Stopping pumping, been an arduous journey! Tips please

[Anonymous]

Would benadryl work instead of sudafed for drying up? Added advantage of getting some sleep.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:CABBAGE saved my life. Try it and you'll regret not having dne earlier.

How did you use it exactly, thanks.

Seriously, 12 hours and the milk was gone. And I was pumping 9oz per session.

Leave the cabbage in the fridge.

Peel a feel leaves flat it with rolling pin and cover your entire naked breast with it. Wear the tightest bra you can tolerate over it and wait. 20-30 min maybe. Until the leaves warm up.
Repeat.
Do it for 2-3 hours (I did right before bed). Lastly dip your breast in a bowl of the coldest water you can tolerate (it huuuuurts). Wear the tight bra for bed.
My milk was gone next morning.
If you still see milk redo it every 24 hours until it's gone. .

No mastitis and no plugged ducts for me.

+1 for cabbage.

Buy from the grocery store. Wrap it in saran wrap and stuff in sports bra. Wear for 12+ hours 24/7. Sleep with it too. Change out.
WARNING: It smells really really really bad. DH thought it was the garbage that stunk, but it was the cabbage leaves in my bra. Your body heat initiates a chemical reaction in the cabbage.

You'll notice a decrease within hours. Completely dried up within in a day or two (depending if you had an oversupply or not). The milk gets stored deeper into the breast tissue, so keep wearing the cabbage leaves for an extra day or so.

Don't spend all that $$ on sage and sudafed (and why put extra stuff in to your body??) when cabbage leaves are quick, cheap, and effective.

MyLC said not to wear for more than 1 hour at a time since you can get candidiasis.

My LC said just the opposite. Wear for several hours and change out 2x/day. Agree with the above posters about how quick and effective cabbage is.

You're breeding candida on your nipple sitting with a sweaty warm cabbage leaf in your bra for that long. Yuck!

That is why the PP said she covered it with saran wrap

If you are Saran wrapping and then putting in, you aren't really getting the benefits, leaf should touch the breast.

I am one of the PPs who mentioned Saran Wrap, but not the one above. I placed the cabbage leaf on the Saran Wrap (one side of the cabbage only) and then placed it in my bra - cabbage leaf directly on breast and Saran Wrap protecting bra on the other side of the cabbage leaf. Worked like a charm!

[Anonymous]

benadryl is worth a try, sure.

Also, don't think I saw these mentioned but: Ibuprofen and ice! Helps with the engorgement, both the pain and the swelling.

It WILL hurt, sadly. You can't pump an hour to get all the clogs out if you really want to start drying up. I was in pain for a solid week, and tender for another week after that. (Went from 30oz/day to 0 in a week span at 9m pp)

You did great doing this for 6 months. Be proud and tune out the haters!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:benadryl is worth a try, sure.

Also, don't think I saw these mentioned but: Ibuprofen and ice! Helps with the engorgement, both the pain and the swelling.

It WILL hurt, sadly. You can't pump an hour to get all the clogs out if you really want to start drying up. I was in pain for a solid week, and tender for another week after that. (Went from 30oz/day to 0 in a week span at 9m pp)

You did great doing this for 6 months. Be proud and tune out the haters!

How many times did you pump that week and for how long? I have been putting cabbage leaves since yesterday evening, zilch. I have reduced to 3-4 pumps a day in the last few days from 5 pumps and am pumping less but want to stop in a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:benadryl is worth a try, sure.

Also, don't think I saw these mentioned but: Ibuprofen and ice! Helps with the engorgement, both the pain and the swelling.

It WILL hurt, sadly. You can't pump an hour to get all the clogs out if you really want to start drying up. I was in pain for a solid week, and tender for another week after that. (Went from 30oz/day to 0 in a week span at 9m pp)

You did great doing this for 6 months. Be proud and tune out the haters!

How many times did you pump that week and for how long? I have been putting cabbage leaves since yesterday evening, zilch. I have reduced to 3-4 pumps a day in the last few days from 5 pumps and am pumping less but want to stop in a week.

Are you using cold cabbage and tight bra?

[Anonymous]

You can't pump!!!! Hand express to alleviate the engorgement only n

[Anonymous]

OP. In pain!!

Been using cold cabbage for 2 days now (use a rolling pin and stuff my bra, change every hour or so in the daytime) and no effect, soaked through so many stuffed cloths. I am so engorged, I had to finally pump for a few minutes after 36 hrs of no pumping.

Any other suggestions? Would like to avoid sudafed, Benadryl and the like. DH got sage from WF so will make tea now.

[Anonymous]

OP. I only pumped for like 2-3 minutes with a manual hand pump since its rock hard and I haven't been able to sleep much last night.

[Anonymous]

I would take sudafed, that's what worked for me. Also you can't pump even for one minute.

[Anonymous]

I am 23:56. I was only pumping 2x day at that point (but making 30 ounces) I think I just went to 1x day then 0, but that's obviously different if you're at 5x day right now.

Really, really recommend ice and ibuprofen.

[Anonymous]

OP--I am the PP who wished you good luck w/ the cabbage leaves but explained how I gradually tapered down. I think after EP-ing for 10 months anywhere from 6 to 7x a day, it takes a while to lose your supply.

Although it was frustrating not to stop producing milk right away, the less painful way is to step down the # of pumps and length. You may leak some milk in the beginning but you don't end up with the extreme pain/engorgement.

If you were doing 5x for 20 min.stretch that out and do 4x for 15 minutes. Sleep longer at night. After a few days, do it for 10 minutes, etc.

Good luck.

b/t/w since i exclusively pumped, i was in a complete daze and felt like i did miss out on the bonding period w/ my infant daughter. hubby did night feedings w/ a bottle (eventually exclusivey BM instead of formula) but he said it was all a blur to him too b/c of sleep dep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP--I am the PP who wished you good luck w/ the cabbage leaves but explained how I gradually tapered down. I think after EP-ing for 10 months anywhere from 6 to 7x a day, it takes a while to lose your supply.

Although it was frustrating not to stop producing milk right away, the less painful way is to step down the # of pumps and length. You may leak some milk in the beginning but you don't end up with the extreme pain/engorgement.

If you were doing 5x for 20 min.stretch that out and do 4x for 15 minutes. Sleep longer at night. After a few days, do it for 10 minutes, etc.

Good luck.

b/t/w since i exclusively pumped, i was in a complete daze and felt like i did miss out on the bonding period w/ my infant daughter. hubby did night feedings w/ a bottle (eventually exclusivey BM instead of formula) but he said it was all a blur to him too b/c of sleep dep.

OP. Thank you so much for the suggestions and the support, your email really resonates me...yes I am now impatient to just stop and be done with it. And big nod to the haze comment. I hope my LO is able to bond and realizes that nanny and daddy are not mommy and that mommy is around to love and care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am 23:56. I was only pumping 2x day at that point (but making 30 ounces) I think I just went to 1x day then 0, but that's obviously different if you're at 5x day right now.

Really, really recommend ice and ibuprofen.

Took an ibuprofen and am just scaling down. Today it was 3x. Still get about 7 oz or so each time.