I’m beginning my weaning process and want to know what other mothers experience. How long does it take to dry up? Is leakage bad? Is it painful? Should i go cold turkey or more slowly?
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Cabbage leaves will help to dry up the supply
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I went slowly and only nursed at night, but my milk was odd I think and took 4 years to dry up fully
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I weaned over a course of a month… we were doing 4 feedings a day, so I cut out a feeding each week and the last week I was only nursing at night… nursed for the last time on their 1st birthday. For both of my youngest. We didn’t use bottles so we went straight to the sippy cup.
I cold turkey stopped when my son was 1 year and 7 months and it only took 2 or 3 days for him to stop wanting it and by a week it was so much better. He was finally able to self sooth himself to sleep. It hurt for about a week. My boobs were swollen and sore. I let them dry up and I would release a very little bit of pressure to help the pain eventually around the 4th day but boobs hurt so bad and were so swollen I stood over the sink with hot water and a rag massaging all the milk and pressure. After that they dried up fast and didn’t swell again.
You absolutely want to do it gradually. I would probably cut out 1 feeding every few days, giving your body time to adjust before cutting out the next one. If you allow yourself to become engorged you run the risk of it turning into mastitis. There’s no reason to put yourself in pain and potentially get a bad infection.
I went cold turkey at 11 months, swapped him to 3.25% milk, with the ok of my doctor of course. Took a few weeks for things to even out I’d leak at night at times, not often during the day, I just either stood in the shower and hand expressed for some relief or I used frozen cabbage leaves to help ease the discomfort
I weaned my first by dropping down to night feeds only, and then dropped a feed every couple weeks. Took a bit but it gave my body time to adjust so I was never swollen or risked mastitis or anything. My second is 11 mos and on night feeds now. I gave both formula during the day which made it easier to transition to milk after a year.
Go slowly. How old is the baby? I did a course to train to be a breastfeeding support worker a few years ago. The advice was to always say yes to the baby but try to add in delays such as yes when we finish such and such, yes but first we can have some juice etc etc.
If the baby is too little to ask then just start cutting out feeds one by one
I started offering bottles and then slowly worked up more bottles vs breastfeeding, I had some “tightness” and minor leakage but absolutely not as bad as I was worried about
Mine wasn’t. We started eliminating nap feedings, 2 weeks later we stopped morning feeds and a month later we stopped night feeds. Wasn’t painful and I never leaked or swelled up again
It’s recommend to take one feeding out a week. Ive been told it hurts a lot. I’m slowly getting there myself
It normally doesn’t take very long at all as you.start weaning don’t pump any extra or anything that will keep your body from producing less milk. Your body will make less as you are feeding less. Then when you stop it only takes a few days normally to stop producing.
We used the weaning dates from the farmers almanac to officially wean. Before that we gradually nursed less and less and she never noticed, same with pacifier!
Isn’t there medication for that I remember yrs ago I couldn’t nurse they gave a pill to dry it up
Gradual weaning is best - less chance of plugged ducts, mastitis, and engorgement. Cut out one feed during the day and give it a few days to a week before cutting out the next feed. Pump or Express milk ONLY if you’re so full and uncomfortable, otherwise let your body adjust
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I honestly wouldn’t do it cold turkey unless you want severe leaking and mastitis… after i completely stopped it took about 2 or 3 weeks to stop leaking xompletely
Slow!! Start by only nursing at night time, then wean from there or else it’ll totally hurt and most likely cause mastitis!
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It’s painful and you will leak bad probably a good week or more depending how long you’ve been breastfeeding and how much u make
When parent led, weaning should be a gradual process. One session per week.
Cold cabbage doesn’t dry up milk, it helps with pain. If mom is engorged and in pain then she is weaning too fast.
It can take years to fully dry up.
As far as what to expect I can’t offer any advice. We do self weaning so I’ve been nursing for almost 5 years.
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Slowly. Definitely slowly. I went cold turkey for 2/3 kids and it was painful. Over engorged boobs from armpit to front. I could barely move let alone pick my babies up. I only fed at night with the 3rd child to slowly get him off. And sometimes for putting him to sleep during the day.
I dont suggest cold Turkey. You’ll get clogged which hurts like heck. I slowly started reducing my pumping time then after a few days, reduced it again until I was down to nothing
I pumped and stored with my son for a week when he was about 7 months and it was a little rough but with my daughter I stopped cold turkey at 13 months and everything just stopped. Just be prepared either way and you’ll be just fine. I’ve heard cabbage leaves help with swelling as well. Never tried it though 
I did it cold turkey. I pumped myself every time my breast were full (to get all the milk stuck in my breast until there was none). In a week there was nothing, no pain, no leaks, no milk. I did cabbage leaves for the pain and took sage pills. Good luck!
Apart from the comments here you should also try to prepare emotionally, for me i always felt that type of grieve when i stopped breastfeeding, it was like the heaviness came on me of knowing that my child didnt actually need me to feed and someone else can do that instead of me.
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It was a gradual process for us and my boob’s were still in pain off and on for a couple of weeks. It was maybe 2 weeks before my little girl turned 3 she completely weaned herself
I went slowly. I started by cutting night feedings at 13 months. Then at 17 months when I got pregnant I went from feeding on demand to just morning, nap, and bedtime for about a week or two. Then I cut the nap feeding. Then I cut the bedtime feeding. And then I cut the morning feed. All this over the course of a month I would say. I didn’t have too bad engorgement and I wore tight sports bras. Maybe hand expressed once or twice in the shower when I got uncomfortable. Within a week my milk was almost gone
Do it slowly. I started cutting one drink at a time for 1 week each one. Both me and baby were very happy at the end
I will b honest. Everyone I know that weaned at around old ended up with mastitis. I dont know what they did. But that’s what they got. I let her choose when she was done mad weaned slowly and had no issues ever. We went 4 yrs and 2 months
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Cold turkey can cause mastitis! So be super careful. Definitely go more slowly. Also cold cabbage leaves in your bra help to dry things up apparently 
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Watch out for hormonal changes too, it’s not just physical. Stopping BF can affect your mood, it caught me unawares
Um yes it hurts. It feels like your boobs are gonna explode. But it goes away after about a day or two.
Girl cold Turkey… and painful as hell I was I’m college so I kept leaking thru shirts had to buy pads or milk myself in the bathroom lolol ice packs for soreness but took roughly 2wks for me to have my titties shrivel up and die lolol
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Collette Coco Ridler
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It’s all about supply and demand…if you’re gradually not nursing as much, your supply will naturally, slowly deplete. If you’re full on nursing and stop “cold Turkey”, it’ll be painful and you could get mastitis. It could take months to completely dry up, but again, if you’re only nursing once a day at that point, it won’t be noticeable
Do it slowly or it will get painful if you get engorged like I did. Did it slowly the first time, absolutely no issues. Circumstances forced me to do my second one immediately and not only did I get engorged, I leaked like crazy. Slower was better for me, good luck
I went cold turkey with 1 and did a slow wean with the other. I didnt have any problems either time BUT my boobs looks soooo much better after slowly weaning. When I went cold turkey i was left with pancakes. Super devastating to go from a D pre baby to a very small B. I felt so out of proportion. I had normal Ds after weaning.
Do it gradually, never go cold turkey, i did it very slow and gradually. My baby adjusted well which was most important and my supply dryed up with in 2months
Don’t go cold Turkey, you’re likely to get clogs which can lead to mastitis. Slowly cut out 1 feeding at a time.
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Take one feeding away at a time. Replace with a new habit like reading a book, singing to them, rocking them. Even Dad can help by taking them during a normal feed so as to distract them.