I stopped nursing a week ago today and it went fine. Paisley took really well to her sippy cups (still hates bottles) and will drink my thawed breastmilk wonderfully from them. She doesn't even try to nurse on me anymore and didn't seem to miss it much. And my nipples are no longer in the path of danger from her teeth!
My ta-tas were a bit sore and swollen, but after 3-4 days I thought weaning was about to be a breeze. Until day 5 hit, and they got even more engorged and painful. I've been taking high-dose ibuprofen for the past 2 days and wrapping them up tight in a sports bra that wouldn't fit a 5th grader and icing them down until Aaron worried I'd given them frostbite. (They were very purple and ice cold afterwards...)
Today I just couldn't take it anymore. My breasts are HUGE, painful and lumpy. It hurts when Paisley even grazes them. So I dug the pump out of the closet where I hid it so that I couldn't easily hook up to it during a weak moment. But just like a crack addict going through withdrawal, I was willing to do anything to feel better.
After pumping 5 ounces, I forced myself to stop even though I wanted nothing more than to drain them! They feel tolerable again which is nice. So I don't know what my plan is now. I probably have enough breastmilk already to keep her on it until she's 1, especially since her pediatrician has us doing whole milk too. I could donate again to the milk bank.
Really, I don't care if I have to pump until she's 10 as long as I don't have to suffer through that again!!!
My ta-tas were a bit sore and swollen, but after 3-4 days I thought weaning was about to be a breeze. Until day 5 hit, and they got even more engorged and painful. I've been taking high-dose ibuprofen for the past 2 days and wrapping them up tight in a sports bra that wouldn't fit a 5th grader and icing them down until Aaron worried I'd given them frostbite. (They were very purple and ice cold afterwards...)
Today I just couldn't take it anymore. My breasts are HUGE, painful and lumpy. It hurts when Paisley even grazes them. So I dug the pump out of the closet where I hid it so that I couldn't easily hook up to it during a weak moment. But just like a crack addict going through withdrawal, I was willing to do anything to feel better.
After pumping 5 ounces, I forced myself to stop even though I wanted nothing more than to drain them! They feel tolerable again which is nice. So I don't know what my plan is now. I probably have enough breastmilk already to keep her on it until she's 1, especially since her pediatrician has us doing whole milk too. I could donate again to the milk bank.
Really, I don't care if I have to pump until she's 10 as long as I don't have to suffer through that again!!!
Have you tried taking an over the counter decongestant? That may help.
ReplyDeleteWhen I quit nursing/pumping my strategy was to go as long as I could, then pump just enough off to make them bearable agian. You did much better than me. It took me over 2 weeks to finally stop. But I couldnt take the pain. At first I went down to pump/nurse 3 times a day. Then after a few days it was 2 times. Then it was once a day, then every other day. Then I went a few days nothing....and then i had to relieve the pressure. I found that a hot shower and hand expressing some of it help get me through the last couple days - eventually after 2.5 weeks (ish) I was able to no longer pump.
ReplyDeleteGood luck. Be patient. Don't suffer. Just try to go as long as possible before you have to pump. And try and just pump off enough to make things bearable agian. If you can get by with it, just hand express a little in the shower every night. Help reduce the pressure without pumping.
Good luck!
I'm having flashbacks to when my milk first came in - so engorged and painful. Going cold turkey sounds really awful, but maybe if you just pump enough to take the edge off every day or two your body will get the message and stop producing so much milk. Good luck. This doesn't sound fun!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds incredibly painful friend! I didn't really experience that when I weaned E but I think it was because my milk supply had already decreased pretty substantially. I weaned down to feeding her once a day and did that for over a week. When I stopped, my body adjusted pretty easily. I guess I should count myself lucky. Hope your's adjusts quickly. The pay-off is your free...your body is your own again (kind of). :)
ReplyDeleteI second the decongestant. Benadryl really worked well for me in assisting drying up quickly!
ReplyDeleteOh man, I am not looking forward to any of that!! I pray that things will dry up quickly and rather painlessly. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI hope things are getting better by now - I got behind on my commenting because of the move! I am reading all this advice to you in case I need it in the future:). Let us know what works - the benadryl trick sounds promising!
ReplyDeleteI've heard stopping cold turkey is the worst. When I weaned Emma, I just did it gradually and I dried up with no pain or engorgement. Granted I was pregnant with Corbin, which also drastically reduced my milk supply! Probably be a whole new ball game with him, especially since I'm a super producer for him. Mainly because he weighs around 20# at 5 months old!! He's an eater!
ReplyDelete