Ugggg Drying up After Breast Feeding

HOT HOT showers, and ice packs.

I never BF, but it took me 3 days to dry up with my kids.

The super hot showers trigger your let down reflex. If it's really bad, you can manually express a bit, but the shower will do it for you automatically.

I would take them every couple of hours if I could, or as frequently as I could get away with it. I felt so much better afterwards.

In the interim, fold a couple of wash clothes into 4s...wet and freeze them. Put them in a baggie so you don't soak your bra/shirt, but stick them in there and bind them up tight. (the wash cloths allow you to conform them to your breast, rather than a rigid ice pack.)

My sister took antihistamines (just the proper dosage on the box) and that helped her dry up. She was also told to eat a lot of cabbage. You can put cabbage leaves in your bra to help with the pain.

I've read that drinking sage tea will help.

I've heard pumping until it's comfortable again can help. Don't pump completely, just until it no longer hurts so badly. Your body will get the hint that "baby" isn't taking so much so it'll start making less and less.

Put cabbage leaves in your bra it helps with the engorgement.

With both kids, I took a hot shower when I got engorged after weaning and just put pressure on my breasts to express some of the milk out. I did just enough to give myself some relief, about 2 or 3 times. It helped a lot and I was done completely in a week. Good luck!!

You can get a prescription from your Doctor to dry up.

Most doctors won't give the prescriptions to dry up any longer. It's healthier to use more natural approaches.

Don't drink less. It won't help with engorgement and will only dehydrate you.

Wear a snug-fitting bra and put cold cabbage leaves in the bra until they wilt. You'll have to break up the leaves using the softer parts of the them, not using the hard veiny parts.

Use cold compresses like ice packs and frozen vegetables. Just don't put them directly on your skin or you could get frostbite.

You can use ibuprofen for the swelling and discomfort, and that can also help the drying up process.

Sage tea is good for helping dry up milk too.

Avoid things like oatmeal, beer, and other milk-promoting foods like barley and yeast, for a few days.