Quitting Breastfeeding Cold Turkey

I think quitting cold Turkey is a bad idea. Not only does your body need to be weaned down, but so does your daughter. Maybe she seems ok with it, but then you should still pump and wean yourself. Quitting cold turkey sets you up for pain, plugged ducts, mastitis. Plus quitting cold turkey will make your hormones take a nose dive and it could really wack your body out.

Do NOT bind your breasts. This will cause your milk ducts to plug and cause mastitis. Keep them loose, pump twice a day for a week, then once a dya for a week, then every other day for a week. This will help your body to adjust and slowly stop making milk. Mint, as in mint tea, peppermint candies, altoids, anything mint will help dry your milk up. But its still a better idea to go slowly so you don't mess up your body.

I quit cold turkey also and I wish somebody had told me the first time around about cabbage leaves.
It may sound weird and gross, but it works. Put cabbage leaves in your bra. You do need to change them frequently (every few hours), probably more so in the summer. It helps so much with the pain and dries you up quicker.
With my first child I had no clue about the leaves. I was in so much pain and felt sick. The second time around, it was amazing. Good Luck!

Good Morning A.-
First off koodos for you to nurse your baby for this long.... My hat goes off to you and you will see the immune responses as she gets older. Since your toddler is 16 months old, you are right and she can be weaned cold turkey and be fine. The problem is you more than her. It is also possible to quit cold turkey without seeing a lot of problems if you are very careful. This is why we have some women do the "girl's getaway weekend" when they are trying to wean a smaller baby. Instant weaning does not mean breast infection, but it can mean a little discomfort. First off, if you do not have an allergy to asprin, I would 1) take 3 200mg = 600mg Ibprofern every six hours during the process. 2) I know this is going to sound crazy, but it works...... Go and get some cabbage and freeze it. Wear it in a tighter bra (like sports bra instead of nursing bra) around the clock for about three days. Does not make for much romance the smell, but it does work. When it becomes wilted, change the leaves to new ones. 3)Stay away from your husband romantically during this three to four day process. They help encourage milk production believe it or not... 4)Take some Benedryl at night; if no allergies ~ the antihistimine helpd dry up the production. It works.

You may be able to still produce milk even though you are not truly producing enough to make a huge difference. I hear women all the time say, I am still lactating after weaning three months ago.... What's wrong? The truth is, just because you may be able to squeeze and produce milk from your breast, does not mean you are still fully lactaing. Some women can do this for years after weaning and some after an abortion. If they were to pump, it would only be drops there, so squeezing to see milk does not mean your body has not responded. Good luck with the journey of baby #2.

Ibuprofen and ice packs will help. You might also benefit from expressing--just a little by hand--once a day for a few days, to relieve the pressure.

It can take literally months to completely dry up. I stopped breastfeeding about 5-6 weeks ago, and I am still producing milk, although it is not painful and I am not leaking. If I go to manually express, it's still there.