? For those who made the switch from bf to ff

Re: ? For those who made the switch from bf to ff

• Soap1 member

  March 2014

  It takes forever.  You'll probably still be able to squeeze a drop in a year.  Just hang in there, and try to only pump if you're in pain.
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  

  

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• lihau88 member

  March 2014

  I've been using my medela manual pump, not sure if that makes a difference. I've tried just hand expressing, but it just doesn't work for me. Not sure if I'm doing it right, but I hardly get anything out and it takes forever. Also, I'm back to work, so hand expressing isn't possible at work.

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• slwprincess member

  March 2014

  Soap1 said:

  It takes forever.  You'll probably still be able to squeeze a drop in a year.  Just hang in there, and try to only pump if you're in pain.
  

  Actually, I could still squeeze a drop after YEARS. My Ob said she had post menopausal women who could still squeeze a drop! But yes, it does take a while... I think you're doing everything right.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

   

  
  

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• Rbfdac1 member

  March 2014

  I EPed for 8 weeks and just stopped this last week- I didn't really gradually stop.
  I went from pumping every four hours to every six, then to twice a day in about a week and a half. After a couple of days of just pumping twice a day, I just stopped- I would only pump if they started hurting and that only happened once. I have officially not pumped in three days and I will be 10 weeks pp tomorrow.

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• lihau88 member

  March 2014

  Rbfdac1 said:

  I EPed for 8 weeks and just stopped this last week- I didn't really gradually stop.
  I went from pumping every four hours to every six, then to twice a day in about a week and a half. After a couple of days of just pumping twice a day, I just stopped- I would only pump if they started hurting and that only happened once. I have officially not pumped in three days and I will be 10 weeks pp tomorrow.

  
  And you didn't have any issues with engorgement turning into plugged ducts? I'm just afraid if I let it go it will turn into mastitis.
  
  I thought I was doing good with the lessening of my supply and then bam! This morning I was engorged because I stopped nursing. I'm hoping later today it will even back out.

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• cksmith29 member

  March 2014

  Don't pump or express in any way. That prolongs the pain. I second PP on the cabbage leaves. Also, compression. I used my Bella band and I tight sports bra (helps hold in cabbage leaves too). Also, ice helps.

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• cksmith29 member

  March 2014

  Oh, I had a huge clogged duct too. The compression will help with that.

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• littlepig2 member

  March 2014

  I wound up in the hospital for 2 days with mastitis because of switching but I learned really helpful tips!!
  1. peppermint reduces your supply. I chomped on Altoids like it was my job.
  2. cabbage leaves. keep a head in your fridge and put them in your bra for about 20 minutes several times a day. as a bonus, the cold feels so good! just make sure the membranes break when you peel it off the head.
  3. bind your bra. get a tight sports bra and wrap that sucker up tight with an ACE bandage or something similar. it'll make it look like Roberta from Now and Then (please tell me you know that movie) but that's what you want.
  4. don't let the warm water hit your chest in the shower.
  5. ALWAYS wear a bra. you don't want your boobs to hang.
  6. ice for the engorgement and Ibuprofen for the pain. take 3 OTC every 6-8 hours (whatever the bottle says).
  7. my LC said to pump for 10 minutes a few times a day but the nurses said not to do that or the milk will never go away. they told me about the steps above so I did that without pumping and while my boobs leaked a lot, I was dried up by the end of the week.
  
  feel free to PM me if you want!

  
  

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• lihau88 member

  March 2014

  Thanks ladies for all of the advice!! So far I have only pumped a little early this morning and then a little around 5pm. It's now been 7 hours and I'm going to try and see how much longer in to the night I can go.
  
  I am unfortunately allergic to all OTC pain relievers. ( So I am out of luck on that one.
  
  @Rach521‌ - I will pm you as soon as I jump on my laptop (I'm mobile most of the time). Thank you!!

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• Rbfdac1 member

  March 2014

  lihau88 said:

  Rbfdac1 said:

  I EPed for 8 weeks and just stopped this last week- I didn't really gradually stop.
  I went from pumping every four hours to every six, then to twice a day in about a week and a half. After a couple of days of just pumping twice a day, I just stopped- I would only pump if they started hurting and that only happened once. I have officially not pumped in three days and I will be 10 weeks pp tomorrow.

  
  And you didn't have any issues with engorgement turning into plugged ducts? I'm just afraid if I let it go it will turn into mastitis.
  
  I thought I was doing good with the lessening of my supply and then bam! This morning I was engorged because I stopped nursing. I'm hoping later today it will even back out.

  I didn't have problems with engorgement or clogged ducts at all. And I had a pretty decent supply as well- I easily fed LO 25-30 oz a day and had plenty to freeze at the end of the day. I was also worried about mastitis, but just went for it- I was exhausted from pumping. Those days of only pumping once were uncomfortable, but my supply very quickly dwindled. It seems as though a lot of ladies deal with clogged ducts and mastitis when drying up, so I don't know if I was just lucky or if I weaned just slow enough that it didn't happen.
  

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