Anyone wean cold turkey?

Re: Anyone wean cold turkey?

• RoxRing

  July 2012

  I did at 6 1/2 months for multiple reasons, but one was that my supply wasn't great and he wasn't taking formula much while BFing.

  I stopped on a Sunday morning and didn't feel pressure until about 10pm.  Then sometime in the middle of the night I relieved some pressure by taking a warm bath and leaning forward and letting my b00bies drain some, which worked out well.  The next day I made my DH get me cabbage, which I think I wore to work 2 days.

  My parents had taken Edison that Sunday morning and he ate fine off the bottle of formula and was fine after.  He didn't seem to try to go back to nurse after that so neither of us even looked back!

  I hope your experience goes smoothly for you.  Let me know if you have any other questions - but I'm not an expert, that's just how it went for me!

  

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• LadyMadrid08 member

  July 2012

  RoxRing:

  I did at 6 1/2 months for multiple reasons, but one was that my supply wasn't great and he wasn't taking formula much while BFing.

  I stopped on a Sunday morning and didn't feel pressure until about 10pm.  Then sometime in the middle of the night I relieved some pressure by taking a warm bath and leaning forward and letting my b00bies drain some, which worked out well.  The next day I made my DH get me cabbage, which I think I wore to work 2 days.

  My parents had taken Edison that Sunday morning and he ate fine off the bottle of formula and was fine after.  He didn't seem to try to go back to nurse after that so neither of us even looked back!

  I hope your experience goes smoothly for you.  Let me know if you have any other questions - but I'm not an expert, that's just how it went for me!

  Thanks for sharing.  How many days do you think before the pain/engorgement went away?

  I'm not sure what to expect since I think part of her refusing the breast was due to my supply having tanked (just an idea, I don't know for sure).  So far she hasn't really nursed since yesterday in the AM (except on one side last night) and it is now 2pm here and I'm not feeling too full.  I know they are getting fuller, but they are still soft so I'm just wondering when the engorgement will come.

  I will look into getting cabbage leaves too.   

  

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• Liz4444 member

  July 2012

  I did and it hurt like a beotch!  It hurt for about a week.  My OB told me not to take hot baths or showers because the heat stimulates the milk and she told me to wear sports bras.  I did the cabbage thing, the only thing it did was make me smell like a bowl of coleslaw ... Luckily dh loves coleslaw.  Ice packs and time were really the only things that helped.

  

  
  

  

  
  

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• aliciaroset member

  July 2012

  Do NOT wean cold turkey. Aside from the physical changes (you could very easily get mastitis if you don't wean gradually, which is like the worst flu ever) it's just not good for you to have such a huge hormonal shift so quickly.

  When she bites you, do you stop the nursing session?  Is she getting teething relief elsewhere? You need to solve the biting problem but that's a separate one from her not nursing. She might be telling you that she doesn't want to nurse by biting, so listen to her.  Try again and if she doesn't seem interested don't give it to her.  She might be saying that it's time for fewer feedings, which is totally normal at this age. 
  

  I would pump whenever you can, even if it's not every time, and keep up whatever nursing you can when she's ready to come back to the breast again and supplement the rest. She's probably on a nursing strike and will want to eat again eventually, and you said that neither of you wants to wean, so I wouldn't. 

   
  

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• aliciaroset member

  July 2012

  here's some info about weaning and pregnancy:

  https://kellymom.com/pregnancy/bf-preg/12earlyweaning/

  and if you do decide to wean, here are some good tips for making it more comfortable:

  https://kellymom.com/ages/weaning/wean-how/weaning_mom/

   

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• aliciaroset member

  July 2012

  and here's the post about weaning and depression that I worry about. 

  https://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/2012/02/motherhood-depression-and-weaning.html
  

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• LadyMadrid08 member

  July 2012

  I understand depression and hormonal changes are huge when you wean cold turkey, but my thought was that my supply was pretty low already as a result of pregnancy which could have triggered her reactions to the breast.

  That said, I also spoke to my sister this afternoon and from her advice decided to try to pump about 3 times a day, just to keep things going a bit in case she decides to nurse again and so I don't put myself through more pain than necessary.  I pumped a little over 2 ounces from both sides after not having nursed for 10 hours.  So...not much.  I think if I were not about to travel the thought of pumping would not be so daunting, but since I'm about to be out of the country with her and on the go with her all the time I am worried abuot how it will work out.  But, I really would like to at least keep giving her whatever milk I've got left coming out and just supplement with formula.

  Thanks for all the responses!  It has been very helpful in deciding what to do.   

   

  

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• LadyMadrid08 member

  July 2012

  aliciaroset:

  
  

  When she bites you, do you stop the nursing session?  Is she getting teething relief elsewhere? You need to solve the biting problem but that's a separate one from her not nursing. She might be telling you that she doesn't want to nurse by biting, so listen to her.  Try again and if she doesn't seem interested don't give it to her.  She might be saying that it's time for fewer feedings, which is totally normal at this age. 
  

  
  

   
  

  I continued offering the breast today.  She ignores it completely.  She is taking a bottle fine.  As for the biting, I have tried giving her a cold teething toy for a few minutes before offering the breast and she still either bites or turns away.  I can understand the need for fewer feedings, but not wanting any feedings is not very likely.  If the biting and turning away means she doesn't want to nurse then she hasn't wanted to nurse at all (except once) in the last 36 hours.  I have finally had success giving her a bottle with formula and with the 2 ounces of milk I ended up pumping around midday.  

  I will  keep offering the breast before giving her a bottle for the next few days.  

  

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• thetheisens member

  July 2012

  I'm kinda going through the same thing as you right now. DS has been on a nursing strike for a month now and will bite me when I try to nurse him. He will nurse in the morning when he is sleepy. I nurse him in the morning and pump about 3 times a day. He only gets 3 or 4 bottles feedings a day of 6 oz (sometimes less if he doesn't finish the bottle). If I can continue to pump enough for ds I will keep it up until he turns a year, but it is such a pain. You have a lot going on and I can totally understand you wanting to wean. Do what you feel is right. Maybe you could just nurse her once a day (if she will) and ff her the rest of the day. Great job making it bfing for this long, especially while pregnant again!!

  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• RoxRing

  July 2012

  LadyMadrid08:

  RoxRing:

  I did at 6 1/2 months for multiple reasons, but one was that my supply wasn't great and he wasn't taking formula much while BFing.

  I stopped on a Sunday morning and didn't feel pressure until about 10pm.  Then sometime in the middle of the night I relieved some pressure by taking a warm bath and leaning forward and letting my b00bies drain some, which worked out well.  The next day I made my DH get me cabbage, which I think I wore to work 2 days.

  My parents had taken Edison that Sunday morning and he ate fine off the bottle of formula and was fine after.  He didn't seem to try to go back to nurse after that so neither of us even looked back!

  I hope your experience goes smoothly for you.  Let me know if you have any other questions - but I'm not an expert, that's just how it went for me!

  Thanks for sharing.  How many days do you think before the pain/engorgement went away?

  I'm not sure what to expect since I think part of her refusing the breast was due to my supply having tanked (just an idea, I don't know for sure).  So far she hasn't really nursed since yesterday in the AM (except on one side last night) and it is now 2pm here and I'm not feeling too full.  I know they are getting fuller, but they are still soft so I'm just wondering when the engorgement will come.

  I will look into getting cabbage leaves too.   

  Just a few days, but it wasn't that bad. I think its probably dependent on your supply. I didn't have any hormone issues either, but I'm definitely not saying what I did is best for everyone, it just worked well for me. I also think I took some advil...and now that I'm thinking about I did take a leftover demoral at one point the first day to relieve some of the aches.

  

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