How to stop breastfeeding cold turkey without pain
Breastfeeding is a tough but beautiful experience. It’s a great way to bond with your child and a great way to start building a relationship with them. Some people breastfeed for years, and that’s perfectly fine. But, I decided to stop breastfeeding my baby when he turned one.
Many doctors encourage that you breastfeed as long as possible. When my son turned one I felt like he got all the good stuff he needed and was ready to eat solids exclusively.
When I first thought that it was time to stop breastfeeding, I tried to reduce the amount of times that I fed my baby throughout the day. However, that didn’t work. Sometimes I’d be too lazy to pump to reduce engorgement when my breast were full, so I would just breastfeed. My son would also walk over to me and would try to pull my shirt down signaling that he was hungry. And, it was just hard to say no to him.
Then one day I thought, “I have to stop cold turkey!” And it worked. It happened so fast. My baby forgot about it and stopped asking for milk in less than 3 days. If you’re planning to stop breastfeeding, I highly suggest you stop cold turkey too. It’s the fastest way to do it but, you have to know how to do it or it’s going to be extremely painful!
Here is my how to stop breastfeeding cold turkey guide while preventing pain, engorgement and mastitis.
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How To Stop Breastfeeding Cold Turkey
If you’re going to stop breastfeeding cold turkey it’s important that you know that it’s not going to be easy. Your breasts are going to get so full and that is very painful. The first day that I stopped, I didn’t pump at all. I had read an article that recommends that you don’t pump at all when you stop breastfeeding cold turkey. It mentioned that if you do pump, your body will get signals to keep producing more milk.
Although that may true, I actually suggest that you pump at least an ounce just to reduce pain and engorgement. If you don’t, IT WILL HURT. The milk will accumulate inside, your breasts will start to feel like rocks and you’ll even feel bumps. It’ll be so painful to touch them, you won’t even be able to sleep on your stomach. And even sleeping on your side or back will be uncomfortable. My chest, arms, and even my back were in pain. If I were to describe the pain, I would say that it was more of a burning sensation. That’s right, I felt like my boobs were on fire.
The night of the first day of no breastfeeding, I started to do more research and I read another article that recommends that you actually pump every now and then in small amounts. If you pump everything out, your body will continue to produce milk and you don’t want that. I ran to the kitchen after I read the article, grabbed the pump and took about an ounce out and OH MY GOSH! I felt so relieved. I continued to pump about an ounce every time that I started to feel pain. After about a week, I no longer had to pump.
Over the course of a week you’ll notice your milk supply decreasing because you won’t have to pump as many times a day. However, you might continue to produce milk even months after you stop pumping. I remember two months after I had stopped breastfeeding, I squeezed my nipple to check if the milk had completely dried out and It hadn’t. A few drops did come out, but a few days later it completely dried out. Every women’s body is different though, you might just get lucky and stop producing milk sooner.
Anyways, because every body is different you might or might not have to pump for longer than a week to avoid pain. If you do or even if you just want to get it over with as soon as possible, you should know that there are a few things you can do to reduce the pain and speed up the process. I’ve listed them below.
1. Pumping
I’ve tried electric pumps and I hated to have to sit in one place to get it done. This is the hand pump I preferred to use, I loved it because I was able to pump where ever I wanted. Also because I was able to control how fast or slow I wanted to go. Remember, only pump enough to get rid of the discomfort. In my case I was pumping about an ounce every few hours.
But, you may or may not have to pump as much. It really just depends how much milk you produce and how much pain and discomfort you can tolerate. Just rememeber that the less you pump out, the faster you will stop producing milk.
2. Cabbage Leaves
By day two of no nursing I was willing to try ANYTHING. I reached out to my cousin who had just stopped breastfeeding her daughter and she told me to put cabbage leaves inside my bra.
The leaves are supposed to reduce pain and engorgement.
At first I was like, “what!” and maybe I even giggled a little. But after I tried it I noticed that it reduced some of the pain. So, continued to do it for a few days until the pain went away. If you want to try this, you might want to wash the leaves first and then put them in the fridge so they can get cool. Also, change them every few hours once they start to get soggy.
3. No More Milk Tea
Earth Momma No More Milk Tea contains sage, which helps reduce breast milk production. This tea is formulated by a nurse and herbalist and it’s 100% organic. If you can’t get your hands on it, you can make your own tea with sage leaves.
4. Ice Packs
Heat sometimes encourages milk production, but cold temperatures on the other hand can help reduce milk production. Use ice packs, it will also help reduce swelling and pain.
5. Birth control
If you’re thinking about birth control, now is the time. Some birth control options contain high levels of estrogen and helps stop milk supply. Birth controls come with a lot of side effects so, I suggest you only use this method is you’re already planning to get on birth control anyways.
6. Pain Medication
I’m not a huge fan of pills, but if you feel like the pain is intolerable. You can try taking Advil.
7. Boob Moisturizer
It’s so important to moisturize your breasts when you are trying to stop breastfeeding. I used an all natural body oil from Veenourish and massaged my breasts just to keep them moisturized because I knew they were going to stretch with all the milk left in there.
This oil is 100% natural, it is herb infused and its super moisturizing. My nipples would get very dry and I would feel my skin stretching so bad and it would just make the whole experience much worse, but this oil really helped and I definitely recommend it.
If you stop breastfeeding cold turkey remember….
Deciding to stop breastfeeding cold turkey is a brave move. It’s also the best and fastest way to stop breast feeding in my opinion. If you’re in the process of cutting down your milk supply, or if you’re about to stop cold turkey, remember that it’s okay to pump a little for comfort.
Many people think you shouldn’t do it because it takes longer. But, if you don’t pump you’ll be in a lot of pain and might even increase your chances of mastitis. Mastitis is an inflammation of breast tissue that can sometimes lead to infection, swelling and a lot more pain. It’s better to be cautious and pump milk out. I can assure you that after about a week or so you’ll no longer have to keep pumping.
Stay strong momma! You got this.
Best advice! Thanks!