I recently weaned my 17 month old, she had been nursing only nights and mornings for a month or more, and we stopped the night one and then the morning one. The last time she nursed was almost 2 weeks ago. I was fine for a week or so but now am getting hard painful spots around the nipple(plugged ducts?) and am leaking milk. mostly only in my one side (the other side was always my 'milk dud' and didn't produce as much). I tried cabbage this weekend (boy does that stink after a half hour or so..) and i used a heat bag last night. My questions are: is this normal? When will it go away? Anything I should be doing to make it less painful? After 17 months of nursing I am SO ready for my boobs to stop being an ISSUE! thanks!!
The same thing happened to me about 2 months ago. I thought something was horribly wrong with me:) I took hot baths every night for 4 nights. I felt better right away but at the end of 4 nights my milk was gone.
Good luck!
Maybe you tried this, but what i did was pumped just enough until the pain went away. Then waited for the pain to start again and pumped a little again, it took a little time but finally it dried up.
I thought it was taking FOREVER for my milk to dry up, until I read that it takes up to 6 weeks to completely dry up. That's if you stop altogether and don't pump at all (pumping does stimulate milk production, as far as I was told).
I had a week of pretty bad pain and just when I thought it would hurt forever, it started getting better. Hang in there, pump just enough to relieve the pain, do breast massage (or better yet, have hubby do it!), hot baths or showers.
I've heard eating parsley works too. And there is a milk reduction tea you can buy. I forget what it's called, but just search the internet for milk reduction tea and you will find it.
I took Advil to help reduce the swelling and that seemed to help too.
It DOES end eventually. Hang in there :) Oh and congrats on nursing so long!
I weaned my (3rd)daughter when she was about 16 or 17 mos. old. She's now 22 mos. & I still leak sometimes (although VERY RARELY). The first 3-4 weeks of weaning were AWFUL! My breasts were sore & painful & would still fill up. I found that a hot bath & a breast massage would relieve the pressure & clogged ducts.
My 2nd daughter was weaned around the same age & my 3rd was born a few months later. Between the 16 mos. (when she was weaned) & the 19 mos. (when 3rd daughter was born) my milk didn't completely dry up. I guess I'm saying try to be patient - it really takes a while!
A few things you can try not only to alleviate the pain, but to help your milk dry up.
If your breasts are sore, run a hot bath and lay on your side so the sore breast is in the water, and massage it a bit. Its ok if some milk comes out, it won't affect your body making more because it needs the stimulation of your baby to make more milk.
Mint will dry your milk up. Altoids, those red/white star mints, mint tea, anything mint will dry your milk up. When my youngest weaned before his 2nd b-day, I went on an Altoid kick for 2-3 days and I had zero issues. With my oldest I had the same problems as you are having when he weaned and a lactation consultant told me to use mint. Worked like a charm.
The hot bath will help alleviate your pain wthout stimulating your body to produce more milk, and the mint will help dry your milk up.
Congratulations on nursing for 17 months. that is a wonderful accomplishment, and a wonderful gift for your child! :)
My youngest is still nursing at 17 months, but he's still going strong. My older children weaned themselves at 19 months and 16 months. The older two weaned very slowly so I didn't notice much difference. I know I did still lactate for quite awhile after. It wasn't painful or leaking.
I just wanted to say great job on nursing so long! It is the best! Good luck!
After breastfeeding for almost a year, it took a good 2 months for my breasts to stop producing. They still leak a drop or 2 sometimes, but I was surprised how long it took for it to go away. After 17 months, it may take you even longer. You should probably talk to your doctor if you're concerned.
I did the same as Tricia. Pump a very little to alleviate the pain and pressure. I still leaked milk for 2-3 months after weening, but I was pretty prolific. The hot bath/shower/heating pad works well too.
