How Long Are You Engorged Before You Start Feeling Relief?

With each of my kids it took just about 2 weeks before the milk was gone, although the worst discomfort is in the first week. You should start to feel better in a couple of days.

The first three days were the hardest for me. After I weaned my son, it took about five days to feel comfortable again. With my daughter, it took about a week. You should be feeling better again soon!

It depends. Generally, it takes between one week and one month. My last weaning it took almost two weeks before I could lift my arms above my waist without wincing and nearly three weeks before I stopped squirting milk non-stop. Even now, at six months post-weaning, I still have milk drip during showers and such.

So, it truly does vary, however the painful part should be over soon.

Hi J., I breastfed all four of my kids until they got several teeth.Relief is an individual thing. I would breastfed but cut down on the feeding time. It took about 3 weeks for me. If you are pumping, just do the same.

I didn't read all of the responses, so I'm not sure if you have had this answer or not, but if you take the cabbage leaves and freeze them. I went through about 10 on each breast a day...also I felt pain for about a week...you can pump a little each day but it might make the pain last a little longer b/c they are used to producing milk.

Wow! I am envious, I was not that productive & I nursed to the same age.

Just a thought,
Find out about donating to a milk bank as you try to slow your production down.

But, as another mom said, pump enough to relieve the pressure, your body will catch on soon. Keep using the cabbage (green). I heard if you blanch them for a few seconds, it helps release the enzymes in the cabbage that help relieve the pain.

Good luck!

P. : )

Probably another day or two. I would continue to pump cutting down a session everyday until I was down to one a day. That helped SO much. Hot showers help too.

Good Luck

I slowed feedings down until we were at just one a day for a few days, then once a day on one side, then once the next day on the other side. By then I wasn't producing a lot. I was only uncomfortable for a couple of days that I remember. I don't think it hurts to relieve it by pumping, but only once a day. I've heard that you can't maintain lactation with feedings only once a day.

Express little in the shower (bending over helps) for immediate relief - don't do too much or you will have to keep expressing longer. I know I was expecting my breasts to go down quickly and that was not the case at all. It was months before I felt like I wasn't going to leak and A YEAR before I lost the "boob weight" and could go to a regular size bra. I had large-ish breast to begin with and my nursing breasts seemed out of control, uncomfortably big, so I was a bit disappointed not to go down faster. The good news is that since they've gone down everyone thinks I've lost weight all over (and kept it off for 5 years).

I did what my mom recommended and it worked like a charm. I was so engorged I couldn't stand it. I took cabbage leaves and placed them over my breast then had my husband take an ACE bandage wrap and wrap it as tight as he could (it was a bit uncomfortable)and fasten it. Then I wore a sports bra and then every few hours we would remove the cabbage leaves and re-do the entire procedure using a clean ACE bandage. Wrapping the ACE bandage slowly releases milk so that you don't have such an engorged feeling. I did this for about a week +/- a few days. It worked and after the first day I noticed that it was working. Try that and see.

It took me a week to 10 days.

I understand where you are coming from. I weaned my daughter, now 5, when she was 19 months old. I had that same pain. My right breast was hurting about 100 times more than my left, and it was hot to the touch. I also had little hard knots all over both breasts. My doctor diagnosed me with mastitis in my right breast. He gave me antibiotics, told me to ice the painful areas, and said I should pump both of my breasts until the knots were feeling a little less painful. When he told me to pump, I questioned him a lot and explained to him that I didn't want to pump because I was afraid that if I pumped it would slow the drying process of my milk supply.
I did what he said because I was in such pain (the tiniest motion hurt my breasts, even breathing). I only had to pump a little once before I was completely dry (about 48-72 hours after pumping). Also after pumping I had a lot less pain, even in that right breast with the mastitis.
If I were you I would pump just enough to clear some of the engorgement. You should ask your doctor for advice if the pain lasts more than 3-5 days, just to make sure you don't develop mastitis.
I am not sure if your situation is the same as mine was, but that is what happened to me. I really hope you are relieved of that painful engorgement soon.
Good luck and best wishes!

It's been several years but as far as I can remember, I bought the smallest sports bra I could find, but could still breath while wearing, and wore it all the time...buy a couple so they can wash...lol! But it really helped by "pressing" them. My sis-in-law said to use the cold cabbage but that just creaped me out...Hope this helps and congrats on the now-quickly-growing little one!!! Also I've heard of people wrapping themselves with an ACE bandage...again to press them in....good luck!

You might have clogged ducts or be developing mastitis. If there is actual pain and not discomfort I would advise getting into see a doctor quickly. I had mastitis for 4 days before the fever kicked in. I thought it was part of the weaning process and delayed being checked out.

Also try not to wear any bras. A shelf tank works great. Bras put pressure on the side ducts where clogged ducts usually start. If your breasts are harder and you can feel a textured difference near your armpits or areolas please, please get checked out.

It's perfectly fine to pump until the pain subsides. Remember it's all about supply and demand...so don't pump your breasts empty...just pump a little when in pain to take the edge off over the course of the next couple of weeks. I never had any pain when I stopped breast feeding by doing the above. It takes a while for your body to realize it doesn't need to produce milk... cold turkey doesn't really speed up the process... if it does, it's only by a matter of days or a week.

If you are feeling PAIN, not just discomfort, you may want to consider a clogged duct... That's another reason not to go the cold turkey way, but rather pump just a bit so that you don't develop an infection.

Just be CAREFUL about not getting mastitis. Pump or hand-massage at least a little every day to relieve the pain/engorgement. The milk ducts get clogged, and you could get an infection, etc. This happened to a friend of mine -- it developed into a hard and painful lump. She was able to massage it, and it eventually broke up and came out (she said it smelled AWFUL -- like sour milk, which it was), but she could have ended up on antibiotics.

My personal experience with weaning did not include engorgement, except slightly, and almost no pain, and it stopped fairly quickly. The first time, I was 3-4 mo pregnant and my 13-m/o just stopped nursing in one day -- perhaps because I was pregnant, my body quickly adjusted. The second time, my son was about 22 m/o, and I weaned him cold turkey because I was tired of waking up 1-2x every night, and thought it would help him sleep through the night if he didn't have anything worth waking up for. But I still didn't feel engorged. However, everybody is different, so I wouldn't let my experience rule yours.

Give yourself a little relief, so you don't end up worse off. Don't pump so much that you keep your milk supply up, but do get enough out that you're not in pain. It will stop eventually.

If you have a pum just pump your milk maybe once a day to give you some relief. I have not used the cabbage leaves but I have heard that if you freeze them that really helps. I used to get REALLY full and so I asked the lactation consultants and they said to take a vitamin called Lecithin. It worked WONDERS for me!!! It helps you to not get sore and it also helps you not get hard spots in your breasts. I hope that you will get some reliefe soon. If nothing works soon you might want to see a lactation consultant and see if she has something different to tell you.
Good Luck,
S. K

Hi J.
Maybe try pumping or extracting some milk just until you feel some relief. This will help you feel less engorged and uncomfortable. I've heard it takes a week, but everyone's different - for me it was a few days. It sounds like you produce a lot of milk. By pumping or extracting milk (squeezing your breasts to get milk out) it'll take out some of the milk. Yes it does tell your body to keep producing, but it shouldn't be as much - if you can think of the concept "supply and demand".
Good luck and be careful to watch for signs of infection - fever, chills, redness on your breasts. This is a complication of engorgement if it is not taken care of or doesn't resolve on it's own. Also, you could develop plugged ducts if the engorgement doesn't subside. This is not an infection, but it will feel like it.

Call your doctor too if none of the suggestions are working.

P.

I'm on my 3rd baby and weaning was a slow process for me. I cut down slowly and found I did not get engorged. I remember tho once letting some milk go in the shower to release some pressure. They say not to do that but I was afraid of getting an infection or plugged ducts and it made the process less stressful. The key is not letter her feed and you can do what you need to to not feel uncomfortable. It shouldn't take more than a week to stop feeling full. I did always produce milk for months after tho. After my second I restarted breastfeeding when she was sick and I wanted to comfort her and was at my wits end in things to make her feel better. It was 6 weeks after I officially stopped and my milk was still flowing. My girlfriend used cabbage and she sad it worked for her...who knows maybe it will for you too. good luck...