HellWeaning off breast feeding

[anitapatsy2]

think I've messed up stopping bfing and need some advice. I thought it was ok to just stop after ebf and so did that yesterday only too find I now have very painful and lumpy breasts. I stopped because of constant feeding by 3 mth old, cracked nipples and pressure from family but now think I've made a mistake to do that. will the lumpy painful breasts ease all by itself or should I still do some bfing? Can I mix feed or go back to ebf after a day of formula feeding? I'm so confused. I've expressed once today to relieve the soreness which helped. Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks.

I think the advice is to drop a feed at a time over a longer period of time rather than to stop suddenly. This should help prevent the possibility of things like mastitis - but you can ease painful lumpy breasts by expressing a little off, some people swear by cabbage leaves , but I've never tried that.
You say it is only one day since you last bf your LO and don't sound entirely sure about your decision. I am sure that you could go back to breastfeeding or mix feed if you want. It sounds like you have had a rough ride with the start of bf and I wonder if someone has checked your baby's latch as that is often what causes pain and cracked nipples - maybe if you decide to give bf another go you could find a bf group near you - I found our local one great when I was struggling with bf my baby at the beginning - I was able to chat through how I felt and get some tips- I also had a baby who fed pretty much constantly and sore nipples - and was getting lots of comments about how FF would be better for us from friends , I knew that something wasn't quite right in his positioning (he is baby no 4) and it turned out he had a tongue tie - things got much easier when it was snipped.
Whatever you decide to do about feeding - enjoy your baby

Thanks for the advice. Dd had a bf last night and we are back bfing today. Will take your advice to find a support group locally. Thanks again

anita "constant feeding" as you describe it, together with cracked nipples, sounds like something wrong with the latch. This could be rectified by positioning, or it may be something else going on such as tongue tie. How is your baby's weight gain?

What pressures are you getting from your family?

How do YOU feel about BFing? What's your aim? Assuming you can resolve the cracked nipple problem and look at the length of time you're feeding for, would you want to carry on? If these things were resolved would your family be more supportive, or are they not pro-BFing generally?

Certainly a good idea to find a local group, but keep posting here for lots of support and advice. Also you could try phoning the NCT breastfeeding support line on 0300 330 0771 from tomorrow morning who will give you some good advice as well. Those guys know what they're talking about :).