Ok so I'm just curious how long it will take for ALL of my milk to dry up. I nursed my son exclusively until he was 8 months. one month of formula, then to whole milk! The majority of my milk was gone in a matter of days because i weined slowly (only once a day for the last week). I can still express some from both sides ( less than a tsp ) with basically no effort. HOW LONG WILL THIS LAST!
SO let me clairfy. The pediatrician checked baby's iron levels at 9 month appointment and SHE cleared me for whole milk. He was on formula for almost a month. I had a ton of milk in the freezer so we didn't have to use much. He is now 14 months old, so it's been 6 months since i nursed him. No engorgement ever when i weined.
I learned this in my breastfeeding class and it worked for me. Get a cabbage leave and break the vein that runs in the middle of it and put one in each bra, then wrap your breasts in an ace bandage. I know the cabbage leaf sounds a little crazy but it works, it does something to draw the milk out and absorbs it. I did all this and I was completely dried up in a wknd. Hope this helps.
--J.
After I stopped nursing my son, it took a few months, almost a year, for my milk to completely dry up. I would frequently leak milk after showering and anytime my son would cry. Also, certain sounds would set me off, even if my son wasn't there. For example, anytime I would vacuum, I would leak, because usually that is something that would get my son upset. It gradually got less and less and then I just didn't have to worry about it. Everyone is different, so you might not have to wait as long as I did. Are you trying to express milk or is it coming out on its own? I wouldn't try anything to express the milk, get a tighter bra, and just continue to wear nursing pads if it gets to be too much. Keep hanging in there, it will be over soon!
It may take weeks. I noticed something though, that alarmed me. Is your son 12 months old yet? If not, he needs to be on formula, not whole milk, until his 1st birthday. (I just figured the math, if you nursed until he was 8 months, then formula for one month, then you started him on whole milk at 9 months?)
as long as you express any milk, it will not dry up. you have to stop completely (which i did about 10 days ago) and it may take a week or two. i am still a little engorged, but it has gotten better every day. good luck.
