Weaning Is Not For Sissies

Warning: Men, proceed at your own risk. This post is for ladies only, so if you read on and are grossed out, it’s completely your own fault- I warned you!

So I should have done some more research before weaning from breastfeeding. This process is painful!! If I had known it was going to be this bad, I might have considered breastfeeding until I had our next baby- and you know how much I hated pumping, so it must be bad! :) I’m only kind of kidding…although I did call my doctor to ask about the shot they used to give women to stop milk production, but they no longer do that for some reason.

For those of you that will be facing this in the near future, please learn from my mistakes and spend a little more time preparing than I did. Talk to your doctor, ask your lactation nurses lots of questions, and read up on breastfeeding, as well as weaning. I put that research off during my pregnancy because I was getting so overwhelmed, and when Helen Grace arrived a month early, I never got to pick up that breastfeeding book again…and I have paid the price!

Here are some tips I have learned:

• Gradually reduce feedings or pumpings. I thought that you were supposed to just stop for good, deal with the pain for a day, and your milk would dry up. Not so much. I have read that you need to reduce your feedings/pumpings by one time for a three day period and then reduce by one more for another three days, etc. I had been pumping 5-6 times a day, and I made it almost 20 hours before I had to give in and pump a little bit to ease the pain. The first two days that I weaned, I pumped twice a day to ease the pain and only pumped about 1/3 of what I would have done. The last two days, I have only pumped once a day, and I am finally feeling better. Be careful not to pump too much, or your body will continue to produce the milk.
• Find some green cabbage. I know it sounds crazy. John and my dad thought I had fallen off the looney wagon, but every article or website I read mentions how helpful they are. Keep the cabbage cold, and stuff the leaves in your bra. Only remove  them after they have wilted. The articles also say that the cabbage will stop your milk production, so they warn against using them until you are sure you are ready to stop. From my experience, I don’t feel like they were a miracle cure to stop production, but I also don’t have anything to compare it to. I will try anything, and at least the cold feels good! I wore them for a few days until I could no longer stand the smell.
• Ice packs will help a lot too. The cold will reduce the milk production.
• Hot showers help although this will cause your milk to express, so I worried about doing it too often and creating an increase in production.
• The full-dose birth control pills will reduce your milk production as well because of the estrogen in the pills. Your doctor will put you on the mini pill if you are still breastfeeding. The mini dose has only progesterone, not estrogen. Mine would not write the script for the full dose of pills until I was sure I wanted to stop breastfeeding. This caused a few days lag to get the script, fill it, and let the estrogen kick in. I wish I had known that the pills would help, and I would have pushed my doctor harder to get the script sooner.
• Tylenol is your friend. Take it as often as you can, and it will help with the inflammation and the achiness.
• If you notice hot, red splotches, try to pump more often. These also could be signs of breast infection- especially if they are feverish- and definitely something you want to avoid. If you have the splotches and start feeling like you have the flu, high tail it to the doctor’s office.
• Sports bra- enough said. Wear it all the time. It will be your best friend.
• And most importantly, mentally and physically give yourself enough time to calmly walk through this process. I thought it would just take a day or two and was trying to get ready for work this coming Monday, so I about had a STROKE when I realized it could take up to a week or two or even a month if you correctly follow the schedule for dropping feedings. I am on Day 4 now, and I finally feel comfortable enough to leave the house and not worry about smelling like cabbage, leaking (although I’m still wearing pads), or being in pain. There IS a light at the end of the tunnel, I promise!

And since I have thrown all this stressful stuff at you, the least I could do is leave you with a pic of my smiling princess. She is such a joy!