Stoping Pumping

I went through the same thing. I did it gradually. So I started by streching the time at first and then working towards eliminating all together. You'll probably need to pump in the morning before you go to work, and try to strech by 30 minutes at first then 45 and so on. That's how I did it and worked great. good luck

Dont laugh but cabbage leaves. I am a mom of 4 and every time I stopped i used cabbage leaves. Keep in the fridge and use them at night. I slept with them in my bra and it helped to reduce swelling and pain and to stop the milk from flowing

You don't mention how much/how often you're pumping now. Stopping cold is not the best idea. You'll need to start by pumping less at each session and leave a little more time between each session.

You don't mention why it's too much. Will you quit nursing completely? Will the baby take formula? If you're pumping twice a day would it be more doable if you cut back to just once a day during your lunch break? Nursing my children was the most rewarding experience of my life. I'd like to encourage you to talk with your HR person to try to make it less troublesome. I'm not in your shoes and I hope this doesn't seem judgmental in any way, I'm hoping you take this as being supportive of the choice you made for your child.

Hope this helps.

Wrap your breasts in Cabbage leaves (Green/white cabbage not red). It worked for me. I would start the cabbage leaves after two weeks of diminishing and then use them for however long you need them for. Change them aevery two hours or so....when they become warm. Keep the cabbage in the fridge. If doing this at work is too difficult. Plan to start the cabbage on a Friday night. Also...DON'T stop suddenly. It will take about 2-3 weeks of supplementing formula and pumping less. Once you're towards the end...the supply will have dimished greatly. Only hand express in the shower when you feel pain and not too long...a minute or two for a few days. Eventually the pain will go away and the milk will stop (or atleast it will stop leaking....if you want it back it will come back for up to a month later if you want it to and should change your mind). Best of luck.

My twins were in the NICU for 3 weeks so I pumped from the beginning and then continued until they were 10 weeks since they never latched on. I was using a hsopital pump, too, so my scenario may be a bit different (more intensive) than yours. It was very difficult for me to stop pumping but, basically, what I did was elimate one pump session every 3-4 days (i.e., went from 10x/day to 9x/day and so on) until I got down to 2-3x/day and then I decreased the time I pumped (i.e., 30 minutes to 20 minutes to 10, etc). I got a number of clogged ducts (but not mastitis-TG!) along the way and often threw myself in the shower to give myself a hot water massage. Getting rid of the last (before bedtime) pump was the hardest and after I did I wore ice packs around for a day or two which helped a lot! Then about a week after stopping altogether I got another clog and put the ice packs back in for the day. I am now almost 4 weeks out and feeling 100% back to normal - phew! Good luck. I think there is a fine line between engorgement + clogged ducts and mastitis, too, so beware of any fever, chills, achiness, etc. It is painful, believe me, especially at the very end but you'll get through it.

I just went back to work last month. I am no longer nursing or pumping. It took about two weeks, but what I did to minimize the pain was I stopped the actual breastfeeding all together, but I still pumped only when my breasts were really full (every 3 - 4 hours, then 5 - 6 hours). After about a week, I was pumping maybe twice in 24 hours. Then I stopped completely. There was pain for a day or so, but that was it. I hope this helps. Good luck!

When I nursed my four children, I always stopped gradually. Sometimes, even cut the pumping time in half for 3 days before stopping that meal altogether.

Good luck, and congratulations for doing so much for your baby's health!

D.

Try to do it less & less each day instead of cold turkey. This way you will experience hardly any pain. GL!

Dear W., depending on your baby (will he/she accept formula)first? You could always supplement with formula and breastfeed only while you are around, say...mornings, evenings, and weekends. You will only produce what is needed for the baby. It may be a little painful for only a couple of days while your supply regulates. Good luck!
S.

Try cutting back on number of times you pump and also amount you pump. You could do as little as makes you feel comfortable, this is only pump when you get uncomfortable and take out enough to feel comfortable. If you still nurse when you get home, it is possible to completely wien your body from producing much milk during the day and still nurse at night when you get home. I was able to nurse only at night for several months with little or no discomfort during the day. Good Luck

Hi W.. That is great that you pumped! I am not sure how often you pump but when I stopped my rule of thumb was generally to stop one feeding / pumping every 5-7 days. You should just take your body's lead and see how you feel. Maybe you won't need as many days. If your breasts don't hurt and don't seem full you can try cutting out another session. Good luck!

Hi, I didn't pump but when I was done breast feeding my OBGYN told me to put frozen cabbage leaves on my boobs. It is gross but it works. You change the leaves when they are no longer frozen and in about 2 days your milk will be dried up. You'll have a stinky cabbage house but it works.

First of all, how old is your child? How long have you been back to work pumping? If your child is under 1 or 2 years old, s/he is benefitting HUGELY from the milk s/he receives, and hormonally YOU are benefitting from producing the milk for her/him. Try to find the strength to keep up with the pumping. If you give it more time it may begin to feel like part of the routine of your work day. It can be overwhelming to give so much to another in need, indeed. Remember that your child will be in your life forever. Jobs come and go and are second to the needs of our children.

buy fresh mint, chop it and make yourself hot tea..the hotter the better to get out all from the mint...within 3 days you'll be done..just did it for the 3rd time in 3 years..might take a few more days depending on your supply....drink as much as you can every day..it's the best.

If you just delay more between pumpings and don't pump
fully it will start depleating your supply. Your body makes
what it thinks you need. Eventually it will diminish. I never had to wrap myself to stop. I did get mastitis (sp) but before I was going to wean him.

Thought that might work:
The supply also seems to run on the baby's schedule so you can change that by pumping at times that are convenient for you and putting it into a bottle for later use if you want to
continue but not as much during the day.

My experience was this still allowed me to give the baby the benefits but not consume your schedule. Mixing both formula with my milk gave him and me the opportunity to be flexable.

Good Luck

i stopped pumping recently with my 2nd child. i just lengthened the time between pumping and didn't drink as much water. in stead of pumping twice at work i dropped to once, then not at all. It took less than a week. everyone is a little different. some dry up qiucker than others. good luck. I heard abnout the cabbage leaves too. I never tried it but girls i work with swear by it.

The only way you're going to be able to stop without pain is gradually. Pump off less everytime and stretch your time out to if your doing it every three hours go 4 and just pump off smaller amounts everytime. The other thing you might try is just nursing when you are home. Alot of people have success with it. If you work during the day just nurse in the morning and when you come home and formula feed when your away. The milk will still be there that way the baby will still be getting the benefits of the breastfeeding. Its your choice either way any amount of time you can breastfeed is awesome but just know you do have that choice.

I agree with pposters....reduce the number of times you are pumping and the amount of time. If you go to kellymom.com and search weaning it will help you figure out a good schedule to avoid infections and discomfort.

In order to stop pumping, I had to step down a little at a time. Choose one pumping at a time to elminate. Each time you pump, pump enough to make yourself comfortable. Your body will automatically reduce the amount of breastmilk that it makes making it easier to stop pumping entirely. After a week(sometimes two), you should not need to pump that particular time. Please do the process gradually. If you don't, you will become engorged or get an infection.

Good luck.

pump less and less each time .. your body will respond by not filling you will milk as quickly and at that time a day. Just enough to give relief.

eventually that feeding 'pumping time" will not be there.
for me that took about 5 days to work out.

cc

You don't say how old your baby is. If you have been nursing since birth exclusively, you probably do not want to introduce formula (it smells GROSS) and you will be introducing your baby to a variety of foreign materials into his immature stomach. If you or anyone in your families, have any history of allergies/sensitivities, you can set yourself up for additional problems. Like previous replies have said, many babies & moms can adjust to mom only nursing when she is home. My family and my husband's have a variety of allergies, and so far (knock on wood) my kids have not! I contacted La Leche League and was able to continue nursing when I came home. I found the women very understanding and HELPFUL. I hope you have as much success as I did! :)

W.,

I would try to stop gradually cutting out 1 feeding/pumping every 3 days or so. That way your body can catch up and you shouldn't have any pain. Good Luck!

C.
Mommy to Jessie (9), Katie (7) and Julia (2 ½)
www.TimetoChangetheDiapers.com
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Having the right pump could make it much easier. I had to go back to work shortly after my second son was born. We were doing very well with nursing and didn't plan to stop. I was fortunate in that I already had a private office so I just had to arrange twice per day (and eventually once) that I could lock the door and set up. The Medela pump-in-style is a double pump so it did not take as long and really wasn't much trouble at all...once you got it started you basically were hands free and could use the phone, read or nearly anything else. You may want to see how that would work before making the investment in the pump (they are pricey - although you may be able to get one on Ebay). Your local hospital may have them available for rent or check with a local LaLeche Group. My son wouldn't take a bottle even if it had breast milk in it so he started drinking from a cup at my Mom's when he was less than 3 months old. On the days I wasn't working I didn't have to pump. Before you totally give up on the idea of pumping/continuing to nurse you may also want to check how your child does with formula. There are often allergies or sensitivities to it may take time to find the right one (don't worry - there are plenty to choose from). You will need to do that when you wean off anyway by using bottle feedings in place of nursing...so you don't have pain from engorgement you want to ease off a feeding at a time. I would start during the day when you would have to pump at work but continue to nurse after getting home. Then maybe stop the morning, eventually getting down to just nursing at bedtime or during the night if your child still awakens during the night. Your milk supply will decrease accordingly. Have a stock of breast pads for your nursing bras on hand for leakage until you are finished weaning. Either way - best of luck. I'm sure you will choose what is right for you and your baby. I wasn't able to nurse my first son and had been very disappointed. Nursing my second was a truly wonderful experience for both of us. But, although it is a great thing to do, it is not always right for everyone. And, as you already did it for awhile you have already shared your immunities and many of the other important aspects with your child. A happy healthy baby needs a happy healthy Mom and if nursing is really stressing you too much that isn't good for either of you.

I pumped for the first four months (and had so much stored up my daughter got only breast milk for the first 6 months. I hear you with it getting to be too much. What I did, was I cut back on one pumping time every few days. I was pumping six times a day, then changed things around a bit so it was five times, then four ect. I just shifted my pumping times around. It really wasn't painful. Every once in a while I got a tinge of discomfort, but that went away in a matter of minutes.

I agree with the other postings....increasing your time between pumping will depleat your supply. All of my kids quit nursing cold turkey despite all of my weaning plans. I know this sounds crazy but try putting cold cabbage leaves in your bra. Amazingly, it does something to help dry the milk and relieves a bit of the pressure. Good luck!

Cut back slowly. Drop one pumping session at a time, perhaps every 3-5 days depending on how you're feeling. If you're engorged that don't drop the next pump until you are ready. Your response will be highly individual, but one major factor will be how far out you are in the postpartum period. If you are still in prime milk supply mode (months 1-6) than you may need to go slower at first. Pumping multiple times per day can be hard, but remember, you MAY be able to sustain some milk by pumping less often and then nursing in the a.m. and p.m. But you must do what is right for you.
Good Luck.

are you still nursing or just pumping? do it less frequently or nurse less frequently. if you are pumping twice at work, go down to once. your body will get the signal that the demand is less and cut down on the supply. i wouldn't go cold turkey. i had aspirations of pumping at work at lunch, but my daughter was losing interest in nursing for about a month before, so my supply was dwindling anyway. i must say, i'm not sorry i didn't have to do it. i thought i was going to do it for a year, but she cut it off at 8 months. i had enough frozen to get her to 9 months.

Hi W.-

I gradually extended the time period between pumpings. Not so much that I was in agony. I also would try to decrease the # of times I pumped every few days. It will probably take a few weeks but it shouldn't be painful. Hope this helps!