Ouch!! I Am Really FULL!!!

You will have to grin and bare it. To relieve it means you will just make more and continue the cycle.

The cabbage really works. Just ordinary white cabbage...it will reduce the engorgement and help dry you up. Just keep changing them once they wilt. It does not smell good but it will feel a ton better.
Good luck!

Dear A.,
If you are a stay at home mom, then why is it so important to wean your little one? Does she want to? I nursed my kids usually until I ran out of milk - sometimes up to 2 years. I don't see why you are putting yourself through all this grief if you don't have to!
Don't be so hard on yourself! But if there's a good reason to stop, and you want to, I believe you can donate your extra milk to the nearest hospital for the newborns who can only have breast milk.
It's such a short time they are little - I'm sure you'll get through it OK one way or another!
Best to you,
R.

I'd nix the hot showers for cold compresses, since the warmth will only cause you to produce more. I have always recommended to my nursing mom friends to use hot compresses and massage when they want to produce more milk (amongst other things).

Cold Cabbage leaves are a must!

You might also try taking a decongestant (just beware that it will dry out your nose too!) since that has slowed production in some nursing moms. Something simple like plain sudafed.

Hi A.,

Pump! It will give you soooo much relief! When I weaned, I still continued to pump maybe 2-3 times a day and decreased it as the days went by. My supply diminished over a week or so.

-Char

Pump until you're comfortable but not completely empty. :-) If you have to do this several times over a period of several days I think that's still OK -- you don't want to be walking around all full and painful! -- just do it as little as possible and only to the point where you're not so tender. Your body will gradually get the message that it doesn't have to make milk anymore. Good luck.

I just went through this with my 16 month old daughter. I found taking some ibuprofen and wearing a really tight sports bra (24 hours a day) hepled. I also did some massaging to help witht the discomfort. It took about a week to completely go away.

I just weaned my almost 15 mo old son 3 days ago myself.. I had been only nursing him once a day since he turned 13 months.. My question for you is.. were you only nursing once a day? If ao.. then you have an amazing supply! If your baby is still interested then I might suggest you do once a day & transition that way.. I would've kept going but he wasn't interested & was playing more.. And with a mouth full of teeth, I wasn't going to gamble! haha :)
I stopped pumping while at work, when he turned one.. and just nursed when I was at home.. it was bad the first day or two.. I looked like I was a double D when I got home.. and I am a B cup.. But my body quickly adjusted & I imagine yours will too. Congrats on going for so long! Our kids are all the healthier for it.. Take care.. S.

sorry to hear about your problem. This is an old fashion way, but my doctor told me to do it and it worked.

You must get a sheet or towel something that will wrap around you breast that you can pin tight. This is called binding... You should have help with it and do it at night.
before you go to bed, take off your top, get the towel or sheet, fold it to make it thick, with the help of someone, take a deep breath, release it and pull the wrap around your breast as tight as you can stand it, pin it, or tie it what ever way you can to hold it in place, and sleep with it. You may leak a little, the pressure feels good and the heat from your body helps the pain. This keeps the milk from producing and your glands in the breast from working. I am a big breasted women and produced so much milk, I would fill 6 pads just sitting. anyway, this will dry you up. It will not take that long, about a week or less, do not pump or even touch your nipples during the day, if you can during the day time, do it again. You will notice that in the morning the binding (towel or sheet) becomes loss, that is normal. This really works, I thought it strange, but it works. good luck.

You produce by supply and demand. So, pump a LITTLE to relieve yourself, but not too much or tomorrow you'll just have even more milk because your body will think you need it. Or handexpress int he shower with warm water, warm compresses should help too. You don't want to get mastisius.

me to! I hate being full. I'm in the process now and find myself pumping a little just to release the pain. I like baby steps so I assume my daughter will be fully weaned off by the end of feb. I also hope the milk machine subsides and we are done with the painful transitioning. Good luck

Gosh I feel your pain! I haven't looked at the other responses but what worked for me (not a quick fix tho) were cabbage leaves. Really! I did also pump with a hand pump just to get a little relief when I thought I was just going to explode. Those cabbage leaves fit perfectly on the inside of your bra and if they are in the fridge they are nice and cool - I found them very soothing. They are supposed to dry you up too - not sure about that one they just felt good! It just mostly takes time. Hope you feel better soon!

That happened to me with my son, too...looked and felt like two softballs. I pumped once and didn't fill up like that again.

pump to relieve the pressure but do not deplete your supply.

this tells your body that not much more is needed.

best regards, M.

Wow, and the cabbage has it!
Cold cabbage leaves will help to dry you up and reduce your discomfort with ice packs alternating with the cabbage. The ladies are correct, do not pump...or you will continue to produce.
Good luck. You should feel better in a couple of days.

Get in the shower under warm water and express milk from each side. Massage from the top of your breast down without massaging your nipple. Do this a few times a day for a few days or so until it becomes more comfortable. You don't want to end up with an infection, so give it a try, it will offer you great relief. And don't worry, this will not prolong drying up.

I went through this three times and it really made all the difference!

A.,

Pump just until you are comfortable and then stop. When I weaned my son I needed to pump 2-3 times during the drying out process and it was much more comfortable and I didn't end up with mastitis.

:-)T.

I had the same thing happen to me also . With the first one no pain at 15 months . The second child just stopped himself at 15 months , i was weaning . But boy did i feel the pain for about 1 1/2 weeks !! Ouch ! I have been told if you pump it will only stimulate it to do more . I was in so much pain i tried a tiny bit of pumping but then just let it dry out .I called the pediatrician and asked questions also . you might want to try your dr or baby's dr for some tips . I was also told that warm water from the shower will make you fill up more . It happened to be hot weather for me when i was in pain and that did not help . So your lucky it's winter . good luck !! hope it's not to painful for you!

A.,
I would recommend cabbage for the pain, and a homeopathic tab called LAC CANINUM to help you dry out the natural way. It helped me. Try Whole foods or your local homeopathic pharmacy. Good luck

try putting cabbage in your bra and taking hot showers to relieve the pain :( Also, try no more milk tea to help dry them up. Good luck!!

what I did was I would take a hot shower and squeeze out some of the milk, just enough so that it didn't hurt as much but not enough so that it wouldn't dry up, it took about three days but it worked!

Let the shower become your friend! Warm water always helped me. Hope it helps krissy

Hand expression is the key. It will let some of the milk out without stimulating your nipples which would cause increased production. When I weaned and was so full, I would get in the bath tub and hand express until I was comfortable again. The warm water really helps.

If you pump your body will just keep making milk. Some people pump and then pump less and less til it's gone, but I just went cold turkey to make it quicker. I tried the cabbage in my bra, it really worked good for me. You just put it in the fridge, and after it's good and cold put some leaves in your bra all over and change it when it gets warm. I don't know what it is but they say something in the cabbage helps dry it up and I was willing to try anything! Plus the coolness felt good. Hope it works!

I stopped at 15 months too, and I pumped just enough to relieve some of the fullness (NOT a full pump). I did this the day after I stopped nursing because it was unbearable. Then the following days I hand expressed in the shower. After that first day, and after that quick pump, it got much easier.

Hand express while you're in the shower. If you pump, your body will still keep producing but if you hand express, it's like topping off and your body will make less and less. Just enough to keep from being so full.

I had a really easy time weaning by scheduling in pump time. If you've gone 24 hours, go ahead and pump a bit, then try to go longer (30 hours?) before you pump again. Eventually you will pump every couple of days, then not at all. I had a terrible time with clogged ducts all nine months I nursed, so was worried about weaning, but with this method had no probs at all!

You can pump, but just don't pump too much over a long period of time of else you will never dry up. Pump just enough to get a bit of relief. Also, try putting some cabbage in your bra. Sounds crazy, but a lot of people say to do this, and it really worked for me when I weaned. I would just use it at night though, so I didn't smell like cabbage all day! lol. Good luck!