Want to stop but too painful!

[hayesgirl]

I have 6wo twins who I have been feeding expressed breast milk. Over the last few weeks I have been combination feeding them with formula and I have tried to stop expressing so much.

My breasts obviously get very painful but I had hoped that if I left it longer between pumps so that I am pumping less and less often each day, after a few days the soreness and fullness would wear off, I would produce less and less milk and then stop pumping altogether.

Problem is that I think I have blocked milk ducts in my left breast and I have read that to prevent them becoming infected I need to pump more often to clear them out and to prevent it happening again I need to make sure I fully empty the breast each feed!

I just don't know what to do! My babies have started taking 6 bottles per day instead of 8 but I have been expressing about 5 times per day. Do I need to pump the same amount of times but not pump as much and gradually decrees the amount I pump and the amount of times I pump? What if i just stop cold turkey?

I really need to stop this soon because it is just too tiring and too difficult to fit in the expressing sessions!

Can you get to the doctor? I went cold turkey with DS and stopped when he was still on two feeds a day (at 27 months).
Friends suggested cold cabbage leaves stuffed in my bra, but personally they didn't help. I was more successful with massage and a tiny bit of hand expression in a hot shower and a couple of days of anti inflammatories which my GP prescribed.

Can you get to the doctor? I went cold turkey with DS and stopped when he was still on two feeds a day (at 27 months).
Friends suggested cold cabbage leaves stuffed in my bra, but personally they didn't help. I was more successful with massage and a tiny bit of hand expression in a hot shower and a couple of days of anti inflammatories which my GP prescribed.

But congratulations for making it this far!

I would cut down v slowly reducing the amount you pump at one feed at a time until you can stop then move on to the next feed when your comfortable after dropping the first 1. It can take a couple of weeks to stop 1 feed. Any extra milk can go in the freezer until the have a growth spurt.

Thanks. With my oldest I breastfed but my supply never really got that good so when I stopped I didn't have the issues I am having now, I dried up pretty quickly and only had a day of discomfort. My supply is much more established this time - guess I will just have to keep it up for longer than intended!

If you are really struggling then I would suggest a trip to the doctor. I believe that there are drugs they can give you to help dry up your milk, though they may not be compatible with continuing to use the milk, but the dr could talk to you more about this.

Otherwise find a local breaastfeeding support group? Everyone stops feeding eventually so they can probably offer practical advice and support.

I'm pretty sure they don't prescribe those drugs any more except, eg, in cases of stillbirth, though - they apparently have nasty side effects.

Fair enough I was just wondering if the OP was suffering with persistent blocked ducts etc in due course whether a dr may be able to give something to help.

You live and learn eh?!

I think I have sorted out the blocked ducts, thank god! Just hope that they don't come back again while I'm trying to wean myself off expressing. I'll just have to take it a bit slower I think.