Just Quit Nursing - Ouch!

Try wrapping something tight around breasts. Or use a sports bra thats a little small. And Express some milk but not a lot. This will help. It may take a couple of weeks.

when you shower, express just a little, this will help the pain, i did it and in 3 days no more pain!

Do you have a pump? How many times a day did you nurse? Start by pumping as many times a day as you nursed, but only to relieve the pressure (just a few mins). Do NOT completely empty the breast - just enough so they don't ache anymore. This will send the message from the receptors in the breast to the brain "hey, not as much milk is needed, so let's decrease the amount of prolactin that is sent to the breasts". The milk supply will gradually drop. Try to drop a pumping session each day, every other day, or put more space in between sessions. If you don't have a pump you can hand express.

I did 'exclusive pumping', and I would just pump to relieve pressure then try to go for as long as I could before I pumped again. It took me about 1-2 weeks. In between sessions, I would just take baby oil or lotion and gently massage my breasts (but not squeeze, because then milk would be released thus signaling the brain to think the prolactin was needed).

Whatever you do, do NOT bind with a tight bra or ace bandage. For some people this actually does make them feel better, but you run the risk of infection and/or mastitis.

tylenol or ibuprofin wil help ease some of the discomfort, also cold cabbage leaves will help. you can express a little milk, just enough to ease some of the discomfort. you don't want express all of it cause your breasts will jsut continue to make more milk. binding your brests tightly with an ace bandage can help too...that's what my best friend was told to do at the hospital when she chose not to nurse...but that was almost 10 yrs ago.

Hi there!

I hear you about the year seeming forever- with giving up dairy. I'm only at seven months myself. Since I haven't yet stopped nursing, I don't have direct experience, but I DO remember pain from engorgement, and reading about clogged ducts. Maybe some of the same techniques would work?

The first one that comes to mind is using hot compresses before expressing/pumping/nursing, and cold afterward. The warm before will increase blood circulation and help you empty all the milk that is there, and the cold after will inhibit blood circulation and milk production when you're done with that session. Maybe the warm compress before will also help rid the body of a clog in a milk duct- if that is one source of pain? I also read about cabbage leaves for engorgement pain- but never tried them. In lieu of a warm compress, I had a large plastic mixing bowl I'd fill with warm to hot water, and lean into it for a few minutes. For the cold afterward, I used small lunch box frozen "blue ice" blocks or packs, wrapped in a cloth napkin or thin towel, and just tucked them into my nursing bra a little to the side. For about 5 minutes. I looked ridiculous, but it worked.

If none of this works or is applicable- there's always ibuprofen! And the books on nursing, or just looking up your symptoms online.

Best of luck!

i went through that with my last daughter (the pain that is) i tried all sorts of stuff but the thing that worked best was frozen cabbage i kept a head of it in the freezer and would just shove a leaf in my snug bra. i also used ace bandages to wrap around my breast.... i hope this helps i feel your pain!!

Take Advil for pain and wear a tight fitting bra (to support your swelled breasts). You can express a little milk but just enough to get rid of your discomfort. This won't encourage the to produce more. It would only do that if you pumped as often as your son nursed or more. I wish you the best of luck. I know how hard it can be to wean emotionally and physically.

-M.

When I weaned my little guy, I didn't think it would be a big deal either. Wow, it burned and felt like a rock was in my breast. Although this went against wisdom, I was desperate. I pumped when it got too bad. It was that or the hospital. I only had to pump 1/2 oz out of one side, then the next day 1/2 oz out of the other. Took about 1 week to feel totally normal again after that.

Dear K. Sorry to hear about your pain, but it will ease up everyday. I am glad that your baby quit on his own. My 32 month old Lena won't quit. She cries and cries until I give in. My husband says it won't hurt her or me.
Good Luck
T.

It took me about a week before it stoped hurting. Cabbage, sounds dumb but thats what all the nurses told me. It seemed to work.

I also applaud you! I nursed both my boys for a year but they weren't allergic to anything so I can only imagine the hardship!

I second the pumping, but you may want to pump enough to give a bottle here or there just through the cold and flu season. My oldest got the flu when I had my newborn and luckily I was able to pump and give my oldest some breastmilk. It was the only thing he was able to keep down and I was so thankful! Even if you freeze it, then you will have it if needed in this flu season.

First, just want to say congrats on from another mom w/ a nursling who is dairy-allergic. :) We made it to a year, too, and I thought mine was weaning between 12-14 months, but boy, was I wrong. It wasn't weaning, though I think if I had wanted to wean him I could have at that point --> I just still want the protective effects of breastmilk to keep working and hopefully help him outgrow his dairy allergy. We plan to make it to 2 yrs, if he lasts that long.

So... I don't know if you'll feel like the following is good or bad information (depending on how badly you want him to wean!) but here it is:

Your son is likely NOT weaning (self-weaning happens so very RARELY before 18-24 months). It's probably a nursing strike due to teething or ear pain or some other temporary discomfort, in additioned to his heightened interest in the world (which means he would nurse if he weren't so darned interested in everything else around him). Here are some links that might help you determine whether he's striking or actually self-weaning:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/back-to-breast.h...
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/toddlernursing.html...
http://www.llli.org/FAQ/strike.html
http://www.llli.org//NB/NBNovDec92p173.html

Plus, don't forget that is it flu season right now, so maybe continuing to nurse until flu season is over (even if only once a day!) would be a wise course of action? Trust me when I say that you'll be ever-grateful for nursing the first time your 16 month old gets a stomach virus and refuses to eat table food or drink much and won't keep anything else down besides breastmilk!

Even if you're feeling "done w/ nursing" right now, it's so important to keep the long term picture in mind. Really, a few more months now will seem like a tiny speck of time when you're helping your 18 year old move into his college dorm room. ;)

To help w/ your engorgement, here are a few good links (applicable whether you wean now or decide to stick it out through this nursing strike):
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mom/engorgement.html

Best of luck, and whatever you choose to do, *kudos* for breastfeeding your baby for as long as you have --> I'd be thrilled if more moms would make it to even the 6 month mark (seriously, here in Ohio only a tiny 11% of 6-month-old babies are breastfed). :)

vitamin e rubbed on your nipples to heal them all up and try to ignore the milk pain-drink less fluids and if it hurts too much lay in a warm tub-don't squeeze too much out because it will make more-good luck!!!