Made a decision!!
aleishajewell
member
I want to thank you ladies for all your support and advice, I have been thinking about it all day and night and welllll DD helped me make a decision, I have decided to go on and FF. Today I thought I would give EP one more last try, begin with pumping every two hours and continue eating oatmeal and drinking the tea but DD has cried and screamed all day almost so I haven't even had time to pump today. .... the decision is made and it is for the best, I will start back to school soon as well as work..... Now it has been over twelve hours that I've pumped and I'm starting to get engorged... can anyone help me dry up my milk?? I am wearing a tight sports bra and have taken a pain reliever. any suggestions on drying up my milk are greatly appreciated as I have no clue as to what I'm doing ha.
Also, going with the FF, I am going to read about it but is it true that I shouldn't use tap water unless its filtered?
Re: Made a decision!!
I just wanted to say congrats on making the best decision for your family. I planned on BFing, but the reality of it is that it just wasn't the best situation for my family life. I felt extremely guilty about it, but I am now coming to terms that my DD is healthy and happy with formula and so is this mama! And that's worth it.
As far as engorgement, I wore a tight bra 24/7, iced at night and avoiding hot water in the shower. My boobs went down in a few days. For DD's formula I buy the Gerber or Nursery water and leave it on the counter, so she's used to room temp water.
For drying up your supply... get a head of the white/light green cabbage and put it in the fridge to get it super cold (you can freeze it in ziploc as well). Place one large leaf in your bra over each breast. Leave it there until it becomes wilty and replace with a fresh leaf as needed. This will help with both pain relief and engorgement. Also, take an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen for pain relief. Avoid using heat to relieve pain as that can stimulate more milk production. Opt for cold relief instead. Try to only pump as a last resort for pain relief from engorgement. Watch your temperature and be sure to massage out all lumps/clogged ducts (mastitis is no fun at all, trust me).
HTH and GL.
~Sweet Girl *8/18/08* c-section ~ Sweet Boy *12/2/10* VBAC ~ Sweet Boy *8/14/12* VBAC~
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