Do anything special if you want to go straight to formula after birth?

[Anonymous]

For my second I took Sudafed and don’t remember being too uncomfortable. For my first I exclusively pumped for 4 months and remember it was hard to stop. I’ve decided to go straight to formula. I know we’re supposed to ice and wear a tight bra. By milk supply was great when I pumped so I’m concerned it may be hard for me even without stimulating the breasts. Any experience or advice would be helpful. Thank you

[Anonymous]

OP, this is going to be an inferior answer ... but I did nothing, nothing special, nothing you mentioned and it was fine. I do still have the smallest amount of tenderness, like 2% of the time, in one breast. Not sure if it's related.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is going to be an inferior answer ... but I did nothing, nothing special, nothing you mentioned and it was fine. I do still have the smallest amount of tenderness, like 2% of the time, in one breast. Not sure if it's related.

I’m worried about mastitis. When I quit the first time it was painful for at least a week. Second time didn’t pump and I think Sudafed helped. I think I took it on day 2.

[Anonymous]

My MIL mentioned they gave her a shot back in the day to dry her milk up. I wonder what that was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My MIL mentioned they gave her a shot back in the day to dry her milk up. I wonder what that was.

My mom got a shot too, in the 70’s.

[Anonymous]

OP, honestly I’d ask a nurse while you’re in the hospital- NOT a lactation consultant- for the safest, most comfortable solution for you.

Now off to research what that “shot” was that my 75 year old MIL spoke of so fondly!

[Anonymous]

PP - and as promised:

In the 1960s, oestrogen preparations given alone or in combination with androgens were demonstrated to be effective in 40% to 100% of women (Llewellyn‐Jones 1968; Senior 1969) but their reported association with a high rate of rebound lactation (resurgence of lactation following cessation of treatment) and increased risk of thrombosis and pulmonary embolism discouraged their use (Jeffcoate 1968). After it was demonstrated that postpartum lactation depends primarily on pituitary prolactin secretion, the synthetic dopamine agonist and strong prolactin inhibitor bromocriptine was introduced in 1972

[Anonymous]

Cabbage leaves. Old fashioned mastitis relief. They are anti inflammatory and can help some with drying up.

I’d ask your doc directly too.

[Anonymous]

Yes, to cabbage leafs in your bra right away!

[Anonymous]

Morbid but there was an extensive thread on this on my local baby group helping a mom whose newborn had died, and the consensus was cabbage leaves plus tight sports bra 24 hours a day plus sudafed plus massaging and hand expressing (NOT pumping) a tiny bit in the shower just to get relief from engorgement as needed.

[Anonymous]

I just wore a sports bra and occasionally iced them, sometimes with those heat/ice packs for breastfeeding and sometimes just with bags of frozen peas. It was uncomfortable for a few days, then improved. I tried the cabbage leaves, too, but I don’t think they made any difference.

[Anonymous]

I wore a tight sports bra day and night for a few days. And that was it. No cabbage. I took an antihistamine at bedtime as well. Never any issue.

Just made sure not to touch them at all for those few days and not do any expression whatsoever.

[Anonymous]

Ha! Do you cook this cabbage?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ha! Do you cook this cabbage?

No needs to be raw

[Anonymous]

Isn’t there a higher chance of breast cancer if the breasts are not fully emptied or something along those lines?