Stopping Breastfeeding Cold Turkey

Its all normal. The hard spots are just the ducts that are so full and why when you press it milk sprays out. a few days of discomfort and it should be done.

You need to massage the breast to break up the lumpy areas. It is ok to be leaky for a while afterward. While you are in the shower, with soapy hands, use the heel of your hand to press starting near your chest and push out towards the nipple. Massage the area until it starts to feel softer. Also, cabbage leaves in the bra are great for pain relief and magically help to dry things up.

Place some cabbage leaves on your breast and leave them their for a while. It should dry you up in no time!

Congrats on your baby!

If the hard spots are tender, this could be Mastitis, an infection in the milk gland. Sometimes it can clear up by itself by drinking plenty of water and useing a warm compress. If you start experiencing flu like symtoms with a fever, you will likely have to get on an antibiotic to clear it up. I had it in both breast and it was aweful. I hope you feel better soon!

Get help from a local lactation consultant or your doctor for those tender spots. You may remember getting an infection from acne like those nasty black heads. I've also heard about the cabbage leaves. My local lactation consultant said something about putting fresh leaves "on" every twelve hours (I think) oh, and drink _lots_ of water!

I think it is a good idea to return to breastfeeding. The Pediatric Physicians have put out a recommendation that breastfeeding for a full year is best for both baby and mom. I can't find the online link to cite this for you. It's not the breast milk that your baby needs most but your closeness time.

I've breastfed all three of my boys and each was at least 24 months. The middle son did breastfeeding and wanted the bottle, as if I didn't have enough. I would say that the worst times was when I felt like being a pacifier for my babies at the most inconvenient times! I consoled myself remembering that this baby is not going to _stay_ a baby! It is over way too soon, in my opinion.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

I had the same problem! Your milk didn't come back, it just never went away even though it may have seemed like it. My doula said it takes 6 weeks for your milk to completely dry up. It sounds like you have a clogged milk duct in the tender areas. You just have to make sure you don't get mastitis (the "boob flu" that can result from a clogged duct and be really painful). The only thing that worked for me (I was soooo prone to clogged ducts) was using the shower massager on full blast and "massaging" it with the water. It hurt like you know what, but it always worked out! Good luck!

I had very engorged breasts after weaning my first son. I had a couple hard spots closer to my armpits where milk was starting to get clogged and I would leak. The only thing that worked for me was taking benadryl for a couple days (usually just at night since it can make me drowsy). It dried me up enough that I was not in pain and the milk went away. I plan on doing the same thing when I wean my second son.

Your body and milk supply needs to adjust and suddenly stopping will be painful.

I just quit nursing and because of me it took about two weeks. I cut out one feeding at a time over the time until it was only one left. Then I went from that to every other day and after over a week of not nursing anymore it still leaks and I feel it, but it's not barable.

Stopping "cold turkey" can cause plugged ducts, breast infection, or even a breast abscess. Hard spots are sign for it.

SAGE

To use dried sage (Salvia officinalis) for reducing milk supply, take 1/4 teaspoon of sage 3x per day for 1-3 days. You can mix the sage in vegetable juice (for example, V-8), but it won't mix well into other juices. You can also mix it into other foods. If you don't like the taste of sage, try putting it into a tiny piece of sandwich and swallowing it whole - peanut butter or something else a bit sticky seems to work best for holding the sage in place. Tear off the corner of the sandwich containing the sage (it should be a very small section) and swallow it without chewing (that's why you need a very small section).

To use sage tea for decreasing milk supply, infuse 1 tablespoon of dried sage in 1 cup of boiling water (or 20g dried sage in 50 ml boiling water). Steep for 5-15 minutes. Drink 1 cup, 2 - 6 times per day.

You can use a tincture of sage instead: 30-60 drops of tincture, 3-6 times a day.

Cabbage
Green cabbage leaves can also be used topically on the breast to reduce milk supply. Again, be careful with this if you are not in the weaning process.

Other herbs

Other herbs that can decrease milk supply: Peppermint (Mentha piperita), Spearmint, Parsley (Petroselinum crispum), Chickweed, Black Walnut, stinging nettles (not nettle - that increases milk supply), Yarrow, Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum), Lemon Balm, Oregano, Periwinkle Herb (Vinca minor), Sorrel (Rumex acetosa).

Sage, peppermint, spearmint, lemon balm, oregano, and cabbage leaves can all be incorporated into a pressed oil (cold pressed or hot) to make massage oils for milk suppression.

Peppermint essential oil has been used traditionally for decreasing milk supply. Peppermint tea is a very weak form of peppermint and only large amounts (quarts) would be expected to decrease milk supply. Some women have successfully used the strong peppermint candies (for example, Altoids® Curiously Strong Peppermints) for decreasing milk supply (a few per day aren't likely to affect supply, though).

Hi A.,

I am still breastfeeding my daughter that is 7 months old, well I only feed her at night..during the day she takes a bottle because I work, but I am on the weaning stage, trying to slowly stop..anyway my sister was like you when she breastfed her baby and she said she had all the same problems, and said she tried everything to dry her milk but nothing seemed to work, she said the only thing that helped her when she was ready to stop completely was putting lemons on her nipples..she said she only had to do it one time and the milk was gone..so just cut a lemon in half and one on each side, I H. this works for you, I wish you the best of Luck with everything!

Maria

2 suggestions: I pumped a TON with my first and when I stopped I found a very hard lump, went to the doc and it was aspirated.. This happens when your milk dries up and I think when you pump a lot, you can get them more. For the engorgement, this sounds crazy but it works. Go buy a head of cabbage, and stick a cabbage leaf on each breast in your bra. Leave them there all day. They will leave a nasty odor at the end of the day, but it works like a miracle. When I stopped nursing my second son cold turkey, I got so engorged it was so painful and a friend had heard of this, and I tried it, and it was amazing.. After you do that and you still have lots of hard bumps, you will have to go see your ob/gyn.... good luck.

You can express an ounce or two with no problem. It will help with the lumps and the hurting. Make sure that you are not running a fever. If you do, contact your doctor right away!

Ditto on the cabbage leaves, it worked for me also! I also wore a tight sports bra for about a week or so, with the cabbage leaves inside. I did continue to leak for a couple weeks off and on, especially when baby cried, but it eventually stopped. Try not to stimulate your breasts or nipples because when you do that, you will begin making milk again. Also keep them out of warm water when you shower.

Place your breasts under warm water in the shower and gently massage the hard spots or they could get infected - if they aren't already. The milk will dry up eventually. Stopping cold turkey would be more painful than gradually. You might just have to grin and bear it, I don't know. But, I do know the warm water and massage helped my pain when I had an infection.

I stopped cold turkey too. What worked for me was cabbage leaves in my bra. I also went to Whole Foods and talked to someone in the herb section to see if there was something I could take to help dry them up. They suggested sage. It is in a liquid form and you drink in water a few times a day. Not the best tasting stuff but it worked for me.
Good luck.

First of all 8/30 hasn't been that long ago...so I would relax for awhile. Second...about the swollen breast. My father-n-law was a pharmasist and he told me to put cabbage leaves in my bra to help with pain and swelling. It sounds wierd.. but it WORKS! After trying everything else I gave in. Everytime I would hear a baby cry the milk supply would come back. That might have something to do with your milk coming back. In any case try the cabbage...it should help with the pain and swelling. GOOD LUCK!