Cold turkey with a 10 month old - is it going to be awful?

[HardbackWriter]

10mo DS is going through a biting stage, which I thought I could push through, but now one of the bites on my nipple is infected and agonising. I've got a phone call with the GP later but after feeding him in tears just now I think I Am Done. He takes a bottle happily, so I think that is, as of right now, all I will be offering. But is going completely cold turkey going to be awful - am I going to give myself mastitis on top of the infected wound? I stopped breastfeeding earlier with his older brother but did it more gradually, because I'd always been told it was bad to stop cold. But I feel that I don't want to breastfeed again, ever - any advice or tips?

My DD gave up one day and I had to pump a little when it felt too full but used a crappy hand pump so it was enough to take a bit out without stimulation.

Lots of warm showers and baths with massages towards the nipple helped some milk run out of its own accord and break down any lumps too.

The recommendation is to hand express I think but I've always found it a skill I don't have.

Oh gosh, that sounds painful. If stopping cold Turkey, you need to wear a supportive bra and try not to touch your breasts. If they become engorged, hand express off a small amount until they are comfortable but don't empty the breast. Cabbage leaves or cool packs in your bra can help with discomfort. Mastitis can happen so if you do get any red, hot lumps massage them out asap. An alternative could be expressing for a couple of weeks and gradually reduce the number of expresses you do a day so you get the more tapered approach. Although I appreciate it can be a pain expressing multiple times a day.

Thanks so much for the advice! I got rid of my pump recently, annoyingly - though I think pumping would be as painful as feeding, really, just lightly touching my nipple really hurts and I couldn't sleep on that side last night.

Glad to hear it should be ok-ish - how long did it take you both before things settled and you weren't engorged any more?

What about using a Haakaa silicone type 'pump' haakaa Manual Breast Pump, New Style, Clear, 4 Oz amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CWK4S5W/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_V3XZ1RS60M7A7MZ174DG?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1]] ? You literally just squeeze and apply, to create a very gentle suction. At the point I was full to the point of exploding that was enough to trigger a let down - and that's all the milk you'd need to get off. They did used to do a cheaper version in Aldi but no idea if it's still available.

Make sure you take paracetamol and maybe try some hand pumping, just for your own comfort.

An infected bite mark sounds awful

How are you today @HardbackWriter?

I'm ok, thanks for asking - pretty engorged and uncomfortable but it's ok if I take paracetamol. I think it might be hard to get to sleep tonight, though, as it's so uncomfortable to lie down.

He seems happy as anything on bottles - not a backwards glance at my boobs, the traitor! - but he's not actually drinking that much milk. He loves solids so I wonder if he's actually not been drinking that much breastmilk for a while.

I've hand expressed a bit a couple of times - I've had two hot showers today and am contemplating another before bed - but I'm trying to do as little as I can bear, both in the hope it'll be over quicker the less stimulation I give and also because it still really bloody hurts to touch my nipple.

Unconventional, but decongestants can dry your milk up. I'm still feeding DD at 15 months, if she'd have bitten me I'd stop, too! You've done really well x

I see that you want to stop Bf completely and I hope that works out for you and baby. You’ve done really well go get this far with a biter!

But I just thought I’d mention for anyone else that it’s perfectly possible just to feed on one side for months or even years. And no you don’t end up lopsided, I don’t know why but you don’t.

I know this because I had a similar injury with a toddler ( but not a bite ) and had to stop on the infected side to let it heal. I thought he was self weaning anyway and that he might just give on the other side in a few weeks. But he had other ideas and in fact he kept going, just feeding on one side for another year or so.

I have no idea how it works.

he's not actually drinking that much milk. He loves solids so I wonder if he's actually not been drinking that much breastmilk for a while.

They only drink around 1floz per hour of BM so if he fed every 3 hours, he's unlikely to want more than 3 floz of formula. He only needs 13.5 floz of formula anyway between 10 and 12 months so I wouldn't panic yet

That should say13.5 floz per day. Don't want to give the impression that it's 13.5 floz over the two months

They only drink around 1floz per hour of BM so if he fed every 3 hours, he's unlikely to want more than 3 floz of formula. He only needs 13.5 floz of formula anyway between 10 and 12 months

Are you sure this is right? Feeding at 1fl oz an hour doesn’t tie in at all with my experience of BF.

It would mean that a 5 month old baby would be BF 24 hours a day.

Thanks so much for all the advice. I'm quite surprised by how bad/painful it still is - I'm now five days out from the last feed. Any words of wisdom/hope that this will end and I won't have these rock-hard, painful boobs for all time would be very welcome!

Hope you're starting to feel a bit more comfortable OP.