What happens after weaning?

[mum2maddy]

Hi!
I have weaned my daughter off the breast because basically she started to like the bottle better. She is teething like a maniac and I think she likes to chew on the teet while she guzzles the formula - She never chewed on MY TEETS! Thank GOD! I was down to 1-2 BF's a day until a couple of days ago and I haven't fed her from the breast for about 36 hours now. My breasts feel OK - they aren't full or anything but one is starting to feel a little plumper. What happens now? Will the milk dry up by itself? Someone said to massage my breast in the shower to stimuilate the milk flow so it would empty them???? That doesnt really make sense to me...
I'm sure at least one of you knows what i need to do, if I need to do anything.
Please give me advice. I sooooo can't wait to go "underwire bra" shopping but can't do anything till I am milkless.....
Ange :)

[kaydensmum]

I so want to know the answers as well - i finished bf almost 2 wks ago & my left boob is still very firm & gets quite sore behind the nipple. the other day i pushed what felt a lump & milk went everywhere!!!!!!! yesterday my right breast which feels very soft started leaking!!!! i expected it 2 b almost gone by now esp as ds weaned himself. i am wearing my old underwire bra as they feel more comfortable & supported but not really sure whether i should with my milk supply obviously still present. :eek:

Carole.

[poshBecks]

I think you should express a little each day ( it's been a while for me & i didn't have much milk in the first place, so from memory), It will dry up on it's own, but you'll need to express so that you don't become engorged i think. You don't want to get any nasty infections. Just by hand in the shower should be enough i think. you shouldn't need to get the pump out.
good luck

[mimi]

Yes Becky is absolutely correct. It may take months for the milk to stop being made [and for many it continues for longer but not on the same scale!] and it is reabsorbed by the body. The problems arise when your body continues to make quite alot of milk [usually when you have weaned suddenly - i.e. not slowly reducing the number of feeds over weeks/months] and the pressure bulds. This could lead to mastitis - :eek: NASTY - so reducing the pressure by expressing enough to make you feel comfortable is the key. Any hard lumps should definitely be massaged 'out' while expressing too.

Hope this helps.

:)

[kaydensmum]

can you still get mastitis even after a few weeks of not bf???? how much should i express each day, a few teaspoonfuls????

Carole.

[mimi]

can you still get mastitis even after a few weeks of not bf???? how much should i express each day, a few teaspoonfuls????.

LOL Oh Carole! I didn't mean to frighten you like that!!! :)
Technically you could - it just depends on how much milk you are producing - but really, expressing enough so that your boobs don't feel uncomfortable and tight, and making sure that there are no hard lumps or red sore spots anywhere [which would need to be massaged as you express] should keep you out of trouble!

Was the weaning 'quick' - or did it happen over a matter of weeks/months?

:)

[kaydensmum]

i aimed for a couple of weeks but Kayden had other ideas. i started to drop a feed on a Saturday and finished the following Sunday - he just would not take a bf. a couple of times ive expressed a few teaspoonfuls b4 going to bed - i haven't really had any major dramas but poor dh thought they were going to be his again & he can't understand why ime reluctant to let him have to much of a play (lol)..

Carole.

[mimi]

...poor dh thought they were going to be his again & he can't understand why ime reluctant to let him have to much of a play (lol)..
LOL! Yes - and this stage, too much amourous activity could still cause a flood of BM!! [sorry if that is too much information for some!]

Even though the weaning wasn't as gradual as you might have liked, it sounds like you aren't having TOO much trouble there ... and as I said, BM will still be made for quite a while [3 months is pretty standard - but others have reported much longer] - but if your boobs feel soft and not painful or tight then you should be OK!!

Cheers!
:)

[H&B'sMum]

I weaned Harry over a couple of weeks, down to 2 b/fs a day and then he decided for himself to stop. I just massged my breasts everyday in the shower to release some of the milk. If I found a lump or felt them to be really hard I only expressed enough to make them comfortable again. Don't express until they are empty, this makes them produce more milk.
I was no longer producing anymore milk after about 2 months. There is medication you can take if it's not drying up at all. But most Dr allow nature to take it's course.

[mum2maddy]

Hey, After I read the couple of replies last nite I trotted off into the shower to express. I did both breasts for about 10 squirts each and tried to get them to look "even". About 5 minutes after my shower I felt milk coming in and they started to leak. Now I feel like I should've just left them as they were comfortable enough as they were. If I am comfortable and not filling up can I just leave them be? I weaned Maddy over a couple of months so my body is used to not producing much.

[mimi]

If I am comfortable and not filling up can I just leave them be? I weaned Maddy over a couple of months so my body is used to not producing much.
Definitely!!
Your body slowly reabsorbs the milk made - and if you wean slowly then your breasts are used to making a smaller amount, then you may not need to express at all. As I said to Carole, if they are feeling comfortable and not causing you a problem, then that's fine - nature will do it's job then, and though some milk may continue to be made, it will be reabsorbed and will cause no problem.

I wonder why nature does have our bodies continue to make milk so long after weaning ??? maybe in case we are separated from our babies for some time and want to cntinue to BF ?? maybe??