Stopped bf 1 week ago. How long before I stop getting engorged?

[pinkgerbera]

My DS is 1 next week & I am back to work on Tuesday , unpredictable hours make it too difficult to continue feeding & I am kind of ready to stop. I gave him his last feed a week ago (Friday) & have just pumped to relieve engorgement only. I pumped on Tuesday morning & then not until this morning by which time I was very uncomfortable. I was amazed that I got more than 100ml with good relief.

We have both been a bit miserable this week, me because of stopping feeding, uncomfortable & stress of returning to work (DD old enough to tell me exactly how much she would like me to stay at home). He because he does not want to have milk from cup or bottle & doesn't want to go to sleep without milk (in hindsight should have done it more gradually but various things have got in the way).

I know that it will all improve but when will my boobs realise that they are redundant & stop producing enough milk to be uncomfortable?

I don't know when it will stop cos I'm still going but could you just keep going (or start again if he's interested) at bedtime for a while? It should be enough to relieve the engorgement and might ease the transition back to work for both you and DS.

If you really want to stop I'm sure someone with more experience will be along in a bit!

Thanks for reply chairmum, i could keep going but some days I won't be around at bedtime so he needs to be able to take milk & go to sleep without me there. If he was happy with cup or bottle as well as boob I would be tempted but atm he is very reluctant to have milk from anywhere else & I don't want to confuse him by 'giving in' at bedtime but not at the rest of the time. Also having done a week I keep thinking it must get easier soon & if I go back now stopping in the long run won't get any easier. I don't think that I want to carry on for the long haul, although quite tempting right now.

IME they do cope (after the odd hitch) with different things. DS now goes to sleep for DH when I'm not in (with just dinner, no milk). A friend with a 20mo DS stopped feeding hers in the daytime at about a year (he has morning and night) and he doesn't ask in the day (despite seeing my DS getting it when he wants). I'm not saying you should, just that you have the choice - your DS will cope with it, and may be happier with restricted milk than none!

At 1 I wouldn't worry about whether he takes milk from a bottle. Some BM and other dairy will be fine!

hope it all works out for you

I stopped in week 3 for various reasons and it was week 8 before I stopped leaking.
I stopped being painfully engorged by week 5.
I did go to the GP to ask for the injection (given when a mother loses her baby to stop the milk) and was offered pills, but I chose not to take them (didn't get the prescription from the GP) after we dicussed the side effects.

My GP is particularly lovely and very helpful, I know they all aren't, but if yours is, it is definately worth chatting about stopping your milk supply if it becomes a problem. For me, I leaked (alot) every time a child cried on the street!

That said, a friend I know who also stopped early, for various reasons, didn't get any milk after 2 weeks.

Love and luck

I stopped bf 2 weeks ago (Thursday) having been doing just 2 feeds a day for a while, then dropping the morning feed the week before the night time feed.

1 week after stopping I had to express a bit because I was sore and lumpy on one side, then since this thursday just gone (2 weeks) my nipples have been a bit sore (odd?) and I feel a bit lumpy, but things are definately calming down (I was thinking about padded bras today - I think I'm going to need some!).

DS (who is 13 months now) is not in the least bit interested in drinking milk from any of the cups I have offered him. If I offer him milk in the morning he wails until he gets his weetabix! At night he might have a couple of sips, but after that - nothing.

I was getting a bit obsessed by it, but he gets plenty of milk / dairy in other ways during the day, and if I really perservere he also gets other drinks too (he's not a big drinker it seems).

I guess he doesn't need the milk for nutrition because he is eating lots, and maybe he wasn't taking much from me as I haven't really suffered that badly with engorgement.

Anyway, in summary - about 2-3 weeks, although if you keep pumping I guess it might prolong it a bit.

Thank-you all, sorry for disappearing but different time zone so have been asleep!

Have been seriously considering re-starting but think that may just delay the problem as I don't really want to carry on until he self weans.

He is a fantastic eater, even more so now so I have been trying to give him plenty of other dairy to make up for the lack of milk. Also he will take a little bit of milk from my DH & our new nanny, so on workdays & weekends he will probably end up having more with a bit less when it's just me, not the end of the world. I think he is also starting to realise that he can go to sleep without milk which will make me feel much less of a mean mum & make him feel better too.

Thank-you very much again - will have to delay the bra shopping trip for longer than anticipated I suppose!