Has Anyone Found a Less Painful Way to Wean from Breastfeeding?

T. - I have 5 children who all breast fed and I think that the engorgement pain is worse than any labor & delivery pain. I used cabbage leaves and ice packs and "bound" my breasts with ace bandages. All of the other advice is great - the less you pump, the less you produce. Also limit liquid intake. I took pain meds - Norco or Vicodin to get through the 2 or 3 days of horrible pain, but short of that, there is nothing else you can do. One of the many joys of motherhood! :)

I personally did the cabbage leaves after having my triplets and it worked like a miracle...the nurses at the hospital told me about this....Instead of buying the whole cabbage I went and peeled off the first couple of leaves off of many cabbages...(this is what the nurse told me to do..) I put a leaf on each breast while wearing a bra and when it got a little soft/soggy I replaced it with the ones I kept in the fridge.....It really really works!!

C.

T., It works to your favor if you are pumping. If you traditionally pump 8 oz at each pumping, drop your pumping amt. by an oz or two each time, start with one pumping and move up to all three pumpings being 2 oz less. When feeding baby, they usually dont let go until they are done, pumping makes this process much easier.

While I am a grandmother, I weaned my first at 6 months, and my second one stopped cold turkey at 3 months. I started by eliminating one feeding per day, for a week. Not the first in the morning or the last at night, in this way, your breast stops producing as much as the demand diminishes. The next week, you eliminate another feeding. The last one is the one in the morning. You may get an ache or pain, but nothing like when it happens cold turkey. The idea is to do it slowly so your breasts can adjust.
S. g

I lived with cabbage leaves on my breasts. What you do is buy a cabbage at the store and store it in the refrigerator. Then,every few hours, place one inside your bra so it is covering your whole breast. It works!! I had gotten the idea from a few hospital nurses and a breastfeeding class I had taken at the hospital. It really helped ease the pain and the swelling.

I dried up really easily when my kids started eating solids, so I never experienced any pain. If you're still pumping, I would just try to pump less each time you pump, and eventually cut out the times you pump, so cut down from three to two one week, and the next week down to one - I think it will naturally just happen, especially if you're not nursing anymore. I would also suggest drinking less water - I know I had decreased my water intake, because I wasn't as worried about my supply anymore, and my milk supply seemed to decrease quite a bit. Don't dehydrate yourself, but don't chug water all day either. Decreasing calorie intake can help too. Anytime I started trying to lose weight while nursing by watching what I was eating, my milk supply dropped. Hope this helps! Good luck!

Blessings,
K. B.

T.:

there are not actually meds that you can take to "dry up"... they have been banned due to the serious side effects.

so, as you "wean" if you are full and uncomfortable .. pump to comfort. sage tea or tincture will help.

P.,RLC, IBCLC, CST
Breastfeeding and Parenting Solutions

T.,

I would gradually reduce to pumping 2 times than 1 time a day. I nursed at least 1 time a day until my son was 9 months old. I remember " he told me" when he was done, he wasn't getting enough. But if you are going to stop... she will do fine. YOu may have some discomfort from engorgement the first few days, but I remember mine just stopping. I don't think you need medicine, if you stop "demanding the milk" Your body will gradually stop making it. I do not think I went back to a normal monthly cycle until he was 18 months old. So be careful if you are not on birthcontrol.

I did exclusive pumping and when it was time to stop, this is how I did it.

I pumped just to comfort and then stopped. Next, I would wait as long as I possible could before pumping again. The first day I think it was about 10 hours. When it was so sore I couldn't stand it, I would pump again just to comfort (maybe 5 minutes total). I just kept increasing the intervals between pumpings to where it was a day, then two days, then three, then I just stopped. It took about two weeks and quite honestly, wasn't all that bad.

You need to send the signal from your breasts to your brain that prolactin is no longer needed. And, as you know, breastfeeding is all about supply and demand. No demand = no supply!

I don't know about weaning because my son went straight to whatever I gave him... but as far as the drying up... #1 you have to stop pumping #2 Buy yourself a sports bra that is a size or two too small #3 over the sports bra, bind your breasts as tightly as you can stand it with an ace bandage. The prurpose to not stimulate them in any way. don't forget the no leak pads. When you shower, turn your back to the water and don't let them be stimulated. It takes about two to three weeks, but that is how I dried myself up without medication! Hope that my suggestion helps.