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Original poster

Questions about end of breastfeeding

17 replies

Lullabies2Paralyze · 19/01/2023 10:22

I’m aware I could google but I’d rather get answers from women who’ve been through it than read an article full of possible truth but possible nonsense

so I am hoping to end BF soon as DS is nearly 1 and I’d like to end by the time I go back to work

if I am unsuccessful in this, I would only be BF bedtime and first thing in morning, is this possible? Would milk adjust to this? Has anyone done this and for how long or does milk supply dry up?

if I successfully cut out all BF, how long does it approximately take for boobs to stop making milk? How do I cope with fullness? I don’t want to express as obviously don’t want more to be made, but also don’t want mastitis as I’ve had it a few times and the last one was awful with flu symptoms too :(

how long after stopping breastfeeding did you wait to go get bra fitted?

final question: will my boobs ever not be saggy again? Haha

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Bramleyappletarts · 19/01/2023 10:32

Yes this is possible - I'm still breastfeeding at 17 months, but child is in nursery 9-6, and I only feed in the morning and before bed. Your milk adjusts. You might want to pump a bit to relieve pressure to start with to taper off during the daytime, but it should still work (I never had mastitis and my boobs just regulated themselves so you'd need to try out what works for you!). I think it takes about 3 weeks to fully stop.

That said, I'm desperate to stop feeding (I need to start taking some medication that's not compatible with it), and child is adamant that they want to continue - it's very difficult to stop as she absolutely loves it and she takes huge comfort for it.

ToddleToddleToddle · 19/01/2023 10:54

At 11 months my son was on 2 feeds a day - breakfast and bedtime. This is very baby-specific but worked well for us. in the last month we dropped to only bedtime. It was a really long feed (which was normal for him) so he was getting lots of milk.

I stopped on his birthday. How long for milk to stop being produced is like asking how long is a piece of string - but for us it was 3 weeks. Engorgement wasn't actually as bad as I thought it would be. I felt full, but not bursting.

Sagging is caused by age and hormones, so unfortunately I don't think it ever gets better :)

pjani · 19/01/2023 13:46

I dropped a feed every 2 or 3 days till it was all done after about a week at 12m. Had some engorgement but nothing terrible as I guess the volume had already dropped from the early days. It was fine. Asked DH to take over nights (he took annual leave) to drop those feeds.

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Getthefiregoing · 19/01/2023 13:52

Mine is 16 months old and now only has breastmilk first thing when he wakes up, and before he goes to bed. I didn't notice any issues but it was a fairly gradual change.

Depending on how often you feed at the moment you might not suffer too much with engorged breasts, especially if you've already night weaned too. A haakaa or just hand expressing might be all you need for a couple of days. My body adjusts quickly but maybe everyone is different in that regard.

SmileWithADimple · 19/01/2023 13:55

I dropped breastfeeding with DC1 when he was 12.5 months. It was much easier than I expected - he adapted really quickly and my boobs didn't feel full at all. I guess by then he wasn't having much milk and was getting most of his calories from food - is your DC a good eater?

Latenightreader · 19/01/2023 14:00

When I went back to work my DD was almost 10 months. She just fed morning, after work and bedtime from then on (plus a night feed). We dropped the post work feed fairly quickly, and eventually she only had a feed first thing in the morning. There was no discomfort and everything adjusted easily for me. We kept on with the first thing in the morning feed for some time, and then it dropped naturally, which worked really well for us. I BF for so much longer than I expected!

SamanthaVimes · 19/01/2023 14:02

Well done on making it so far

At this stage your supply will be really flexible and it will definitely be possible to just feed first and last thing if that’s what you want. I went back to work full time when DD was 11 months so didn’t feed her at all in the day during the week. I could still feed her whenever I wanted when we were together but after the first couple of days my boobs didn’t feel too full whilst I was at work. Equally if you want to stop try to do it over a few weeks, dropping one feed at a time so your body can get used to it.

If you do get engorgement try to express just enough to feel comfortable rather than to fully drain the breast and this will signal your body that it doesn’t need to make that feed any more.

How long it takes to dry up after stopping varies massively person to person but it can be normal to have some milk for quite a long time after your last feed.

In case you didn’t know there can be a hormonal drop when you stop feeding, some people call it the weaning blues so if you find yourself a bit emotional that might be why and it will pass.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

HumpHumpWhale · 19/01/2023 14:40

Agree with everyone else, it'll be totally fine. But definitely drop one feed at a time (over a few weeks if you're still feeding a lot) and also just to warn you, when I finally dropped the last feed and my milk dried up I had a HUGE hormonal swing which felt very similar to the one at 3 days post partum. I was not expecting it but it was unpleasant! Passed in a couple of days though I think. No engorgement when I stopped feeding and no mastitis even though I had it 9 times while feeding. (Why I kept going is a bit of a mystery)

HumpHumpWhale · 19/01/2023 14:43

Oh on bras. Give it a couple of months before spending real money. My boobs really deflated but then kind of partly reinflated again. They didn't go 100% back obvs but they didn't stay the same as immediately post breastfeeding either.

Miala · 19/01/2023 14:50

Yes just drop one feed at a time. Bedtime was our last one to go, early morning second last. I took about 3 months but I wanted it gradual so it wasn't uncomfortable.

It's easier if they take formula in a cup or bottle. It's worth trying even if they haven't before - one of mine refused until 10 months and then was suddenly fine with it. We tended to drop feeds by giving him a big cup of milk a bit earlier in the schedule so he wasn't hungry at BF time. The last few nights he just had a quick latch then wandered off to his dad reading a story, and that was perfect for me stopping without engorgement.

bakewellbride · 19/01/2023 15:10

It doesn't dry up in my experience, gout body should adjust according to output. Towards the end of my sons feeding journey he was only having one feed per 24 hours (before bed) as we did it gradually and that worked fine. Gradual worked for us - cut down from 4 feeds per 24 hours to none in 4 months although I appreciate this wouldn't work for everyone

bakewellbride · 19/01/2023 15:10

Your not gout!

Duttercup · 19/01/2023 15:19

I kept breastfeeding until 2 (laziness rather than any earth mother type sensibilities!) but after 1, she only fed first thing and bedtime anyway. I don't know how your boobs know what to do? They just do? It never dried up, I guess just made a lot less?

I stopped cold turkey and really only had one night where I was a bit sore, but she was bigger and basically just arsing about on my boobs by the end. Slowly dropping feeds is probably the answer.

Bras...maybe 3 months? You get a bit of rebounding about...

milkymeg · 19/01/2023 15:21

Still feeding at nearly 2 so can't help with stopping but went back to work at 1 like you and supply adjusted (and continued to adjust when she's sick and wants to be fed like a newborn again!)

MistyFrequencies · 19/01/2023 15:24

Everyones given you good advice. I would add that your hormones might make you surprisingly sad when you stop. I was unprepared both times for a real slump in mh mood, so just be mindful of that when yoj do stop feeding.

MidsummerMimi · 19/01/2023 17:31

I stopped at 17 months and became pregnant again immediately.
Next baby was BF until 18 months old.
I also expressed milk for my friend’s premature twins every day during this time and donated to the local milk bank.I had a proper dairy going😂 and the 3 babies had very different milk demands and growth rates.
The number of feeds/ expressions in a period of 24 hours dictates your milk supply.
The more milk that is used, the more you make and vice versa.
I tapered off gradually, it took about a month.
My bust size went from 32B pre pregnancy to 32DD post BF.
No sagging and no real change of shape.
The maternity hospital actually offered a specialist bra making service and I used these during pregnancy and feeding.
They were supportive and moulded to exactly my size.I think they helped a lot.

Original poster

Lullabies2Paralyze · 19/01/2023 19:40

Thanks all for the helpful advice, I had no idea about the hormones/emotions so glad to have that heads up as I feel I will definitely be affected if any other part of my pregnancy/post partum is anything to go by.

some great tips on weening off too, thanks 😊 I have been sleep training (1 week in) to not feed to sleep and we’re now on 1 wake up a night instead of anything ranging every 10mins to 2 hrs so I think I will give it a month and try and ween off the middle of night feed too if everything is going well elsewhere to start to gradually phase out BF all together- I think it will be a process of a few months rather than cold turkey for my little one

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