Intro and boob question!

taylorjeanne84 · June 2014

Hi mamas! I was so excited to see that this board was added. It will be nice to have a support system for us FF moms. I have a 3 year old DS and am 39 weeks pregnant with DS 2.0. I plan to formula feed from the very beginning. With DS I BF for about a month and then switched to formula and my breasts were in agony for at least a week.

My question for you experienced moms is this: What is the best way to keep your milk from coming in at all? Is this possible? Any tips on relieving pain, etc?

Thanks so much!

Edit: spelling

poohbear033 · June 2014

I don't have experience because I did breastfeed at the beginning but my IRL friend who gave birth after me FF from the start. She just wore tight sports bras and used cold compresses.

BabyMayinMarch · June 2014

I only BF in the hospital, and my milk barely came in about 5 days later. It was only an issue when I was in the shower.

potbellypig · June 2014

My milk came in anyway, FULL FORCE. It was very painful.

What I did to dry it up:

Took pseudoephedrine (brand name Sudofed I think) regularly, I believe the directions are 1 tablet every 6 hours. I used cold cabbage leaves as a compress, and I pumped just a bit to relieve pain and prevent mastitis. I gave DS the few ounces I pumped over the course of the 2 weeks it took to dry up the milk. I know lots of people say not to pump at all, but that option would have been way too painful for me. Not sure if this is why it hurt so much, but my midwife advised me to pump when my water broke to see if it would induce labour instead of using Pitocin right away.

squirmyandsqueaky · June 2014

snuff9861 said:
I just switched from trying to breastfeed to exclusively formula fed. Mind you I had very little supply so my engorgement was not bad. I just sucked it up for a day or two and then the third day my boobs no longer hurt.

And no you cannot prevent milk from coming in. It's hormonally driven and will occur whether baby is BFing or not.

I just switched from BF to FF, too. Did you experience any leaking? I'd like for my (very low) "supply" to dry up, but DH thinks it would be good to BF morning and night, albeit a little bit. I'm torn with which route to take. DS is about 11 days old and after "BFing" he still wants a 2 oz bottle, so he is clearly getting a minuscule amount.

jtmomma13 · July 2014

I just want to make a quick note that if you are allergic to sulfa then do NOT use cabbage leaves because you will have an allergic reaction!

curlylocks3 · July 2014

At first I wore sports bras and then eventually switched to just wearing a supportive bra (no underwire). Cabbage leaves helped, as well as taking Motrin around the clock. Lastly, ice packs can really help- I used bags of frozen veggies.

DTNZ4Ever · July 2014

I wore 2 sports bras 24 hours a day immediately after DS was born. My milk came in and my boobs were huge and very sore for a couple of days. I used cabbage leaves in my bra and ice packs too. Took some Advil to relieve the pain. I took cool showers so I didn't leak. It took a few days before they went down.

BBColt78 · July 2014

Thanks for the advice girls. I have a three day old and my boobs are killing me today. I knew to come straight here to find what I needed. Hoping this deal is over with soon. Of course I have guilt for trying to dry my supply and not give it to my baby, but I just can't.

Want a personalized experience?

Intro and boob question!

Re: Intro and boob question!

Choose Another Board

Search Boards