How will I ever stop producing milk?🤔

Question

When I want to stop breastfeeding, how long will it take for my milk to dry up? How will I go about stopping? If I don't feed or pump every 4 hours I get rock hard and in a ton of pain. Is that what I am in for when I do stop breastfeeding?
I made a mistake and slept through the night because my 2 month old didn't wake up🙌🏼. So I missed 2 pumps, talk about pain😩😭!! My boobs were rock hard and shirt wet because my breast pads filled and I leaked out. This got me thinking how the heck will I stop once I'm ready?

Answer

It's best to just do it slowly. Some babies naturally drop a feeding at a time. Or you can spread out the feedings longer. Going cold turkey is hard.

Answer

i know it sounds crazy but cabbage will help dry up your milk & ease the pain. You just put it directly on your breast under your bra. It was the only thing that worked for me

Answer

If you allow your baby to wean off naturally you won't experience any pain. If you decide to stop, you'd definitely have to plan ahead to do so slowly. Gradually replace 1 feeding/pumping session with formula (should be the same time) for a week. The next week replace 2 (again sticking to the same times) continue doing this week by week. It will make things go a lot smoother for both you and baby. The old school way was to just use cabbage leaves. You'd place a leaf of cabbage around your breast put your bra on keep it on after about 2-3 days you'd be milk free completely. That method is a quick relief for mom but horrible for baby since they'd be forced to go without the milk they're used to so suddenly...

Answer

Do it slowly, don't just stop one day like some people do. I began stopping when baby was 2 months. I was producing plenty, so it wasn't like I was drying up already. (There are a lot of reasons I chose to stop then, the biggest one was that I was becoming depressed bc all I did was pump or feed baby. Emotionally, it was way too much for me.)  I just started putting more time between pumping sessions. When it started to hurt, I would try waiting 30 minutes- an hour and then pump, and I only pumped for 10 minutes or so. It seemed like each day I could go a little longer. After 7-8 days, I was done. Those last few days, I was only pumping 1-2 times a day.

How will I ever stop producing milk?🤔

Let's Glow!

The Top Baby Tracker App: Embrace New Beginnings with Tender Care

The Top Fertility Tracker App: Your Path to Achieving Pregnancy

The Top Pregnancy App: Nurturing Your Journey to Motherhood

The Top Period Tracker for Empowering Your Menstrual Health Journey