I stopped breastfeeding 6 days ago and my breasts are still so full! Help!

[Jude1]

Hi all,

My 13 month old has fed very often through the day and night throughout his life. I'd just started mixed feeding, planning to wean him off the breast over a few months, but on Friday after over a year of sleepless nights I decided to see what would happen if I gave him only cups of milk. This is all I have given him since and though he doesn't seem to be missing the breast, my breasts are certainly missing him! They are rock hard and uncomfortable. He is finally waking only once or twice a night, but I can't take advantage of this extra sleep because my breasts are so hard I can't get comfortable! Its been six days already, how much longer will this last? Is there anything I can do to ease the pain a little?

you can express a little off. just enough to ease it though, because obv you don't want your body to tyhink it still needs to keep making milk

Is that my only option? I'm just worried that will leave me producing milk for too long. Does anyone know of any herbal remedies or similar that will dry up the milk?

If you lie in a warm deep bath and squeeze out enough milk to feel more comfortable it will help.

it will gradually ease, im approaching this time again myself im readyto stop feeding my 18 mth old ( she has other ideas!!!)but ive become a human night dummy!!!!!!! If my past experiences with dd1 nad ds2 are to go by each day gets more comfortable.

It took 2 weeks for my milk to go away after DS2. It wasn't complete agony for the whole two weeks but certainly uncomfortable. Agree with yesterday, I didn;t do that but wished I had

warm flannels. And, seriously, cabbage leaves on your breasts for half an hour or so is supposed to help with engorgement.

Suggest you express a bit as needed (and give it to your DS in a cup along with his cows milk so its not wasted).
I think it usually take a few weeks for your milk to dry up which is why the general advice is to drop feeds gradually, sorry if thats not what you wanted to hear.
COuld you not feed him once in the night if he wakes as it will be much more comfortable for you?
Am sure lots of babies wake at night even if not breastfeeding - my DS1 slept through at that age whereas DS2 still doesnt at almost 15 months, both breastfed.

Could you not maybe express before you go to bed, but jsut that one time in the day for a while, and then you body wouldn't produce so much, and then after a week or so, start reducing the amount you express? I know it makes the time drag out longer, but at least you could get some sleep and be comfortable? As said before, your LO could also have it in a cup

I've cut my Dd down gradually so that I didn't have the hard full/breasts. I did get a bit of mastitis though a month or so ago. I'd got down to just one feed last thing, but she's not been well recently and has started on 3 times a day again
I am definitely not getting really full, sore breasts though...
The cabbage leaves were good for me.
If I recall with Ds, I cut down gradually with him too and expressed a little off when I was at bursting point. Don't think it lasted too long.

With DD she was down to 2 feeds (morning and evening).
She started refusing to feed in the morning, then in the evening, and my supply dwindled very gradually, with not much pain. I was leaking for months after though!

That's all really good advice! I will definitely try the cabbage leaves I hadn't heard of that, except I won't wear them to work, hehe. Maybe I should have cut down gradually, but he has been sleeping so much better since I cut it out completely, and he seemed to prefer drinking from a cup than the breast which was why I stopped in the first place. I've gone this long now, I like the bath idea and the cabbages for sure, thank you!