am i engorged?

Question

i have started weaning my daughters. they have gone 2 full days without the breastmilk. only formula and their solids. in the pat couple days my breasts have literally gone up a cup. and c couple sizes. i am back in my pregnancy bras. what can i do to relieve the discomfort? and will pumping help at all or just make me more uncomfortable? mind you i have pumped for my daughters and that didnt bother me but will it help at all with engorging? i am just really needing some help with discomfort

Answer 1

I'm going through this right now, too! I'm on day 4, and look a bit less like a porn star today, but I still can't lie on my stomach to sleep.

What has helped me: wearing 2 tight sports bras all day long, cold baths rather than warm showers, ice packs the first 2 days, and using up the leftover pain meds I had from childbirth. The pain was much less by the 3rd day. Good luck!

Answer 2

When I weened my daughter I got engorged so know how you are feeling. I was so desperate I expressed my milk but the midwives informed me that this is not a good idea because if you take the milk away the body thinks it still needs to produce the milk and will produce more to replace it so the problem will not go.

The best thing I found helped me was to have a shower or to place warmish cloths on my boobs. Some people told me putting cabbage leaves on your boobs can help all though I never tried this.

However it will be worse if you have just stopped all feeds at once and not dropped the feeds one at a time over a period of weeks.

I hope this helps you and that the engorgment doesn't last too long.

Answer 3

I spoke with the lactation expert about this - she said to suck up the pain because pumping was just going to prolong the situation -

My breasts were incredibly hard and hot to the touch - it lasted for I believe 4 or 5 days total - the worst being the first two days -

I would avoid hot showers because that makes you leak - at least it did for me - everytime I would get out of the shower - I would start dripping uncontrollably

You can try cabbage leaves - you need to wash them well, then put them in a baggie in the freezer to get them really cold - you would then wear one leaf in each cup - change them regularly as they wilt - there is something in the cabbage that is supposed to help dry you up - not sure how it works though :)

If nothing else, the coldness will help to numb you up so you don't feel as much of the pain/swollenness -

You can also take advil -

Good luck!

Answer 4

I feel for you but if you have made it two days already hang in there. This is the only part of breastfeeding that I consider a downfall! Do not pump, it will only make your body think you need more milk so you will produce more. My dr told me to try cabbage leafs in my bra and to wear as tight of a bra that you can. Avoid any type of nipple stimulation and hot showers as that will make you leak even more. Hang in there, usually by the 4th or 5th day things are ALOT better! If you have any pain meds left from having the baby try those or just lots of pain reliever.

Answer 5

I would not suggest pumping because that will just keep the milk production up. Instead, try expressing milk by hand to the point where you get some relief. After a few days, your milk supply will decrease and you shouldn't have as much problem with engorged breasts.

Answer 6

I stopped breastfeeding myself on Friday - It was terrible at first I did pump a tiny bit because it was too painful ( I was practically in tears ). I took Ibprofen (sp). I put on a sports bra with disposable pads. It hurt even to put my arms up so I did not take a shower for 2 days - I was so fearful of getting undressed and then the water. It is now Tuesday and my breasts are alittle sore and are not hard like they were before. There is light at the end of the tunnel!!!

Answer 7

opinions vary on what to do, of course. when my daughter was 9 mos old, she decided one day she was completely done with nursing. so of course I was really engorged after a few days. what i did that worked was to pump as much as i could, and then i was fine and i never got big again and the milk dried up without any further problem for me. this wasn't the advice i was given -- but it worked. i was told to jsut pump a little bit -- just to relieve the pressure and then to wait it out.

Answer 8

Pumping will give you immediate relief, yes. But in the long run, it'll take longer for your milk to dry up and you'll just end up continuing to go threw the engorgement. If it were me, I'd just ride it out and get it over with vs prolonging it.
Try a hot hand towel or a hot shower and gentle massage.

Answer 9

If you are trying to wean completelym don't pump. It will just prolong the discomfort. You should be great in about a day.

Answer 10

Try gradually reducing your pumping so you can reduce your supply without engorgement or mastitis.