Best way to stop breastfeeding

kelly_cole

Hello everyone,

My daughter is 6 months old now and I have been exclusively breastfeeding (except for the last 2 months because I now also have her on 3 meals a day) but what I mean is I haven't been using formula. I need to go back to work a couple days a week and my husband and I have decided that it is time to stop breastfeeding. I'm not really sure of the best way to do this - basically whether to go cold turkey or to do it as a gradual process. Any tips would be much appreciated.


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tootoo

Gradually as you risk mastitis if you stop cold turkey.
I think its recommended to drop one feed every few days.

mwa

Yes don't just stop suddenly or at the very least you will be very uncomfortable and you risk mastitis. The thing to do is choose a feed to drop and do this for a few days before dropping another and so on.

kelly_cole

Thanks guys so it looks like cold turkey is out! Mastitis is the last thing I need right now. Was hoping someone might've had a cold turkey trick, as I am no good at doing it gradually I started "doing it gradually" a while ago, but always just give her the boob (because its easier and she likes it better) and think next time I'll drop a feed and it never happens lol.

Thanks for your feedback x

Gillyx

If you don't want to stop completely and the only reason for stopping is going back to work, your supply would adjust to 1 or 2 feeds a day. If you do this the days you go back to work your supply will drop as you go, as obviously if you're not there you won't be feeding.

But if you do want to stop completely if your little one is a boob monster, maybe only feed her in the same place i.e a chair in her bedroom or whatever, and she will start to associate that place with feeding, maybe just drop to just morning and night. Does she take a bottle easily? Milk is the main source of nutrition up to 12 months so she will need formula to replace the boob milk. x

pukkamum

I went cold turkey with both my last babies and didn't develop mastitis but thats not to say you won't. I was very uncomfortable for a few days but cold compresses really helped and you must not express any milk at all even for relief as it will stimulate the milk again.

kelly_cole

Thank you, I have dropped 2 feeds today, and my boobs are mahooosive lol, I will see how it goes over the next couple of days. I am going away for a few days at the end of July so was hoping to be completely boob milk free by then, its going to be hard enough to leave her without having a constant reminder with aching leaky boobs!! This is my 3rd baby and for some reason the though of leaving her is much much harder than it was for the other 2.

Nicki

I had to wean my third child cold turkey for health reasons (his not mine). I disagree with the not expressing to relieve discomfort advice others have given. I never emptied the breast but did just take the edge off the engorgement for the first couple of days and after a week or ten days my milk had dried up completely with no mastitis and little discomfort. If you think about it logically there is no physiological difference between stopping feeds over the course of a couple of weeks by dropping a feed every few days, and expressing small amounts every now and again but less than a full feed.

devildog

I wanted to stop breast feeding my youngest at that age, but four months on wasn't getting anywhere (easier to give in than not) I decided that I had to make them not want to feed, so applied some vinegar to the relevant area job done lol, overnight
They are grown up now and still don't like vinegar

Brian_Steele

Don't forget that the best advice is not to stop. If we're talking about 6 months here, then continuing to feed the baby proper milk rather than artificial follow-on formula is still a better option. If you want to feed only morning and evening, for example because you are going back to work, your body will regulate and you should be able to continue that way.

kelly_cole

Hi Brian,

Thanks for your feedback, but stopping breast feeding is now a necessity as I have to go into hospital for major surgery at the end of next month so breast feeding would be impossible.