I have finally found a formula and bottle my daughter likes and have just done a whole day without nursing her and she didn't seem to notice or care. Today however she was very frustrated when it was nap time and I wouldn't give her the breast...she finally calmed down and took the bottle and slept just fine. I think she is still adjusting and was wondering if I am going about this the right way. I slowly introduced the bottle (once or twice a day then increased). She is 6 and a half months and mostly seemed to need more than I could give her. She is eating 2-3 small meals a day too. My other question is what to do about myself...I am getting engorged and have pumped only a little to relieve the pressure, is that right? and how long will this last?
Okay I think I am finally out of the woods - 9 days later! Thank you all for your words of wisdom and helpful tips. I tried hot compresses every night and wore my sports bra all the time, but it was still so painful. Finally on the eighth day I call a lactation specialist and she said it would be okay to pump a little. I did and what an instant relieve. I also got to go in a hot tub! which was a little slice of heaven! and really helped. Ever since I've been pain free and my boobs are finally getting back to "normal." Thank you all for your help.
L.
L.,
When I was engorged (yes, pretty dang painful) my obgyn told me instead of pumping or expressing (which will continue the flow of milk) to get into a warm shower to assist in pain management. That way you leak a little and the shower (gentle massage) feels so good! My son was only three months old so I would bring him into the bathroom with me and sit him in his bouncy chair while I was in the shower!!
Hi L.
I breastfed my daughter for 14 months. She started whole milk at one, so I would substitute that for breastmilk at breakfast, lunch and dinner. I nursed her for nap times, and bed. We finally got into a routine where shed wake in the morning I would give her a cup of whole milk, shed eat breakfast, then have a nap not long after that. She started to not nurse for that first nap beacuse she was full from her milk and breakfast, when shed wake from nap i gave her milk and lunch and same went for second nap, she was still pretty full so didint need to nurse. So gradually as you add another source of milk the weaning will just happen. You are going about it the best way I knew how and it worked like a charm, and was very easy and not too traumatic for her. If she wanted to nurse at night id do it, and eventually she just sipped waking for it. About yourself warm wash cloths in the shower seems to help. Just put some nursing pads on and leak away baby! Your body adjusts to the change pretty fast so youll be on your way to feeling better in no time. Good luck!
i just finished breastfeeding about a month and a half ago and you can't pump at all or milk will keep coing in so whne your sure you want to stop you have to not pump as well for me it took 2 weeks for my milk to completly dry up but th e pain was really only 3-4 days but they were painful..... good luck
You probably were making plenty of milk for her, and could continue on with breastfeeding if you wanted. Breast is the best choice, both for her and for you. She may be going through a stage where she wants to be at the breast more, which is normal if she is going through a growth spurt, teething, or just wants the physical closeness of being with mommy. If you are however burnt out from breastfeeding and no longer want to continue the nursing relationship you are going about it the correct way, by gradually weaning from the breast. Just try and make sure when you give her a bottle you are still giving her that physical closeness that all babies need!
As for yourself, the breast make milk on a supply demand schedule. It will take probably a week for the engorgement and discomfort to ease. A better idea than pumping is warm packs on the breast or a hot shower with gentle massage so that you are not actually stimulating the nipple which will in turn stimulate the breasts to make more milk.
I hope this helps!
S.
Hi L..
My son is almost 8 months and I stopped nursing at 6 months as well. He took to the bottle right away and never looked back so I don't have any advice in that department. However, I was very engorged and my Obgyn told me to keep a tight sports bra on. This will keep the milk from draining into your breasts. That helped so much and I had my body back within 2 weeks. Good luck!
Dear L., all I can really tell you is keep up the good work girl! I had 3 kids n 1 more on the way. All where breastfeed for 3-4 months and from what your telling me, everything that is happening is normal, not easy and very unconfortable, but normal. Your daughter is just so used to your breast that she will still want it, but your firm and shes taking the bottle along with eating food so dont worry, soon she wont care for your breasts. But unfortunatly your breasts are going to miss her, lol. They will keep making milk as they did for so long, and if you pump them, dont over do it. Its like this, as long as your getting the milk out- your breast will keep making them. Once a day or so maybe, but you have to get them used to NOT making milk! Cold cloths, cold showers, (hot showers if your tooo engorged sometimes is better than pumping too) but anything cold will help dry your breast out! Try to keep your nipples moist too, there is an ointment for them, only to prevent cracks, wich can really hurt too!
Stay strong though mama, and remember, things will get better! But your doing a very good thing and I just wish you and your family the best!
Hi L.,
I have a 6 month old son and I too recently weaned him off nursing and he is now happily taking a bottle and eating some solids as well (1st stage fruits, veggies, rice and barley cereal). What I have found to work when he starts fussing at nap time is rock him in the glider chair holding him close to my chest and put a binky in his mouth while rocking him to sleep. This may work because I hold him in the same position as when I nursed him.
As for me, I too got engorged but decided against pumping since this may cause you to produce more milk and prolong your ultimate goal, so I chose to do nothing and deal with the uncomfortable phase of it. It has been 2 1/2 weeks since I stopped nursing and I feel fine, a few days were painful but I wore a support bra and did not let anyone hug me, ouch!!
Everyone is different so you may want to ask your doctor or Pediatrician as well. Good luck to you!
engorgement is hard, but it only lasts a couple days.. put on a really tight bra and don't take it off! you can express a little, but it will make the process go on a little longer.. but do what feels comfortable for you.
Do you have access to a good lactation consultant? I have seen many, and the best advice I've ever seen is to wean GRADUALLY, dropping one feeding per week. So, if you are feeding her through nursing 6 times a day, go down to five (skipping one morning feeding by replacing it with a bottle), etc. The whole process takes lots of time--careful not to get a breast infection if you go too fast! Good luck--and you should feel great about how much you have nursed!
I just read some of the other responses and I agree with the one that says you might want to reconsider weaning for awhile longer--it it so good for the baby, as you know. You are probably making enough, should you want to continue. Don't get discouraged if that is what you want!
When I weaned my son I did what my pedi told me to do (cold turkey, and with it being my first experience breastfeeding, I didn't know any better) which turned out to be a big mistake. I was so engorged. Once I put in a call to my lactation consultant she told me what to do. If you aren't breastfeeding at all, which that's what it sounds like, then you should pump to relieve the pressure until you are comfortable. Don't pump too much. Remember the more you pump the more you are going to produce. Your supply should go down without any problems.
It sounds like you are doing the right thing to wean your daughter. Engorgement will happen. I would say not to pump because that is going to help you produce more milk. Hot compresses to the sore areas works. Talk to your OB/GYN or lactation person about it. He/She may have ideas too.
You can't keep pumping to relieve yourself because that will only make you produce more milk. I think I weaned over such a long period of time that I my milk just stopped producing. I never got engorged. I wouldn't shut her off completely. If you went from say 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 bottles a day. If she was nursing 4-6 times then I would get her to do as many of those feeding gradually from a bottle, not just in one day (even if she is taking it). I would increase the bottle in 3 or 4 day periods. I think this would give your body the most time to adjust and realize that it doesn't need to keep producing milk.
Hope this helps!
Maybe only nurse her at nap & bed times?
i personnally think you are doing just fine. I breasfed my daughter until she was 10 months old, she never drank from a bottle but i weaned her to a sippy cup the same way. She had a harder time with it though it sounds like. She would throw tantrums and i would have to leave the room and let my husband comfort she just didnt want me unless i was nursing her. But it only lasted about a week and she was fine. If you keep pumping you will kept producing milk. I just suffered through the horrible pain for 3 days and my breasts were back to normal (well somewhat normal).
