.com/21_1814.html
I wasn't nursing but was EPing several times a day. When it was time to quit, I would go as long as I could before things got too painful. I would then either pump or hand express ONLY to the point where the pain went away - no more. I wanted to send the message to my brain that milk was no longer needed so the brain would tell the body to start cutting down on production.
It took about two to three weeks for mine to stop feeling full and about two months until I was pretty sure I had dried up. Just try not to check or stimulate your nipples it will just make it take longer.
Going from 2x/day to nothing is a pretty big jump. I haven't ever suddenly weaned like that (I went from 2x/day to 1x/day to every other day to stopping) but cabbage leaves are good for engorgement, as is taking an antihistamine. You can also pump for comfort every couple of days. When I was stopping pumping I pumped "by the clock" as opposed to "by the ounce". So I would pump 10 mins per day one week, then 5 mins per day the next week, then just if I was too full the following week. I think the same general principal could be applied to weaning.
