Need to stop BF quickly...any tips for dealing with the pain?

[flyingdaisies]

Hello

I've been BF'ing DD for 12 weeks and need to stop asap due to health reasons, she's doing really well on the bottle and I've cut down slowly over last two weeks to two feeds a day and expressing at night to avoid engorgement, masitus and blocked ducts, all of which I've had in one breast.

Anyone have any tips to finish in a way that avoids the above as much as pos? Can't seem to find anything about any pills you can take.

Thanks!

strap your boobs down with a strong bra
you will get some engorgement, but hopefully it will only last a few days.
Maybe some hot or cold compresses on your boobs to ease the discomfort?

HTH

I strapped 'em up as tight as I could. I've also heard that hand expressing just a couple of drops when you feel like you're going to explode helps.

It's a nasty business. Hope they go down soon.

I munched on sage leaves and made sage tea.

Tasted vile ... but took my mind off it !

flyingdaisies - meds for this are no longer prescribed unless absolutely urgently required.

You should be relatively comfortable continuing to stop gradually - maybe next thing to drop would be the expressing at night? Or only express to comfort, not to relative emptiness.

Were you the mumsnetter who had continual and painful issues with recurrent mastitis and blockages?

Thanks all.

Tiktok - No I haven't posted on those, although have had recurrent blockages, it's a common rite of passage then eh!

Just spoke to NCT who were very supportive and expressing a bit to relieve soreness is the best course of action methinks, was worried strapping down might encourage blockages. But will see how it goes, it's not easy it is this malarky

I've found savoy cabbage leaves in the bra to be really good for relieving engorgement - still got full but not engorged.
NOt sure how much of a long term solution they'd be, but worth a shot!

Other thing to check is that you have no option but to stop, of course....you don't have to share the reason if you dont want to, but often women are told they 'have to' stop and it isn't correct.

cabbage leaves did it for me, it really worked, especially if you keep the cabbage in the fridge, engorgement went after 2 days

I had to stop quickly as I had to have a major operation and then drugs afterwards and was advised to cut out a feed a day which seemed to work. I was more upset about giving up bf (dd1 was 5 mths) than I was about the operation! I looked into trying to keep going but I couldn't have done.

I then fed dd2 for 13mths which made me feel better!

I stopped bf my DS2 at 4/5 weeks old due to my partner giving him formula bottles after a particularly hard, exhausting and emotional 48 hours of constant feeding (literally every hour)when he caught a cold from his sister combined with the dreaded colic. I was gutted and tried to carry on bf but DS2 just wasn't interested.

I continued offering the breast unsuccessfully so expressed as much as I could each day but after about a week my milk dried up without any of the pain and engorgement I'd experienced with my DD1.

May be worth a try, my DD3 is 15wks and I'm going to try expressing the same way again when I decide to stop.

Update, expressing when uncomfortable is working along with hot showers to keep hardness away...

Also, found these tips on Kelly Mom website, I now smell of Jasmine flowers!

www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/herbs-oversupply.html

Hopefully this will help others also in future..