By Lyn Mettler
When I decided to wean my 12-month-old son, I found tons of information regarding the process as it related to him, but I found myself feeling quite clueless when it came to my own body. I didn’t know what to expect: How could I avoid becoming engorged when we finally dropped that last feeding? When would my milk dry up? What would my non-nursing breasts look like?
Many mothers feel the same confusion, and unfortunately, there is not a lot of information out there focused just on the moms—certainly a key person in this whole weaning process. So below, you’ll find some of the top physical weaning issues that breastfeeding moms face and hopefully a few answers to make it a smoother process for everyone involved.
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
While leaving the breast behind is often not fun for your child, it’s also not too much fun for you, and weaning can oftentimes be physically uncomfortable. Suddenly you are producing more milk than your child is drinking, and it has nowhere to go.
Suddenly you are producing more milk than your child is drinking, and it has nowhere to go.
The best way to combat this issue is to wean your child slowly and gradually, says Dotti James, associate professor of nursing at Saint Louis University. “Begin with eliminating one feeding at a time—any one that a mother chooses,” she says. “After a week, eliminate another feeding and so on.” She recommends replacing the dropped feeding with a bottle or cup of liquid to fill your child and to encourage your breast to produce less milk.
In addition, just how slowly you take it depends on how long you’ve been breastfeeding your baby and how often he has been nursing. “The more the baby has been nursing, the longer gradual weaning takes, because you want the milk supply to decrease,” James says.
Lumps, Bumps, and Breasts
Despite your best efforts to take it slow, you still may end up with lumps, plugged ducts, engorged breasts, and sometimes even a painful condition called mastitis. For lumps that pop up, James suggests massaging them away gently. If the lump is tender, that may indicate a blocked duct, and she suggests applying a hot pack, massaging and expressing some milk and then applying a cold pack afterward to clear the blockage.
“A persistent lumpy area that becomes very red and sore may mean you have mastitis, especially if you have a fever and feel unwell,” James says. In addition to trying to clear the blockage, she recommends seeing a doctor, who may prescribe antibiotics to clear up the infection. Pumping or expressing a little milk can also help relieve the discomfort, but she cautions mothers not to fully empty the breast. Otherwise, you are just encouraging milk production.
Ginny Carson of Charleston, South Carolina, found the pump to be a good friend throughout the process of weaning her then 6-month-old daughter. “Whenever I felt uncomfortable, I would pump just enough to relieve the discomfort in hopes that I was telling my body to slow down production,” she says. “Over the course of a couple of weeks, I felt that discomfort less and less until I wasn’t pumping at all.” She was also happy to know her baby was still getting her nutrient-rich breast milk that she had pumped even after she was fully weaned.
Milk, Milk, Go Away
You thought when you stopped nursing your milk would magically disappear, right? Wrong. Believe me, I was in the same boat and was quite surprised when drops of milk kept showing up week after week after week. And I’m not alone. “I was a little taken aback by how long it took for the milk to completely dry up,” Carson says. “Several weeks after I had stopped breastfeeding and pumping, I noticed that I could still produce milk.”
According to James, milk can be expressed for weeks, and even months (yes, it’s true), after the weaning process ends. In addition, she says, “Leaking is common early in weaning, but stops when the breasts acclimate to the decrease in breastfeeding.” For moms who are ready to leave milk-stained bras behind, the slowness of milk to dry up can be disconcerting, especially when you’re surprised with a sudden spray during an intimate moment with your husband (any stimulation, even your shirt, apparently, can encourage milk flow).
While you’re drying up, you may be wondering where the leftover milk goes. According to James, any remaining milk is reabsorbed into the body. Mystery solved.
Not Necessarily a Pretty Sight
Sorry gals, those full, nursing breasts are just a memory when you stop breastfeeding, and, in fact, you might be surprised at your newly-developed, non-nursing breasts. “When I was completely done nursing, I was totally shocked at how quickly my breasts sort of shriveled up and how lumpy they were as my milk completely dried up,” says Ashlie Hand of Kansas City, Missouri, a mother of two. “I remember joking that I looked like I did in seventh grade…”
Yes, it’s true, according to James. Once you stop nursing, “breasts will undergo a process of involution or return toward non-lactating size and shape,” she says. “Your breasts were forever changed by your first pregnancy. They will not return to their pre-pregnancy size and shape, whether you breastfed or not.”
So head out and get a new supportive bra. I know I am no longer a fan of the one-hook, sheer lacy bras. I am now a proud wearer of multiple hook, underwire, slightly-padded, supportive bras, and, hey, no one is the wiser. Plus, it’s just one of many small sacrifices moms make to do the best we can for our children—and it’s all worth it, even those nasty old plugged ducts.
Managing Weaning Discomfort
- Avoid breast stimulation
- Wear a supportive bra
- Take mild analgesics, i.e. Tylenol, as needed
- Pump or express milk if necessary to relieve discomfort, but don’t empty the breast
- Wean gradually by dropping no more than one feeding a week
- Apply chilled cabbage leaves to the breast to relieve discomfort and discard after they become warm
