Weening off Breastmilk

My lactation consultant told me to cut out a feeding every three days. I did that and didn't have any pain or leaking. Good luck!!

Hi there,

It has been a while since I did this, but as I recall, I found it more comfortable to pump just a little bit, but at the usual times. It eases the discomfort and the body responds to the lack of demand by not producing so much. As I recall it was a fairly quick process. Good luck!

Hello!
At 9 months old my son got an ear infection and stopped breastfeeding all together so i had to stop cold turkey too. I just did not have time to pump every few hours. It hurt ALOT to stop cold turkey. I would say when you pump to express smaller amounts each time to lessen your supply until you are hardly pumping anymore. After you stop it might take about a month for it to completely stop. I know it sounds annoying, but its life i guess. Good luck!!

Hey S., I'm also in the process of weaning right now. I'm giving my daughter one formula bottle in the morning and one in the evening. I'm adding one bottle on every week until she's weaned. So next week it will be three bottles and so on until my milk dries up. I used this same process with my son. I found that my breasts adjusted very quickly to the new amount of milk required. They felt extra full the first day of the week and are already adjusted on day two. So I think if you want to be done soon you could space it out over a week and each day pump less milk. Do 6 oz out of each breast morning and night for two days. Then do 4 oz each for two days and so on. Cutting down this fast will make your breasts full but they will not be painful. YOu will probably have some leaking, so if you are working, which it sounds like you are, you might want to pump an extra ounce in the morning. I would not stop cold turkey, b/c that would be very painful. I have also heard about the cabbage but have never tried it.
If you change your mind during the process you can always bring your milk back by pumping or nursing. Breast milk is supply and demand. Good Luck!

Hi S.,

My suggestion for weaning from the pump would be to cut 5 minutes from each pumping session, then wait a few days for your supply to adjust and you're not feeling engorged anymore, then cut another 5 minutes from each pumping session. Keep doing that every few days until you are down to 5 minutes for a few days and then simply stop. Good luck.

My acupuncturist told me just yesterday that it is good to continue pumping for a month while you gradually decrease the quantity you express. When you stop cold turkey it can be a shock to the milk ducts, so best to do it gradually.

Yep, the cabbage works. I don't remember why. I think you're supposed to put it in the fridge first.

The cabbage is nice because it both feels cool on the skin and acts like an astringent. I think the best thing to do is shower using Dr Bonner's Peppermint soap all over your body, especially on your breasts. It will dry up your milk supply really quickly. Good Luck!

S.,

please let me know what people say. i have a 6 month old and decided that as of yesterday i was going cold turkey and not breastfeed him anymore (my doctor said that i could do that since he has had bottles before). so now we are starting him on similac formula.

HOWEVER, last night i was in so much pain because my breasts were so filled with milk. so i decided to breastfed him only this weekend and only in the early mornings until i can get a hold of my doctor to ask how to do it. do you pump and dump? i'm not sure either.

nikki

Hi S.,

I read one of the posts that said that hot water isn't good because it lets your milk down, but I remember the lactation consultant at the hospital telling the mothers who weren't breastfeeding that they could take hot showers to relieve the pressure of milk buildup, just not to stimulate their nipples, because that is what would encourage milk production. I'm not sure which information is correct...If I take a shower when I'm engorged, it certainly does let down milk, and I feel terrible that it's wasted!

Check out the kellymom site for similar tips already posted...http://www.kellymom.com/bf/weaning/weaning-from-pump.html

I hope that you're giving him all that you're pumping in addition to the formula...no sense in letting that liquid gold go to waste!

Good luck!

As far as the pain is concerned...if you got through childbirth, you can get through this. The pain only lasts a few days. I stopped cold turkey. Wear a strong and tighter bra (with nursing pads of course)and don't face the warm water in the shower. The pain will only last a few days, but the milk will be there awhile (couple weeks). Really, I didn't do much more than that and it was fine.

If you really feel you need to quit with the breastmilk - try eating dried sage a few times a day. It decreases milk supply.

It's amazing that you get so much milk per session! I have a 6-mos old and am soon to stop breast-feeding as 6-mos was my goal. But since I've been supplementing with formula I am now down to nursing morning & evening, and pumping 2x/day (getting only 5oz total from that). I've been gradually decreasing the pumping/nursing over time and have incurred little pain. Given how much milk you're producing, I'd really allow yourself a month to wind down.

The cold cabbage leaves was recommended to me as a aide for nipple soreness, not milk supply.

Hi...Congrats on breastfeeding for this long. It is tough. I pumped for 6 months for my twins and it gets exhausting. WHen I began to wean myself from pumping I spoke to my ped. about it. I was also pumping 2 times a day like you. He said skip the second pumping of the day every other day. So one day you would pump2 times the next 1, the next 2 and so on. Do this for 4-6 days (depending on how your breasts feel)
Then move to once a day and then do every other until you choose to stop. I would say it took 2-2.5 weeks to stop. Hope this works for you and good luck.

Hi S., I don't know about cabbage but you will want to put ice packs or some say bags of frozen veggies (softer) on your breasts. If you find it too painful you can express the breastmilk and give it to baby. Try to get down to once a day over a period of time if you can. Sadly, nothing about motherhood or even life is totally painless. Best wishes, Grandma Mary

I think you are supposed to pump in decreasing amounts. Then you'll hopefully get to the point where you're only pumping to take the edge off, relieve the fullness, ie, just pumping a little bit. Then you'll be able to stop. I wouldn't do it cold turkey though--you could get mastitis, which would be awful. Good luck.

When I went from breast feeding to formula, I weaned down with the pump. I pumped 3 times a day, to 2 times a day, then once a day, then I stopped. I wore a tight sports bra to bind them down a little, and it took about 2 weeks to go down. You will be sore, and I heard of the cabbage thing, but I didn't want to stink and the thought of that was weird to me. When you shower, try not to have the hot water hit you directly on you boobs, it will cause your milk to let down. It just takes time, good luck!!!