How to successfully wean?

Question

Hello! I am trying to stop pumping, but am not sure how to successfully do that! Every time I try, I get mastitis. I have had it 3 times now😫what I’ve been doing is slowly going longer in between pumping and slowly decreasing the time i pump, however I am just getting over mastitis again. I don’t know what to do! I am so afraid to go too long without pumping now. Any suggestions anyone can share would be so appreciated! Thank you!

Answer

I would advise against pumping for less time. When you pump, still pump until you're empty. That contributes greatly to mastitis. Still try to cut down on how often you pump. So if you're pumping 6 times a day, go down to 5 times a day and make adjustments to your schedule to make it the same amount of time between each pump. Don't just drop a pump at a certain time and keep the other pumps at the same time. That would leave a huge gap of time between pumps. Keep that up for a couple weeks. If you've been keeping track of your milk production, you could probably start to go down one more pump once you notice your production decreasing. This makes it easier so you know if you're producing less, you can pump less often since your breasts aren't getting as full. It may take a long time. I started weaning off in September, and I was fully off the pump at the beginning of December. It got to a point when I was pumping once a day, then I just stopped because I wasn't feeling full anymore. Then if just pumped until I felt I needed to. Don't put yourself in discomfort when trying to wean off. I haven't had mastitis, so I can't relate to having it that many times (I am so sorry! I can't imagine!), but hopefully something like this kind of schedule helps! I'm sure there are supplements you can take that I've heard of, but I never used them.

Answer

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How to successfully wean?

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