Should I Be Worried??????????? - Tacoma,WA

I would say to treat it as if it was engorged. Massage with hot hot towels, take a shower with hot water and pump right after. Hopefully that helps!

Looks like you had mainly foremilk... which is what you were giving too much of to your son. Foremilk is good for dehydration and thirst quenching, not for actual nutrition like the hind milk which is very condensed nutrition. If you were constantly switching sides and your son was nursing for such a short session - no wonder his metabolism wasn't liking just the foremilk.

If your son has lactose issues and allergy issues - he will have worse symptoms with regular formula which is a foreign species protein, larger than the human and goat proteins and less likely to be metabolized well.

And yes, sounds like normal engorgement... you stop too quickly or less than a year and BOOM engorgement, clogged ducts all that good stuff. Mastitis is symptomatic with fever, chills, and flu like symptoms. Not simply engorgement which is diminished with pumping.

sounds like mastitis IF it's warm to the touch and hurts...

if not - then it's just the normal weaning process our body goes through!!

I'm sorry you are hurting!!!

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Weaning sucks. Oddly, cabbage leaves DO help. So does just "tapping" squeeze your nipple and just let it flow out, but don't pump or "express". Pumping and expressing stimulates more milk production. Relieve the pressure, by letting the excess drain off, but don't try to 'get more', if that makes sense.

IF YOU HAVE ANY FEVER, feel dizzy, nauseous, headache, flu like, ANY feeling of sickness OR your breast turns pink or red (all over, wedge shaped, stripe, or blotch) GO INTO YOUR DOCTOR immediately, or head over to urgent care. Mastitis is pretty easy to fix when caught early (just pills), but it can come on very suddenly, and it turns into a systemic infection very quickly. I felt a little off for a day or two and my right breast had pale blue liquid, and then bam. 104 fever, delusions/hallucinations, TURQUOISE milk, and nearly died. Massive dose of IV antibiotics and was read the riot act by my doctor for not coming in when I first felt off.

I wouldn't be worried at this point. Weaning is no joke! With my first I was really gradual with it so it was a little easier, but I still had some engorgement. With my second I stopped a bit more abruptly and was engorged. I would just pump a tiny bit and irregular intervals to relieve pressure and I dried out in a couple weeks or so. If you notice any red angry streaks or get a fever, get to the doctor for sure. Otherwise you can pump a little to relieve pressure, take hot showers, massage your breasts and wait it out. I have gone through dealing with engorgement both times when my milk came in and I even got a bad red streak once and still with everything I mentioned I got through it fine. I wish you the best, hang in there!!

You may have a blocked duct, or it could have become infected. Have you tried a warm washcloth/heating pad? that may help with pain and with a blocked duct. I would also take either tylenol or motrin if their is any swelling. Do you have a fever at all? If you do, or notice the pain has once again increased I would call your doctor for an earlier appt.

You might have a blockage or plugged ?? Can't remember what it's called, but it happened to me too. Dr.'s rememedy - very hot compresses on the breast. I would heat wet wash cloths or thin kitchen towels in the microwave, one after another (while one was on, I'd put another one in). I'd keep my breast wrapped for 10-15 minutes several times a day. You can try it, but just in case that's not what it is, I'd keep your appointment, unless it goes away and you don't think you need it.

Hi S.,
Don't be too worried. When you wean quickly, your breasts need some time to get the message that you're not breastfeeding anymore. It's very common for one breast to produce more than the other, so it might be that your left breast filled up faster and is now painfully engorged. Being warm to the touch is not necessarily a sign of mastitis, but letting your breasts get engorged can lead to mastitis if you're not careful. You can try cabbage leaves. Also continue to pump just enough to relieve the pressure, but don't empty your breasts entirely. In this way your breasts will (over time) get the message to stop making milk. And it was milk that you pumped out of your left breast. It looked watery because it was (it was the foremilk that someone else mentioned). You can feed it to your son if you want to!

I had an infected milk duct that caused the breast to be hot and swollen but it also had a red blotch on it. The treatment was ibuprofen to reduce pain and swelling and hot compresses multiple times a day to get the clogged duct to flow again. I did not need antibiotics with that treatment. I would start hot compresses and since you are not nursing anymore you can take ibuprofen or aspirin, whichever works better for your stomach. I believe Tylenol is not an anti-inflammatory so it will not reduce swelling but could reduce pain (does nothing for my pain). Good luck.