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Weaning: Go Away Milk!

jen83mnjen83mn member
edited September 2016 in September 2015 Moms
Just have a few questions for those who have already weaned!

How long after your very last nursing session did it take before you completely stopped producing milk?

Did you have any issues with clogged ducts while weaning, and if so, how did you deal with them?

I had my last nursing session 6 nights ago (I was down to one feeding a day after cutting out all other feedings gradually in the weeks prior). 2 nights ago I noticed I had a clogged duct in each breast (I had mastitis at 13 weeks so I knew I had to take care of them before it got worse!). I've been taking hot showers while massaging the clogged ducts and expressing some of the milk (just enough to help unclog the plugged ducts), and applied cold cabbage leaves for the past few days when at home ... smelled great ;) Just wondering how long I should expect it to take before my milk goes away completely and I can stop worrying about clogged ducts, etc. I've been dealing with low supply issues for the past few months, so I'm kind of surprised this is even an issue!

Thank you!
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Re: Weaning: Go Away Milk!

  • GrowingapepperGrowingapepper member
    Can't wait to hear, I'm ready to start weaning. I just don't understand it. I can't grasp my head around which sessions to cut out first, what to do when my breasts are full.. It seems so overwhelming. And I'm scared of having clogged ducts. I had one once and it was so painful to unclog it.
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  • dmbfan46835dmbfan46835 member
    I have been completely done for about 2 weeks now. And it took me a good 2 to 2.5 weeks for my body to figure it out. I EPd and to wean I started pumping less ounces at each session and then dropping sessions. When I was down to just 6 oz a day I quit cold turkey. I had to pump twice after that but just to get some relief and to pull enough from my clogged ducts.  I wore sports bras to bed with cabbage. But I ended up fairly engorged. then I swear one night I had a ton of aches and shooting pains and then the next morning I wasn't engorged anymore and my boobs started to feel "normal" again. And now they are soooooo saggy! Hate them and miss my big BF boobies! 

    I still feel super guilty sometimes for quitting too. We are using up our freezer stash but I think I've only got about a week left. I'm gonna freak out when I'm out. So I hope you guys do better than me with that part!  Good luck! And some discomfort is normal. 
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  • jen83mnjen83mn member
    Growingapepper said:
    Can't wait to hear, I'm ready to start weaning. I just don't understand it. I can't grasp my head around which sessions to cut out first, what to do when my breasts are full.. It seems so overwhelming. And I'm scared of having clogged ducts. I had one once and it was so painful to unclog it.
    I cut out a middle of the day session first (a pumping session). Then a week later I cut out another middle of the day session. A week after that I cut out the morning session. And then finally last week I cut out the evening session. When I dropped a nursing session, I replaced it with a bottle of whole milk instead (I'll be working on weaning from bottles next - he'll drink from a sippy or a cup, but nowhere near the quantity he does from a bottle!). The transition was really easy and painless since I went so slow and a weak at a time, so the only time I've dealt with plugged ducts was after cutting out my final session. He also adjusted very well and never seemed to miss it (I think he's happy as long as he gets milk or food, whatever the source!). He was never a big comfort nurser except when he was really little, so I didn't need to worry about weaning from that. 

    Good luck!
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  • jen83mnjen83mn member
    edited September 2016
    dmbfan46835 said:
    I have been completely done for about 2 weeks now. And it took me a good 2 to 2.5 weeks for my body to figure it out. I EPd and to wean I started pumping less ounces at each session and then dropping sessions. When I was down to just 6 oz a day I quit cold turkey. I had to pump twice after that but just to get some relief and to pull enough from my clogged ducts.  I wore sports bras to bed with cabbage. But I ended up fairly engorged. then I swear one night I had a ton of aches and shooting pains and then the next morning I wasn't engorged anymore and my boobs started to feel "normal" again. And now they are soooooo saggy! Hate them and miss my big BF boobies! 

    I still feel super guilty sometimes for quitting too. We are using up our freezer stash but I think I've only got about a week left. I'm gonna freak out when I'm out. So I hope you guys do better than me with that part!  Good luck! And some discomfort is normal. 
    Thank you! Good to know I'm in the home stretch and another week or so and I should be starting to dry up completely ... and happy to know I'm not the only one who has stuffed her bra with cabbage! Oh, the things we do :) Yes, not looking forward to the saggy boobs at all, but I am looking forward to getting my hormones back to normal. It's been impossible for me to lose weight when breastfeeding other than the initial weight loss in the first few months, so hoping to get back on track with that too!

    I had to start supplementing at 10.5 months as I was making next to nothing pumping at work, so I've been doing two bottles of formula a day and nursing morning and night since then (and switched to cow's milk 3 weeks early when he was refusing his formula at the ped's ok). So I think I dealt with my end of only breastmilk sadness at 10.5 months! It was tough at first, but when I saw he didn't care and he was doing just fine, I was ok with it and happy to have made it as far as I did :) You'll get through it! You've done great!
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  • Mpho2910Mpho2910 member
    Trying to wean here as well. LO is a HUGE fan of comfort nursing and i am going cold turkey this Friday so yeah its gonna be fun. I also just want my body back lol..it's hindering my weight loss journey as well. Best of luck to you all ladies
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  • dmbfan46835dmbfan46835 member
    Ps- I've dropped 11 lbs since I fully weaned a couple weeks ago. So that's one awesome thing to look forward to ladies ;)
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  • jen83mnjen83mn member
    dmbfan46835 said:
    Ps- I've dropped 11 lbs since I fully weaned a couple weeks ago. So that's one awesome thing to look forward to ladies ;)
    That is SO encouraging! I so hope the same happens for me. It's been impossible to lose weight while breastfeeding for me and I've actually gained a few lbs over the months while breastfeeding. Lost 35 of the 55 lbs I gained while pregnant during the first two months post-partum (I retained water like crazy!), but nothing since! It's been frustrating to say the least, but hoping weaning and getting back on track logging calories will help!
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  • dmbfan46835dmbfan46835 member
    @jen83mn you will be so pleased! It was pretty easy too. I started the advocare 24 day challenge and lost 8 in the first week. Now I'm steadily dropping 1-2 a week. I'm 9 lbs from my happy weight so I bet you will have the same results:)
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  • lonziemlonziem member
    I don't know about you guys but I'm excited to not have to watch my coffee/wine intake anymore :) 
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