Stopping bf: is pain and lumpiness normal?

[AlbertaWildRose]

I stopped bf about 10 days ago. DS is 16 months, so by the end he was only feeding before bed and if he woke in the night. But I'm finding my right side (which was always more productive than the left) is quite sore and lumpy- so lumpy you can even see it. I've been trying to express just a little bit off the top to ease the pressure, but it doesn't really seem to be helping. Am I best to just leave it alone completely, or pump it til it's empty? I've been prone to blocked ducts and infections, so the fact that I'm still sore and lumpy after 10 days does make me a bit nervous. I'd love to hear other people's experiences!

Anyone?

Help, advice needed please!

I think it is normal to have some slight discomfort and some lumps and bumps but both times when I stopped it wasn't actually painful and I found it had eased off considerably a week or so after I had stopped. I would definitely recommend expressing a bit more off to relieve the pressure, you don't need to pump until it's empty, just until it stops hurting. I actually found that when I was stopping bf rather than using the pump to express I would just lie in a hot bath. I could usually get the let down reflex to kick in if the bath was really hot and I found that massaging the lumpy bits seemed to work to clear them and ease any discomfort.

I had this problem when I finished BF DC1. Was v painful and I went to the Dr as I thought it wasn't normal! He said that it was fine. I was doing about 1 or 2 feeds a day too by the end and my DC was about the same age as yours is. I left it for a week or so as I thought that expressing would make the problem worse, but found that it eased a lot when I had a warm bath with warm flannels on my boobs and just relieved the pressure (like NellyTheElephant has suggested). After doing that once, the pain was gone and boobs normal again (though not quite back to pre-pregnancy pertness . Strangely enough, I had no problems after finishing feeding DC2 even though the circumstances were exactly the same. Was expecting it to be really painful again.

Thanks for your replies. I expressed more this morning and am feeling much less sore, so hopefully it's just a matter of time!

when I gave up BFing my DS (admittedly at a much younger age than yours) I was expressing a little (2-3 ozs) whenever I fel really engorged. I think it took just over a week for things to settle down.

You can use some savoy cabbage leaves for relief from the engorgement in the meantime. Spounds icky, but they really do work. Keep them in the fridge and then pop one in your bra when needed.