I want to stop breast feeding/pumping. Do I just stop and if so what will happen to my breast? How long does it take to get back to normal?
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I want to stop breast feeding/pumping. Do I just stop and if so what will happen to my breast? How long does it take to get back to normal?
August 28th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
You need to remove a feeding at a time. Stopping all at once can cause you to become engorge and that can be extremely painful! I took away one feeding a week until I was done, but I’ve heard of other mother’s that have done it more rapidly.
Unfortunately, I can not remember when my breast got back to “normal” — I don’t think they ever really do! LOL
Good luck!
August 29th, 2009 at 1:30 am
The first person to answer is wrong there is not a magic pill to dry up a breastfeeding mother. They used to do it but found that it had very bad effects on mothers. No you should wean slowly to avoid engouragement. If you stop all at once you will be very unconfortable and your baby wouldn’t be happy either. Remove one feeding at a time once a week. This can take up to a month depending on your baby’s feeding schedule. Stop thier feeding that they are least interested in. Take your time and it will not be as uncomfortable.
Good luck.
August 29th, 2009 at 5:18 am
It’s probably going to be uncomfortable if you stop all at once. Try tapering back the feedings and supplementing them with bottle feedings. Do so gradually or you’ll get engorged and could develop mastitis.
Ask your doctor for drying up pills during the weaning process. During the process don’t squeeze your nipples to check. That will take a little longer for all the milk to go away.
August 29th, 2009 at 5:40 am
a friend of mine stopped breast feeding by just stopping but i think there is a pill that your doctor can give you that will dry you up basically. supposedly if you dont have the pill and just stop breast feeding your breasts get very very tender.
August 29th, 2009 at 10:42 am
your breast will become engorged with milk, your body will send a hormonal signal to reduce milk production. the more nipple stimulation (pumping, expressing – even a little) will make it take longer to totally dry up- and i’d do it slowly for comfort sake of both you and baby. it can be pretty dang uncomfortable to quit cold turkey! but there are ways to help.
you can take an herb called Sage the help your milk dry up.
cabbage leaves, cracked (but left in tact) and place them on your breasts, the enzyme in the cabbage helps reduce production somehow. but the cool cabbage leaves are the perfect size and are very relieving. you will leave them on and exchange them when they get warm.
some women dry up fast others take a couple of months. it depends on your body specifically because every one of us is unique.
good luck! maybe you could store up a couple bags of breast milk in the freezer in case baby comes down with a cold or something? breastmilk is a great help for when baby gets sick, putting some in the ear for earache, a scratch or cut, sunburn, or even for you and other family members, and having a little stock wouldn’t hurt
August 29th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
The best way to stop breast feeding/pumping is to increase the amount of times in between feeding/pumping. If you normally pump every 3-4 hours, try going 4-5 hours, then increase the amount of time as well. Also don’t pump/feed until your empty. Reduce the amount of milk you pump/feed by cutting back the amount. If you usually pump 10 ounces of milk, try pumping like 8 ounces. Slowly stop breast feeding because if you stop all at once, then you’ll become engorge and it will hurt.
All you can put ice packs on your breasts to help decrease the amount you pump. If you do become engorge, take some Tyenol for the pain.
I don’t think my breasts has gotten back to normal yet, its been over a year since I’ve stopped producing milk. I have noticed a little bit of stretch marks from being engorged when my milk first came in/stopping breast feeding.
If anything ask a lactician consultant or you doctor.
August 29th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
You can just stop, I did it with my first. It hurts a lot for about aeek, worse the first 3 days. He was 8 weeks. If you’re baby is really young (2 weeks) you could it. They scare you with mastis but some women would take that over breastfeeding. Anyyhing older I would suggest gradual. Drop one feeding about every 5 days. You’ll know when you can drop another cause your breast won’t be too engorged. You can also make sage tea and put cabbage in bra
Check out http://www.kellymom.com for more info.
August 29th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
It’s not recommend you stop cold turkey – your breasts will get engorged and that can lead to mastitis (a breast infection). It’s much better for you to wean slowly, so your body learns to produce less milk.
In addition, it’s not real good for your baby to have you stop suddenly, either. He/she has grown accustomed to nursing and the comfort that goes along with in. Also, the immunities in your breastmilk provide him/her with a lot of important boosts – he/she is less likely to be sick and, if he/she does get sick, is going to get better much quicker.
You don’t say how old your baby is: the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding until at least 1 year and the World Health Organization recommends at least 2 years, and they come to that conclusion based on very good medical research.
Take a look at http://www.kellymom.com for information on breastfeeding and, if you’re set on it, weaning.
August 29th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
It can be quite uncomfortable to stop cold turkey. You can consider weaning the baby from the breast. Giving a bottle every other feeding, not expressing any milk at this feeding and continuing until the baby has switched to the bottle completely. Please talk to your pediatrician, they can give you an exact schedule and your gynecologist should be able to help with the drying up process