In case you've never tried stopping breastfeeding/pumping 'cold turkey', it's a very bad idea!! I do NOT recommend!
At our appointment at Duke on Tuesday, I was told I could stop pumping my breastmilk for Lawson. I took that literally and stopped; not a good idea! My breasts got very engorged and painful. I did know I needed to pump just a little to ease the pain, but not enough to 'stimulate' more milk production. So just before bed I pumped about an ounce from each breast. By the time Lawson woke up for his first night feeding, I was in so much pain, I could barely sleep! I ended up getting out of bed and coming downstairs to pump just to relieve the pain!! I've never been happier to pump in my life! Ahhhh, sweet relief! lol
At our appointment at Duke on Tuesday, I was told I could stop pumping my breastmilk for Lawson. I took that literally and stopped; not a good idea! My breasts got very engorged and painful. I did know I needed to pump just a little to ease the pain, but not enough to 'stimulate' more milk production. So just before bed I pumped about an ounce from each breast. By the time Lawson woke up for his first night feeding, I was in so much pain, I could barely sleep! I ended up getting out of bed and coming downstairs to pump just to relieve the pain!! I've never been happier to pump in my life! Ahhhh, sweet relief! lol
It's Friday night and I've had to pump a few times each day to ease the pain, but it's getting better. This morning, I returned the hospital grade Medela pump (shown above) I had been renting from Smart Momma in Raleigh. Mothers of NICU babies are encouraged to rent the hospital grade pump if they're pumping more than feeding. Luckily I do have my own Medela Pump In Style that I used with Lacey and have had to use it. So as it turns out, even stopping the pumping is a challenge! LOL The things we do for our children! ;)
I went through the same thing. I pumped exclusively for Katie for 3 months, as she was never thrilled with breastfeeding either after her NICU experience. So I started out cold turkey too and made it about 12 hours before I thought I would die! After that I decided that I would "wean" myself. Instead of pumping every 3-4hours, I pumped every 5. Then the next day I pumped every 6-7. It took me several extra days, but it was worth it!
ReplyDelete~Beth