Fan Question
Karen🍓
Im a FTM currently almost 22 weeks. I know I should talk to my doctor first but based off of experiences with friends Im just going to get some ideas here incase I get the same responses from the docs as they have.
When baby is born I have decided not to breastfeed due to personal reasons which would make it near impossible. Are there any ideas on how to make sure I dont get mastitis since I wont be breastfeeding? I ask that these are only advice for me to keep in mind.
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I didn’t breastfeed my son either ( he’s now three ) I didn’t get mastitis but they did hurt ALOT when the supply was drying out. Do NOT express ( squeeze the breast ) pump nothing cause it will signal the brain to produce more. Talk to your doctor for sure.
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My friend decided not to breast feed after her lo was born in november. She massaged her boobs a lot, especially when they filled and got too hard, etc. Cabbage leaves for comfort. She said eventually her supply stopped. That’s the only thing I remember her saying.
Hope you figure it out!
Going to go ahead and say this…be prepared for overbearing nurses. Idk about anyone else’s experiences, but I chose not to breast feed cause it freaks me out, and with my first born, I had nurses trying to force me to breast feed. It was so mf irritating. As far as your question…I just leaked like crazy and finally they dried up
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Do you have a pump? If not most insurance companies will cover one. I just had a baby in January and he’s formula/bottle fed. I got engorged a couple times, but just pumped off the tiniest little bit, just enough to stop the pain and I dried up in just a few days. I know everyone’s different, but this was my personal experience.
I never breastfed and I was dried up within a week it did hurt the first couple days but hot baths helped you’ll leak.
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Hotshower and massaging and squeezing the milk out
I rubbed peppermint on my chest, then wrapped myself super tight with an ace bandage and I was dried up the next day!! Just make sure you have someone to help with the little one that night because peppermint is very strong
Apparently antihistamines help it dry up.
I would think if you don’t pump or stimulate from the start it would help your milk to not come in as much ?
You can also ask for a script to make it dry up
I breastfed for the first week and she wouldnt latch anymore. But i exclusively pump. Idk if that is an option for you, if it is just massage while you pump and make sure you get everything out. Pump every 2-3 hours. If you arent gonna do the boob juice at all i recommend you wear tight sports bras or do a tight ace bandage around the ladies!
Massage your boobs in the shower starting right by your armpits and work your way forward. Whenever they start to get sore and hard, massage them and put cabbage leaves in your bra. It helps dry up your supply
I never breastfed with either baby. A couple days after delivering my boobs got very large and very sore, and I leaked a little. within a couple days it was gone and no problems. Tight sports bra and ice packs or cabbage leaves is what I was told to use!! Good luck mama!!
Taking benedryl for my allergies unexpectedly dried me up in two days.
Usually if u don’t feed u dry up and Dr usual have something to help u I only nurse for my last one all the rest I didn’t ad no problems and I’m sure u won’t the more baby’s nurse off u the more milk u will produce if u don’t nurse u won’t keep developing milk
I didn’t breastfeed all 3 of my kids and never got it.
I got milk…didnt breastfeed. I wrapped my great in in ace bandage, put on a tight sports bra and didn’t let anything touch them for at least 24 hours as soon as I got home from the hospital. This dried mine up. I never got anymore.
Compress with a tight sports bra. It will eventually dry up iv never breast fed my kids, and I was dried up within a week. No issues
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Just don’t touch your boobs even when washing the milk will dry up and you will be fine stimulating them is what prevents the milk drying up x
I didn’t breastfeed at all and didn’t get it…leaked a little bit and then dried up…cabbage leaves inside your bra work really well or cold compresses
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Bind them. Super tight sports brq or ace bandage. The tighter, the less they move.
Heat, hot compress, hot showers and bi binding them helped me
I never got it and formula feed
I never Brest fed my daughter my dr told my to put cold cabbage leaves on my boobies and when I took a shower not let the hot water hit them. I think they dried up in a month
I am a mom of 2, 6 year old and 3 year old. I’m due with my third in 5 weeks, first be prepared for the forceful nurses, second I did not do anything just let them leak and Red Cabbage leaves work better than green but either is fine and will help dry up the milk supply, don’t bind them, also when your at home let them leak it relieves the pain. Only wesr sports Bras and breast pads and change the cabbage leaves out every hour or 2! No Mastitis for me, and this is what I will be doing with this baby again!
I also chose not to breastfeed either of my kids for my own personal reasons. I never had any issues with mastitis and my breasts felt fine and back to normal in about a weeks time. You dont have to breastfeed its your choice
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I didn’t breast feed both my kids. I wrapped myself with an ace bandage and wore a sports bra for a few days and they dried right up. No pain or issues.
I think that is more common in breast feeding mom’s you should be ok
They can give you a shot to dry the milk up, before you even leave the hospital or you can bind yourself very tight, very tight with receiving blankets, in 77 before the shot, i had to be bound in 87 and 91, they gave me the shot. But you’ll still leak a little, i put like poise pads in my bra for about a week.
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Never breast fed …4 kids…back in my day you were given a little red pill (not sure now what) to dry up milk supply…
Your dr can give you a medication to dry ur milk up
Cabbage in your bra. It kills the production
Cabbage leaves in your bra!!! Hands down the best dang thing ever!! I breastfed , but I was a dairy cow litterally… I made too much and would become engorged , I used cabbage to help… them to dry out once they were done… drug free, painless… it’s great!!
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Cold cabbage leaves in your bra from the get go. Dries breast milk in 24-48 hrs. As a lactation consultant and Postpartum Homecare Nurse it is my go to for all weaning moms. But dont pump, touch or stimilate even in the shower. Milk out creates more milk made. Bring to hospital ask nurse to put infridge labeled for you after delivery. Explin why they will understand and hopefully not insist what is best for your baby.
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I did pumping for a while till I dried up. Made sure my kids got all the colostrum first then formula when the colostrum turned to breastmilk. I also had a weak supply so I had no choice but to formula feed
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Mastitis is much more common in breastfeeding Moms. Wear a sports bra and within a week you should be ok.
I have 2 kids and I’ve never had it. I ace bandaged my boobs down right after I had my first and then when I stopped breastfeeding my second.
I did not breastfeed either. I kept a very tight sports bra on from the moment I got fully dressed after delivery. When you shower, u need to make sure you don’t shower with hot water and do not let your breasts be hit by the water…also, shower with the bra on. As much as they hurt, don’t touch or stimulate them. If u need to use anything for discomfort, use over the counter pain meds and ice…no heat. A lot of women said cabbage leaves but I didn’t get to the point of needing those. It took about 5 days for them to dry up completely and the leaking to stop. Good luck mama!!
I really struggled with milk supply despite doing everything recommended. I have a tremendous problem with insomnia, and my docs had me taking unisom nightly. One day, it hit me that unisom is the same thing as benadryl—one of its main purposes is to dry you up when you have a runny nose. I honestly think that probably had a lot to do with why my milk supply stayed so low. I could be wrong, but either way, my doctors assured me it was completely safe for baby (who is now a perfect 3 yo!). Might be worth it to give the unisom at night a try. Worst case scenario, it doesn’t help with milk reduction but you still get some extra-solid sleep leading up to your baby’s arrival! Lol. Good luck and congrats!
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They give you meds in the hospital after you have the baby. Don’t worry about it. Just be sure to tell your Dr you don’t want to breast feed.
That is more common if you are breastfeeding. I wouldn’t worry about it. They will dry up in about a week or 2.
I tried breastfeeding and it didn’t work for me. My milk dried in a matter of days and were not sore in the least bit. I definitely had milk but I don’t think like most women describe so you may be fine and not have to do anything.
Antihistamines, like benadryl, dry up your milk. I would talk to my ob and make it clear that you’re not breastfeeding and ask about options to dry up your milk. Also, mastitis is common in actively breastfeeding moms. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a new mom having it while drying up.