My milk won't dry up!

Ok, so I've made the painful decision to stop giving my girls breast milk. I've exclusively pumped for the last 4 months. I keep getting mastitis and now that the girls are up more it's getting increasingly difficult to keep them occupied and pump for 30 minutes every 4 hours.

My question is- how do I stop without my breasts getting horribly engorged? I've gotten to the point of only pumping twice a day, but every time I go past 12 hours I'm in pain! I've tried cold compresses and pumping for shorter amounts of time.

Any suggestions?

First of all, your baby girls are absolutely adorable!!  

It sounds like you're on the right path. It's suppose to be a 2 week process when stopping BFing, it was for me the first time around. I was told by my mid wife to change what I was doing every 3 days to give my body time to adjust. (So I would cut out one feeding every 3 days.) Leaving just first thing in the morning and last thing at night for BFing. Once I got down to that it was easier to cut one of them out and wean my daughter. Not everyone is the same though, so I hope it all works out for you!   I had mastitis twice with my daughter, NOT fun!

Good luck mama!!

Cabbage Leaves


It is not an old wives’ tale. Cabbage leaves really do relieve engorgement, possibly more effectively than icepacks or other treatments. Regular green cabbage such as you’ll find at the grocer contains sinigrin, magnesium, oxylate, mustard oil, rapine and sulphur heterosides. This natural mixture of compounds reduces tissue congestion by dilating the small blood vessels to improve blood flow to the area.
To use, crush the green cabbage leaves with a rolling pin to break the veins and to better accommodate the shape of your breast. You can snip out a hole for your nipple if that is more comfortable for you.
Place the cabbage leaves over your breasts, inside of your bra. Leave it in place until they wilt, usually 2-4 hours. Many mothers report relief about 8 hours after treating with cabbage leaves. You can stop using the cabbage as soon as the engorgement goes down.
IMPORTANT: Cabbage leaves are not recommended if you are allergic to cabbage or sulfa.

Ice Packs or Cold Compresses


Crushed ice or ice cubes in a Ziplock™ bag, or even a bag of frozen peas or corn from your freezer can also relieve your discomfort and diminish swelling. Wrap them in a thin towel and apply for about 20 minutes at a time.
Do not use warm compresses unless you are doing so to encourage the letdown reflex (letdown is when your milk flows out) in order to relieve engorgement. Overuse of warm compresses may actually increase milk production.
Milk Expression


Contrary to what you may have heard, it is fine to express a little milk (using a breast pump or hand expression) to relieve engorgement. Be sure to express only the amount of milk you need to get comfortable. This will not increase your milk supply, and may help prevent mastitis, a complication of engorgement. However, keep in mind that milk production works by supply and demand. If you express a great deal of milk, your body may respond by making even more, thereby setting back your milk drying progress. If you are very uncomfortable, try sitting in a warm bath and lean over into the water to allow your milk to leak out. Gentle breast (not nipple) compression may help in this process.

Quoting ~MrsMommy-x7~:“ Cabbage Leaves It is not an old wives’ tale. Cabbage leaves really do relieve engorgement, possibly ... [snip!] ... and lean over into the water to allow your milk to leak out. Gentle breast (not nipple) compression may help in this process.”

thats what i did and i dried up in about 3 days. the only downside is smelling like cabbage lol

Thank you so much for the ideas. I'm going to try the cabbage leaves.