I need to start weaning and need help:(!

macbook · October 2014

I've had mastitis twice now and get recurrent plugged ducts constantly. Last night my baby slept from 8:30-2AM and now i have plugged ducts on both sides. Ive been going through this for months now (baby is now 4 months old) and I would really like to wean her or at least significantly decrease my supply.

Does anyone have experience with sage/peppermint tea? How effective is this really? Any other things I can try?

I don't know how to go about this because I don't really pump. I am always feeding her on demand which I think makes weaning more complicated especially since she exclusively relies on just breast milk. Any suggestions or thoughts would be really appreciated! Thanks

DahliaFlower · October 2014

I had several bouts of mastitis early on. The last time was when my son was 3 months old and fortunately, it did not occur again. I nursed and pumped through 12 months.

Not to question your decision to wean at 4 months, but are you really certain that is what you would like to do, or do you just wish to improve your situation with recurrent plugged ducts and mastitis? If you are open to it, I would suggest taking lechithin and evening primrose oil to try and improved the blocked ducts which keep leading to mastitis. Also, maybe you SHOULD try pumping once in awhile to clear up the blocked ducts. Sometimes you can do some pumping with high setting, use massage and really clear things out.

Your baby is still young and going more than 6 hours without feeding or pumping may be too long if you are prone to blocked ducts. There were times when I would get up and pump if I woke up feeling engorged.

If this doesn't work and you are really focused on weaning, I think it will be a situation where you would need to start introducing formula and cutting back on BM slowly.

macbook · October 2014

Hi Dahlia, thanks for your reply. I feel like I'm in a very hard position because I'm exhausted waking up every three hrs at night. But if I don't and she sleeps, I get a plugged duct! I just can't win!
On Friday she got her four month shots which made her sleepy and reduced her appetite which caused this most recent plugged duct. I hadn't even been off antibiotics for one week at that point from the previous mastitis. It is so frustrating. I used to take lecithin but stopped because I didn't feel like it did anything?? Did it really help you? Can you sleep through the night now?
In terms of formula, would I give her a certain number of ccs when she was hungry before giving her my breast?

Jmd527 · October 2014

How many lecithin pills did you take daily? I also dealt with plugged ducts and still (at 6 months PP) am engorged every morning (LO is a great sleeper). When I started on lecithin, I took 3 per day. After a week or two of no plugged ducts, I decreased to 2, then eventually I made it down to just 1 per day. If I feel the slightest bit of a plug coming on, I'll take one (an extra for the day) just to be safe. So far it seems to be working and I'm SO happy someone suggested this to me.

macbook · October 2014

Honestly, I wasn't totally consistent. Sometimes I would take two, other times three. Maybe I should try it again? How long did it take to notice a difference? How much longer could u go without feeding overnight and not getting a plugged duct?

Jmd527 · October 2014

It probably took a couple weeks. Like I said, I kept decreasing the number of pills but I wasn't afraid to take an extra if needed. My LO is (and was when I started taking lecithin) sleeping 7pm-6am and I pumped just before going to bed around 10 and have to hand express to comfort almost every morning around 5/5:30, so I'm going about 7-8 between nursing sessions.

macbook · October 2014

i very well may have an oversupply issue. I am going to make sage/peppermint tea and drink this three times a day. how long should i do this for? when i stop, its not like the supply will rebound right?

I can put cabbage leaves on my breasts too.

i just wish there was an exact protocol to follow....

I honest;y can't continue like this. When i go back to work full time in two months (baby will be 6 months then), I will need to be at least somewhat well rested...

mommatotwo2 · October 2014

I went back to work when LO was 12 weeks and she still doesn't consistently sttn at 16 months, you do adjust and survive. That said, everyone has a threshold and if weaning is the right thing for your family, I'd look at kellymom for weaning info or check out the formula feeders board, since many of them have been through the process of weaning at less than a year. Good luck!

DahliaFlower · October 2014

macbook said:

Honestly, I wasn't totally consistent. Sometimes I would take two, other times three. Maybe I should try it again? How long did it take to notice a difference? How much longer could u go without feeding overnight and not getting a plugged duct?

The whole engorgement / plugged duct thing definitely seems to improve as time goes on. Your body just adjusts to have the milk supply and as baby is sleeping more on a regular basis, you probably won't run into this problem. It is really common to have blocked ducts and mastitis early on. My first bout was when my son was like one week old, then had two more until he was about 3 months. Then nothing after that. I was able to go longer without feeding / pumping as he grew older.

macbook · October 2014

The weird thing is I didn't start getting plugged ducts until 2 months and now baby is 4 months and i've been battling the problem....I guess now is the most common time since baby is sleeping longer at night...

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