Advice on How to Ease the Pain

My doctor told me that when I was ready to dry up my milk to wear a really tight sports bra and never let hot water hit my breast. The hot water will stimulate the milk and you don't want that. Good luck!

J. you might find it wont be too bad drying up. I didn't have a good supply to begin with, and just about a week before I went back to work I stopped breast feeding totally and went straight to formula (My son was supplemented with Formula from day 1).
I just wore a slightly tighter bra than normal, and breast pads to control any leaking. Also being back to work helped a lot because I was focused on other things, and I wasn't drinking as much water as I should have.
Best of luck to you though. My son is 4 months old, and I work 25 miles from home. Working and pumping would not have been an option for me with my job.

J.-- I would start pumping a little less each day trust me you will dry up fast but it will include a few painful days. Sometimes showers or warm compress' will help. Good Luck M.

I both breastfeed and give formula.
I did this with my first child too, after breastfeeding him for months exclusively I had to start supplimenting because of work and not having the time to pump enough. When I was finally finished with it altogether I was uncomfortable for a day or two, but then fine. I think since I had already slowly been cutting down on it and didn't go cold turkey that it was easier and even if I couldn't exclusively breastfeed, I was still breastfeeding and giving a better start.

When I stopped nursing my daughter, I stopped one feeding a week and I never experienced any pain. Hope this helps. Good luck. :) H.

I only breast fed my son until I went back to work after three months and I didn't have any pain. The transition went well I switch feedings the less I breast fed, the less supply there was and I didn't have any pain. Hope that eases your mind a little.

Do not go cold turkey! I tried that. It was extremely painful. It's much easier to ease off breastfeeding. Start by eliminating one feeding (or pumping) session a day. Then the next week eliminate another one. Eventually you'll be down to one a day and it's much easier to stop that then three a day. Good luck.

I used green cabbage leaves... I know.. it sounds weird, but it really works! There is an enzyme in the leaves that helps to dry up the milk quicker and relieve engorging!! What you do is peel the leaves off and put them in ice water and then in the fridge. Use one on each breast under your bra... when they get warm and limp, switch to new ones. Good luck!!!!

Okay, Don't wean him cold turkey.. Slowly offer him formula instead of breastmilk.. Wear a tight sports bra at night during this time. The only time you will have a real problem is if you wean him cold turkey. I did that with my first and ended up with hard breasts for a day or two that hurt.. I wore a sports bra at night and that didn't help completely until I gave in and nursed my son one last time to soften my breasts. After I did this I was fine. They went back to normal. Now, with my 2nd I slowly wean her and never had any problems swhatsoever. My 3rd one though who is 6 months won't take a bottle of formula so I don't know how I am gonna wean him... but I'd like to start and he just won't have it.. Good Luck to you!

I nursed my son exclusively for 10 months....he wouldn't even take pumped milk from a bottle! I had no problems at all with any pain when I stopped...(I had to return to work) If your breasts start to seem overly full, I just would go to the restroom and express a little bit, just enough to make them not feel so full and then eventually the production just stopped. It didn't take long at all, maybe a week. Good luck, you will be ok!

I went to work full time after I had my son (who is now 20 months old). I never had any pain because my milk supply slowly just went away. If you are pumping 3 times a day now, next week only pump twice a day, then only once a day, then not at all, but still nurse your daughter. You will know when your milk supply is going down when your daughter won't get enough from you and then give her the bottle. I nursed my son for seven months and toward the end I was not pumping at all and only nursing once a day at night. Let me know if you have any more questions!! I would be happy to help

H.

hi J.. i have an 8 month old and when i stopped breast feeding (at 6 months ) it didnt hurt at all. took me over a month to totally dry up tho. seems like we always remember the horror stories huh...

start by pumpung 1 less time per day, and change 1 day time feeding to formula... do this for about 3 days. On the 4th day drop one more schedualed pump and do a day-time feed with formula. Give it 3-4 days again. If at anytime you feel uncomfortably engorged at work, pump just enough for comfort.

Using this process it may take a few weeks to wean off the pumping. In the mean time you can still feed baby in the AM before work, and the after work feedings yourself. YES.. your body will get used to not producing during the day and still produce in the early AM and at night! It's great.

Anyway... you can use this process until you've weened off of breastmilk part way, or all together. I know a lot of moms who go MONTHS doing just an AM and before bedtime feed. So if you prefer that option it's still out there for you.

Great job feeding 5+ months when working full-time! What commitment! :)

J.
You forget about the pain after a while. I breast fed my son for 4 months. If you have a sports bra that is the best thing to use. I put it on and it hurt because it was real tight. I also used a heating pad at night and tylenol. It took less than a week. Continue to drink plenty of water too. The water helps flush out your system. Good luck

Are you experiencing any pain? It took me a LOOOONG time to dry up. I breast fed for two years actually, and now that my son is three, i am still not sure that I have "dried up" completely.
If I were you, I would NOT switch. Your baby is used to you. and the milk that mothers give. your baby will not take well to something new unless you SLOWLY switch. Like give her your milk in the morning, then try something new (and be totally aware of allergies-upset stomach, hives, eczema, even loose, strange, or discolored stool) because switching too fast could be hard on it's system.
Pump every last drop you can for at least a year. Your baby needs this!! As you already know,
breastfeeding is the very best, and to try and switch now could cause a lot of problems
not only for yourself, but especially for your baby!! If I were you, I would pump as much as you can and freeze it. But BEWARE breast milk is ONLY good for ONE week frozen. Then you need to thaw it (like my sons dad did) still in tact in the frozen container and surrounded by another while running warm water over it for five minutes or so, until room temp. be careful with pumping and freezing. at one point I could pump enough for a few weeks, but that will not do anyone any good!! if it turns out lumpy after thawing it is NO GOOD! Good luck. I ran into the same problem myself.
Pump during lunch if you can, and give it to the baby the same day if possible.
And work SLOWLY into formula, to make sure he/she can handle if first
before working it into your shedule. this may take months!!!

There's lots of good advice here; just wanted to add my experience. I went cold turkey and used the cabbage leaves. Yes, it was painful, but not any worse than initial engorgement after birth. The cabbage leaves worked great to ease the pain and help in drying up. I stopped breastfeeding after four months just because it was very difficult for me in the first place and I couldn't do as much pumping as I needed to at the office, so, I had to stop.

I had two days of pain, and it took about two weeks total to dry up. Good luck!

Believe it or not...this works! Put chilled cabbage leaves inside your bra! The coolest of them help with pain, and I heard that there is something in the cabbage leaf itself that helps dry out( bring out the moisture)of the breast. I was hesitant to try this myself, but was glad I did. Also, wearing a tight bra (like a sports bra) helps as well. Good luck!

I weaned over about a 2-3 week period at about 4 mos. I started by removing feedings during the day about 1 feeding every 2-3 days and removed the morning feeding last. Your body will adapt pretty quickly and it really isn't too painful.

Good luck.

I have heard sage works as a natural drying agent.

I nursed my daughter exclusively for 9months.. Iwent back to work when she was 6 months old.. and I pumped at work. I agree it is very hard to pump and work and maintain a milk supply. It is so easy to nurse when you are home.. it is very difficult to nurse when you are working.

It does not have to be painful to transition to formula. Do it gradually. Maybe like this... next week only pump 2 times a day at work... then the following week pump once a day. Continue nrusing your baby mornings and evenings when you are home. I continued for several weeks just nursing morning and eveing and my daughter got bottles during the day.

i weaned my daughter very slowly over about a 6 week period and I had no pain.

I would recommend continuing the morning and evening nursing as long as you can. Your body will adjust and you wont have struggle of pumping and working. My daughter was never sick while she was nursed.. Once we stopped nursing she has had a coupleof colds and two horrible stomach flus. Your milk will continue to boost your baby's immune system even if you only nurse once or twice aday.

Hi, the first time I switched over from breast to bottle it was horrible, getting engorged is very painful. The second time I switched over every time I felt like I was getting full I would pump or express enough to relieve the pressure or full-feeling but not enough to cause production. Each day seemed like there was less fullness or milk production and there was never any pain at all. Hope this helps.

I also used green cabbage leaves. It worked great for me.

It is not as painfull as you may have heard. With my first child I nursed for 19 months (SAHM) but what helps a GREAT deal and it may sound funny but cabbage leaf. These also work great if you get a pluged duck. You take the gabage leaf right off the head of cabbage and put it on your breast and wear your bra. the longer you wear it your swelling will go down and becausse your not nursing also you will dry up faster. I used it when I had a pluged duct can not think of the medical term starts with a M- man something. I just had my 2 child 10 days ago and brain is still not working. Anyway I could not keep the leaf in too long due to it will help dry you out. Good Luck

Try pumping less and less instead of giving up cold turkey. My pediatrician (a mom who nursed her kids) said that is the best way to avoid the pain. Otherwise, try heating pads to ease the torment.

If you plan to do it all at once wrap yourself tightly with an old sheet.............I also heard i think it is cabbage leaves help??
Good luck