How can I stop BF painlessly??

[sryan]

For variety of reasons I've decided i want to stop breastfeeding, but I'm terrified of the horrendous pain that comes when your milk dries up! Can anyone give me advice of how best to start! Thanks (a desperate fed up mum!!)

horrendous pain? I never had any pain at all.

How long have you been feeding for?

I cut out one feed then after a few day another, then few mote days another. Til I was left with morning and nightime, then cut out morning so just doing one per day then cut that out. No pain, no leaking. Done over the course if about a month though.

I think the general rule of thumb is to cut out one feed a week.

Hope things work out.

sryan - can you share more of your story?

Stopping breastfeeding does not mean 'horrendous pain - where's that idea from??? Eeek.

I don't know of any pain either - do you mean engorgement, when your breasts get rock hard, that can be quite painful? To avoid this it's best to drop feeds slowly - replace one feed with a bottle each week, or something like that. Or if your baby is older it might be possible to phase it out as she begins taking more solids.

Plus if you do get engorged, hand express a tiny bit just to relieve the soreness, but don't express all the milk you can get out, as this will signal to your body to produce more.

It's not a good idea to stop very suddenly anyway if you can help it as if you stay engorged for a while it can lead to mastitis.