how do i switch from breast milk to bottle without my breast being engorged?

Question

my breast hurt really bad because im switching to formula,how do i keep them from hurting and decrease my milk production?

Answer 1

Slowly!! If you do it gradually enough, you won't have even a *moment* of pain. Pain is your body's signal that there is something wrong.

Answer 2

Why stop breast feeding.?! You should breast feed until the baby is atleast a year old. You will miss the experience and your child will miss the best possible milk ever.
But........ if you must stop.....
Weaning is a natural process and takes alittle time. It`s also natural for some discomfort during this time.
A doctor can give you something to dry up your milk. Also the lack of nursing will decrease your milk supply. Remember, breast feeding is Supply & Demand.
Wean slowly and hand express or pump to give yourself some relief.
A hot compress or a hot shower may help also. Some women find relief by applying cold. For others, a alternating heat and cold works best.
Wear a good support / sports bra. Some women find wearing a bra to bed at night helps.
Watch your salt intake.
Stay away from diurectics.. you may get immediate relief, but it could cost you. Over use of diurectics can lead to depletion of potassium, imbalance your electrolyte system & throw off glucose production.
It`s important that you stay calm and avoid stress, breasts are closely linked to the emotions.
I wish you would have asked about "trouble-free" breast-feeding..lol.. but... I hope this info helps.
Good Luck!

Answer 3

Someone mentioned a shot to dry up your milk - they don't do that anymore. There were too many bad side effects to those shots. That's very outdated.

Weaning SLOWLY and GENLTY is best for you and baby. Never eliminate more than one feeding at a time. When you cut one feeding, wait a few days until you aren't feeling engorged before cutting the next. If you go too quickly, you will get engorged. You can hand express or pump just a little bit to get comfortable if you need too. Also, warm showers help. Another thing you can do is to wear cabbage leaves in your bra to help dry you up and relieve engorgement.

Taking Sudafed or another decongestant containting Pseudoephedrine may help to dry you up as well.

Answer 4

Hi.
No matter what you do your breasts may get engorged.
Breast feeding is all about supply & demand. Weaning slowly from breast to bottle will decrease the milk supply.
Wear a good support bra and you could try expressing milk from your breasts yourself. Hot showers, letting the water hit your breasts.
You can also get some medication from your ob/gyn to help stop the producing of milk.

Answer 5

Go a head and pump what you have in there now to ease the pain. Now to stop the milk flow you need to use cold cabbage leaves. I don't know why but I was told by nurses at the hospital where I gave birth. I also know several people who have done this and it works. Place the cold cabbage leaves on your breasts for about 20 minutes several times a day and your milk will dry up.

Hope this helps. I never had to try it my milk dried up before I was ready for it to.

Answer 6

I would pump if you are not nursing at all. When I weaned my daughter, I took about a week and weaned her down every day and that helped wean my boobs too. I would pump when they get 'full', but only to relieve pressure, because your body will keep producing the milk if you pump more than a minute or two to empty them. People swear by cabbage leafs, which I did not need to try, but hey anything is worth a shot.

Answer 7

you can't keep them from being engorged it'll take some time for the milk to dry up and for the pain take some pain meds and ice packs on the breast always help

Answer 8

I'm not sure if you can, I think you just let your milk dry up on it's own. I have been told that birth control will make your milk supply decrease, so maybe talk to your Dr. about that option. Good luck!!

Answer 9

Your breasts will supply as much milk as you demand. Are you expressing milk or nursing? Whatever you're doing, do a little less, or less often. Gradually, you will produce less. Remember what you're doing...weaning, don't switch over night.

Answer 10

your breast will be engorged for a few days, wear a tight bra and use ice packs, frozen veggies anything you can get your hands on, it will subside I promise. I have been through it 3 times now!