Yes, the breastmilk is still on me, is it normal?

[TheBreastmilksOnMe]

I gradually stopped bfing my dd who is now 26mths old and she hasn't fed for around 5mths now.

Out of curiosity I gave my nipples a squeeze the other day to see if I still had milk and to my suprise I have.

I was wondering if this was normal, I expected it to have all dried up? Prior to stopping I had bf non-stop for 4yrs and all through a pregnancy so maybe it's going to take time?

TIA

I think this is normal, I could get some out for ages after I stopped.

It may take a long time. You've been lactating for years. I wouldn't be surprised if you could still encourage some milk out after a year or more.

So long as you're comfortable it's nothing to worry about

I could still get drops of milk for years after I stopped bf dd1. I'm now bf dd2 and wondering if the same will happen again!

not odd, I could for two years

Years for me too - normal

That's reassuring to know thanks guys! Maybe we never stop lactating?

Looks like I'll be keeping my moniker for at least another 2yrs then!

One of the amazing things about breastfeeding is that we could all re-lactate if we needed to. Once you have done it once the ability is always there. Amazing.

so amazing I said it twice

TheBreastmilksOnMe
TheBreastmilksstillOnMe
TheBreastmilksNoNotQuiteFinishedYet

Years for me too

Lol Humph I didn't know that, so after it all dries up (eventually) I could re-lactate not necessarily through pregnancy but by stimulation of the nipples? That is amazing!

Once you have bf, your ability to produce milk never completely vanishes. It just takes physical stimulation to kick start things again. In some cultures it's not unusual for grandmothers to bf their grandchildren if something happens to the mother. And a LLLI leader once told me she went for a mammogram in her late 50's decades after she last bf, and the radiologist showed her the milk still in the ducts on the X-ray. Amazing stuff.

Inspired by this thread, I just squeezed. DD is 11. She stopped when she was 3.5. I got a drop in each boob.

WTAF?

It's unfortunate that people don't generally know just how resilient their ability to produce milk generally is especially after bf for a year or do. A lot of older babies stop nursing maybe during a strike or whatever and the mother assumes that because she has not nursed for a week or so, her 'supply' is gone. Not so. Usually the mother can produce milk just fine - it's getting a distracted baby to nurse that is the real issue.

Love the fact my thread is inspiring people to squeeze. :-)

I bizarre - today I was just wondering if there was suddenly a shortage of food if mothers could re-start bfing their children again as a way to keep them from going hungry. And it looks like they could!! I guess it must be evolutions way of making sure children never go hungry. Or something like that.