Weaning - Virginia Beach, VA

Congratulations on breastfeeding for this long! Your son is so much healthier for it! I have never tried it, but I've heard that using cold cabbage leaves on your breasts helps with engorgement. Just roll the leaves under a rolling pin or cut the tops of the veins so that they will bend, and use the leaves to cover your breast. You can put a cold compress on top of the leaves and then put your bra on to hold everything there, and change the leaves when they wilt. Some people think that this diminishes the milk supply, so since you are weaning, you could leave them on all day if you want.

I would also pump when you feel really full, but only to the point that it's not uncomfortable anymore, not to completely empty. The idea being that you are tricking your body into making less milk since you aren't using it all. You could even save this extra milk to make your son's cereal with! Best of luck!

I had the same problem when I was weaning my son last month. The only way I found to relieve myself was to pump and you have to because I know the pain is unbearable:( You don't need to get the expensive electric pumps since you're only doing it to relieve yourself. The only draw back to hand held pumps is your hands will get tired from squeezing. If you have any other questions, feel free to email me at ____@____.com

Good luck:)

I only breastfed my daughter for a couple of weeks (long story), but I had the same problem when I was letting my milk dry up. The best I can tell you is cold compresses to ease the soreness. Sometimes an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen helps take away the pain, too. All you can really do aside from that is wait.

Wear a very tight sports bra for the next few days (day and night)...cold compresses also help. Advil/Tylonel will help with the discomfort....good luck to you!

I weaned my daughter between her 7th and 8th month. I took a month to do it, each day, doing it a bit less until finally I only beastfed her at night. At the end of the month, we had both adjusted to it perfectly - she did not miss it and I was not sore or in pain. Since your son is already weaned, you can do as the other ladies suggested and just pump (even if you hand expess just to get a bit out) each day, decreasing how often you pump each day till you are done. You can certainly do it quicker than a month since you are not feeding him but this might help the pain for you and keep you from having to do it cold turkey! Good luch!