Letting Milk Dry Up... How Long Does This Take??

Updated on July 01, 2010
R.D. asks from Richmond, VA
9 answers

I stopped BFing about 2 months ago, but I continued to pump every two hours. The last three weeks I have gradually been cutting out pumping sessions... until i only pumped 2x a day for a week, then 1x a day for a week, then only a little to relieve some engorgement... then just STOPPED. I had asked my sons pediatrician the best way to go about doing this and I did what she told me. I have also been wearing underwire bras, super tight sports bras, drinking more caffeine (yay! SO happy to be able to have coffee again!), etc... but the past 2 days my breasts have felt very tender and very full... shouldn't this have stopped by now? I understand you can leak for a long while after you stop, but I didn't think I would be feeling this full and uncomfortable after feeling empty and normal for about 10 days. What gives? What am I missing here? I need this to be done with! I want to fit in my old clothes and the only thing holding me back is my tatas!! I'm so sick of wearing my boyfriends t shirts because they're bigger :(

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So What Happened?

About 2 days after this post, I couldn't bear it anymore. I did what an LC recommended and took a hot hot shower and just let the water run on that breast. The milk was POURING out, and OMG DID IT FEEL GREAT!! I didn't even have to touch it! Wow... after that, no more issues (so far!) Now my poor boobs look like 2 deflated balloons, awesome ;) Good thing by BF doesn't mind!

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K.H.

answers from Washington DC on

I think that the way you gradually cut out pumping sessions was very good. That was recommended to me a while back by moms on this site, and for me it worked very well. After I stopped pumping, a few days later I had the 'tingly' feelings that felt like I was still making milk and that I should pump, but I didn't. Every now and again I still get them (I'm almost a month post-pumping), but I just distract myself through them. But I never feel full (didn't really ever feel full towards the end of pumping anyway) and nothing has been painful though.

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N.S.

answers from Glens Falls on

Okay so i didnt breast feed but i did obviously deal with the drying up process and it sucks badly. It hurts a lot but doesnt last long at all. I called my doc after i had my son and asked him why he didnt tell me my boobs drying up was going to be worse then the labor and pushing. LOL he said be happy it should only last a few days. 3 maybe. my doc also said that you can not stimulate them at all cause they will produce milk if you stimulate them and then they continue to hurt. so make sure you keep hubbies hands off and dont let showers water run on them or anything at all stimulate them cause it will take longer. good luck.

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K.G.

answers from St. Louis on

I used the belly band from my pregnancy and wrapped it tightly over my breasts over a sports bra. Worked great. I was dryed up in 2 days. You could try using a large ace bandage. I also stayed about a size larger afterwards.

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K.F.

answers from Washington DC on

I'm jealous...I can't even get my milk built enough to satisfy my LO....I wanted to nurse for longer, but had to supplement.

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M.T.

answers from Dallas on

Maybe try the old cabbage leaf trick. Fresh cool cabbage leaves in the bra changing out as the wither (about every 2 hours). Won't hurt to try and if it works YAY!!
Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

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N.F.

answers from Seattle on

To tell you the truth, they might not go back down to the size they were pre-pregnancy. Mine stayed larger, hubby didn't mind lol, but it gave me an excuse to go bra/clothes shopping :) Also, just out of curiosity, I would test by manually expressing to see if there would be any milk and sure enough 5 months later after no more breast feeding, there was milk. Obviously I wasn't producing enough to start breast feeding again, but my point is that it didn't completely "dry up". You might want to give it some more time and see what happens. The hardest thing to do is resist relief, but it can be done.

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S.S.

answers from Norfolk on

I second the cabbage leaves. I used them after I stopped nursing my second. It seems weird at first, but the cool leaves feel good on the engorged tissue. I would just put them all around every couple of hours. It took a few days, but it really did help.

M.M.

answers from Chicago on

Took mine about a week of gradually reducing pumping and then stopping all together.
But to echo another poster, mine stayed bigger. I was already a D before pregnance, and now, afterwards, I'm a DD. Hubby doesn't mind! :)

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D.W.

answers from Indianapolis on

I had to deal with this at the peak of my breastmilk production when I needed to start chemo. Our daughter was not yet 3 months old.

For me, it took about 2 weeks of gradually reducing the number of pumping sessions/day until I was able to quit. I never had any issues with engorgement, but I also had really toxic chemo drugs in my system that may have made the process quicker and easier.

Friends who chose to quit nursing said it took about 1-2 weeks depending on how much demand the baby had placed upon them (production) and how abruptly they discontinued.

Good luck!

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