Need to stop BF but mastitis and DD are determined to thwart me... (long as I am desperate).

[artichokes]

I am going on a 7 day business trip 3 weeks today. I need to have stopped BF by then. I can't pump while I am away as pumping never worked for me.

DD is 13 months and loves the boob. When I am working she is fine with 2 feeds a day but when I am around it is 5-6. I have been off for a few weeks and she has been ill so it has been 5-6 every day and my supply is up.

Last week I realised I hadn't much time before the trip so tried to get back to 2 feeds a day. She was not happy but for a few days we were on 3 feeds only. But then I got horrible mastitis. High fever, shivers, pain, really ill. Now on strong antibiotics. To clear blockage I went back to feeding DD whenever she wanted.

Now I am panicing. I have to stop. I cannot afford to get mastitis on the trip. How can I cut feeds from loads to none in 3 weeks without risking mastitis again?????

Please help. I have never felt so worried about anything since I had DD. I have had a lovely time BFing and do not want to end it on this sour note.

arti - how about hand expressing?

I don't think you can stop breastfeeding from 'loads' to 'none' without risking mastitis, sorry....you may be lucky, but you clearly have a propensity to it.

You can

• take dd with you???

• have dd brought to you once a day?

• put the trip off for a while?

• hand express when you are away?

• shorten the trip?

I am also thinking of your dd's feelings and your feelings...will either of you be happy away from each other for a whole week? This is a long time, especially as you have been so physically close with the bf. This is something over and above your practical question about breastfeeding. I think it's probably fair to say that most mums would not be happy about being apart from a baby of this age for that length of time....have you thought about this or has the practical stuff taken centre stage?

Thanks TikTok. Do you really not think it is possible to stop over 3 weeks? I have no choice but to go on this trip. I will miss DD awfully but her Dad will be off work and with her the whole time. The trip is to the US so there is no way that my DD can visit. We did discuss her and DH coming too but it would be expensive, involve a long flioght and jet lag. They wouldn't see me from 8am-11pm. It didn't seem practical.

I am not sure that any kind of expressing will work for me. At about 5 months my breasts stopped getting engorged and although DD seems to get plenty of milk out of them they usually feel empty and I cannot get a drop.

I have never had mastitis or a blocked duct for the 13 months of BF. Then suddenly it happened as I start to cut down. Is that normal? If I did 3 feeds a day this week, 2 next week and 1 the week after then left do you think I would likely get it again? Would DD be traumatised?

Sorry - I know nobody has definite answers to these questions but any guidance would be sooooo appreciated.

Put cabbage leaves in your bra to reduce milk production. Here's one reference to using cabbage leaves -
forums.obgyn.net/ob-gyn-l/OBGYNL.9709/1367.html
Probably others if you google cabbage leaves and milk reduction or something along those lines.
Feed from the most engorged side until it feels better but not for a full feed.
Try to go as long as you can between feeds but give a small feed from from whichever breast starts to feel uncomfortable.
Eventually the milk production will drop off. Whether you could do it in 3 weeks depends on your body. It could dry up in a week - or not.
Have you spoken to your GP to see if you could be prescribed something to dry up your milk? That might be an option too if you don't fancy the above.

I went on a week away with work when DS was 14 months and managed with just manually expressing enough to relieve discomfort (which wasn't very much -- I've never been a good expresser either), then picked bf up again when I came back, and it was fine. I didn't have any mastitis issues, though (DS was feeding 2-3 times a day when I was at work and 3-4 times at weekends). So if you don't want to stop BF altogether this needn't be the end of it. That doesn't help you with your central issue, sorry, but just another perspective.