Ok Guys stay away! This is going to get graphic. If you are still reading this, don't say I didn't warn you... Ok Mommies, how long should it take for Breast Milk to dry up? I have not been breast feeding,(for obvious reasons) for a month now, and still leaking when I undress, shower, lay on my belly or whatever. I would have figured it should dry up by now. Any Thoughts?
Your doctor can give you a pill to dry you up. Call and ask for it, I'm surprised they didn't offer it to you at the hospital. Otherwise, wear a tight bra and don't express any milk, it just tells your breasts to keep producing.
Actually, if your not in a lot of pain they will eventually dry up. If your in pain/swollen and don't want to see the MD go ahead and take yourself a hot shower to release some of the the milk for comfort. Do not feed baby for relief. I believe it's the actually suckling from the infant that stimulates your breast to produce more milk. In my own experience, I slowly started to took away one feeding every couple of days, giving my body time to adjust to the change demanded on it for milk, took a hot shower to release extra milk when needed, slowly but surely the milk production was smaller and eventually just stopped. DO NOT GO COLD TURKEY! This can prove to be very, very painful, if you need to stop the feedings at once, go see your MD. Good luck.
According to my doctor in the hospital, they do not give the meds to dry you up anymore, it causes strokes and stuff. Buff, I ad to go cold turkey honey, my baby died. (it's ok, you didnt know)
It took me MANY months to completely dry up after I stopped nursing. If it is just a little, I wouldn't worry about it, it'll gradually lessen until it finally dries completely up. If it is a lot I think I would speak to my doctor.
I nursed our second daughter for 6 months and my third one for a full year, and it took a couple years to stop leaking entirely. After a hot shower sometimes a little would come out, just a drop or two, for a LONG time. Hope that wasn't too graphic.
Cold compresses, cabbage in your bra, if you have discomfort only express a little milk at a time - so your body does not think it needs to produce more. I've got an extra handpump (unused) if you need it - just let me know. I might even have a head of cabbage in the garden - one stop shopping! Again, I am so truely sorry.
Oh Frame, I am so sorry to hear of your loss.:cry::cry: But yes, Cabbage leaves work great and I think there is cabbage extract type thing you can take as well.
I used cabbage leaves. I would also express just a little bit (pump 3-4 minutes and dump) just to relieve the discomfort. I am very sorry about your loss.
Oh Frame I'm so sorry for your loss. With my two, I dried up naturally. I breast feed the first one for 6 months, until I dried up and couldn't anymore and on my second I dried up at 3 months, which sucked, because I wanted to do it a little longer.
I dried up naturally too...it took months though....I wrapped ace bandages around my torso at nights for a couple of hours, and it helped.
Same with me...except it was 4 months with both of mine. It just went away all on it's own. And Frame I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. Brenda
I heard about the cabbage leaf thing, and thought it was hilarious, I am not leaking lots, just a little bit mostly when I take my bra off at night. I just wanted to make sure that I was not having any problems, being as my hormone system is so out of whack right now. Thank you so much to those of you who have expressed your prayers and sympathy. It really means a lot to me and my husband. It has been very trying over that last month, but slowly our sad tears are turning into fond memories. It is easier to remember how beautiful he was, and remember how funny it was to watch him stretch in my belly, like a little alien. (ok, rambling over now) Thanks a million you guys.
I am soo very sorry for your loss. Everything already mentioned is all good. My milk did continue on just one side for longer than it should (about 6 month without breast feeding) so my doctor checked my hormone levels to be sure everything was ok. All was ok and it eventually stopped. You are early on with this so watch for redness/swelling as you could get mastitis and it is very painful. I actually got my milk in VERY early and I suffered from a mastitis when I was still pregnant (around 7 months) which my doctor said was unusual. Here is a link about mastitis so you know what to look for. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mastitis/DS00678
