How to Dry up Milk Supply

I went through a similar situation, had to stop breastfeeding after a week. The thing that worked for me was to buy a sports bra that was a size too small and wear it with my regular bra. It took a day or so but it helped. A warm shower helped also. Good luck, mama!

Hi--
Your baby should be able to have breast milk as long as you don't eat any dairy foods. It is impossible for a baby to be allergic to its mother's breast milk, but they can react to foods Mommy is eating. So if you want to continue to try giving her breast milk simply stop eating all dairy (including cheese, yoghurt, and anything with casein or whey in it).

However, if you do not choose to go this route, anything that dries up your nose will dry up your breast milk--so any anti-histamine. If you want to do it naturally take quercetin. That way you won't have any drowsy side effects.

Also, soy formula has a lot of phyto-estrogens in it (chemicals that mimic estrogen in the body). It could throw her hormones off (although it's a bigger concern for baby boys).

Good luck!
J.

WAIT! Can you back track? All you need to do is change your diet. All babies can have breastmilk. Find a local La Leche Leader or a lactation consultant. NO baby can't have breastmilk.

Both of my boys couldn't handle milk based products. I still breastfed, but I couldn't eat any milk based products. No milk, yogurt, cheese, etc. It was hard for me, but I got used to it. If you would rather still breastfeed, just cut those out of your diet and see if she'll take your milk. If you would rather just stop, I know cold medicines dry up your milk. Not that maybe you should take them if you don't have a cold, but I know how bad it hurts and maybe it's worth a try?. Best of luck!!

First, to answer your direct question, you want to drink parsley or sage tea. You can just buy the parsley or sage, chop it up, and put it in hot water. I found out the hard way that parsley dries up milk supply when my in-laws were visiting from Europe and made their famous big pot of vegetable soup which we ate all week. When I stopped eating their soup, my milk came back. So when I quit breast feeding several months later, I drank parsley to dry up the supply, plus sage for diversity.

Second, I'm a little concerned because I've heard soy can be bad for babies. If they have soy-formula, I suppose it's okay, but you might want to check with your pediatrician (perhaps you already have) to double check that this is okay in light of the concerns re infants and soy.

I agree that it sounds a little weird that your daughter won't drink breast milk. I don't judge anyone by their decision to breast feed or not breastfeed, and while I had a great lactation consultant, I know that some can place unrealistic expectations on new parents.

Breast milk is different than cows milk in terms of babies' ability to digest it, something to do with an enzyme in breast milk. Have you tried pumping and giving it to her in bottles?

.

Actually I noticed that every time I had a cold while I was breastfeeding and I took Sudafed, it really negatively impacted my milk supply. Maybe you could ask your doctor about trying some Sudafed to help dry up your milk. I'm so sorry your baby is unable to drink regular milk and has to go soy. It's pretty heartbreaking to encounter an obstacle like this when you really had your heart set on breastfeeding.

Best of luck to you and your little girl.

I'm sorry--I must add to the heap of advice regarding nursing. I'm not a nursing nazi--but if you can, please keep trying! Your milk is the best thing for your little girl. And if you are eating dairy, particularly pastuerized dairy, that can cause it. You stop doing whatever is making her milk not work for her, and you'll both be happier. Also, painkillers of the narcotic variety can easily cause this. If you had a C-section, plain old OTC ibuprofen will do the job nicely without the side-effects.

Soy is not good. Other countries have issued warnings against using soy baby formula. The big money companies here keep such things under wraps, but your own milk is best. Please try to work it out.

Is this your first baby? Doctor's are not always right, and YOU- are the momma.

Best wishes and blessings to you and your daughter.

Binding them with something that doesn't have give will give you the most comfort. Here are my mothers instructions. Cut a bed sheet in half length wise. Then fold it so that it is the necessary width. Lay down on your stomach with the sheet in place across your breast. Have someone stand or kneel on the bed and tie the sheet as tight as they can. My husband would actually put his knee in the middle of my back. It was painful to have done but would last all day and it made me feel so much better. Advil might work better then the Tylenol. Icing them might also help.

I wore a sports bra and used cabbage. It worked pretty well.

I had the same problem with my baby. Every time she breast fed she'd get a tummy ache and was extremely fussy for about an hour. And the cycle just kept repeating it's self every time she ate. We discovered it had to be the dairy in my milk. And I am a huge milk drinker and I felt that would have been way to difficult for me to give up dairy completely.
I tried alternating between the soy bottle and breastfeeding. But she was never completely comfortable unless she was on the soy. I have never ever heard that soy can be harmful to babies! I believe mother's milk is always best but sometimes it just doesn't work out. My daughter drank the soy formula her first year and then she was able to tolerate cow's milk after she turned one. And my daughter has been very healthy and happy on the soy formula and I'm sure your baby will be too.
It's up to you what you decide to do you are the mommy.
As far as drying up your supply, OMG I understand your pain! I tell people you haven't felt pain until you have engorgement! LOL I never tried the cabbage and I know that ace bandage can cause mastitis! I just wore a really tight bra and be very careful not to touch them! If you are no longer breast feeding at all it is safe to take ibprofen (sp) and that helps a lot more then Tylenol! They should start to feel better after about 2-4 days at the most.
GOOD LUCK and congrats on the new baby!

Try cabbage leaves. That's what the lactation people at my hospital use when there has been an infant death. Here's some information from the web:

Cabbage Leaves

It is not an old wives’ tale. Cabbage leaves really do relieve engorgement, possibly more effectively than icepacks or other treatments. Regular green cabbage such as you’ll find at the grocer contains sinigrin, magnesium, oxylate, mustard oil, rapine and sulphur heterosides. This natural mixture of compounds reduces tissue congestion by dilating the small blood vessels to improve blood flow to the area.

To use, crush the green cabbage leaves with a rolling pin to break the veins and to better accommodate the shape of your breast. You can snip out a hole for your nipple if that is more comfortable for you.

Place the cabbage leaves over your breasts, inside of your bra. Leave it in place until they wilt, usually 2-4 hours. Many mothers report relief about 8 hours after treating with cabbage leaves. You can stop using the cabbage as soon as the engorgement goes down.

IMPORTANT: Cabbage leaves are not recommended if you are allergic to cabbage or sulfa.

cold cabbage in the bra and ice....i wouldnt wrap

I know its been a long ime ago since I had my little one but I remember there being a pill the doctor gave me to help dry up the milk supply and the work thing you could do was shower -cold or hot,(a short bath is better than a shower)there is something about the water relaxing the milk and causing it to come down and filling you up. I did not breast my son either - I had a very difficult time with it (being large breated anyway) and like you I felt very guilty about it. FYI - today he is a healthy 22 year old 6' 5" healthy young man and suffered no REAL ill effect of not being breast fed. HAng in there. It'll take a week or 2 for your milk supply to dry up but it will.

I tried all kinds of stuff to make my milk dry up but nothing seemed to help. I really just had to wait it out. I feel for you, my breasts started hurting just reading your post :) Good luck, I hope you get some relief soon.

Cabbage leaves are okay, but you have to change them about every hour. Use Sage Tincture (Vitamin cottage or Whole Foods), Peppermint Tea, Sudafed. Use them ALL to dry up quicker.

My OB recommended the following (though it still takes a week or two). Bind your breasts firmly with the roll-up bandages- only take off to shower. And do NOT touch your breasts (same goes for DH not touching). If you do, this will stimulate the milk supply.

I sympathize...it's terribly painful.

I'm so sorry about your nursing issues. Have you contacted your local Le Leche League chapter? They often will have good information to help you. Otherwise. the cabbage leaves in the bra works very well. It's amazing how it works. Put them on cold, and when they are warm, change them out. You should only have to do it a couple of times. Best wishes to you!

I bought green cabbage and tore off big enough leaves to cover the area in my bra. It dried up within 2 days...completely. I also put bags of frozen veggies on my chest every couple of hours.

Please please please do not wrap your breasts in an ace bandage or bind them in any way! That is way outdated advice that could lead to mastitis or worse! And you do not want that! Please read this:

http://www.breastfeeding.com/helpme/helpme_asklc_ans119.html

You can hand express or borrow a pump and express just enough milk to comfort. By doing this you will not be stimulating your body to make more milk. It will take a couple of weeks for your supply to calm down. Just hand express or pump when you need to. But again, just enough to the level or comfort. Don't try to empty the breasts.

So sorry that baby is having problems.

When your breasts are full and sore, just put pressure on them to release some milk, just not too much. You'll feel better and your body will realize it doesn't need to produce much milk and it will reduce pretty quickly.

Also, if you don't want to use soy, as others have said, there is a formula called nutramagen (hopefully spelled correctly) which my son took b/c I couldn't breast feed due to allergies. It worked really well, but is expensive.

Our pediatrician gave us free samples every time we went in.

I skimmed the other answers and I am repeating a bit I know but-

Any anti-histamine will dry you up pretty quick- It's what they do. Ibuprofin will help far more than tylenol with the inflamation. Don't know why the cabbage works, but it does. Keep your breasts well supported and un-stimulated. Even the water from your shower can stimulate milk production.

And try to move away from the soy formula- there have been several studies that show that the estrogen in soy (what they use for hormone replacement therapy for menopause) can cause reproductive development issues in young girls- including an increased risk of ovarian cancer.
If your daughter is having issues with the lactose try similac sensitive; if it is cow's milk in general (as in a milk allergy) I know there are several options out there, but none that I have used personally.

Talk to your peditrician and discuss what the options are, If your pediatrician doesn't have time for such things- find a new one.

And finally: While I am a huge advocate of breastfeeding- it's not for everyone. Don't let anyone tell you you love your daughter any less because you give her a bottle instead.

L.,

Dear heavens, that is all your doc told you about? I see you've got 20 answers ahead of mine so I'll keep it short. Benedryl and sudafed. I suggest if you take benedryl, have someone help you with your baby for a few days. I dried up using that last time and I don't remember an entire week of my life... or my children's!! It unfortunately had to be done, and for you too, it has to be done. I may have slowed the process some by pumping when it got REALLY bad, with a hospital grade pump, but I figured I needed real relief a few times.

Good luck sweetheart. That is tough!!
V.

the cabbage works- keep it in the fridge, pull one leaf per breast and kind of break any of the hard "veins" in the cabbage to make it more comfortable put it next to your skin inside the ace bandage.

I second the sudafed. I have a friend who did it and swore it worked - but check with the pharmacist. I believe that they recently changed the active ingredient in sudafed so that it could be kept out in the aisles; you need cold medication with the OLD ingredient. Sorry I can't remember what it is. Good luck.

Tincture of Sage (available at Apothocary Tinctura) worked for me when nothing else did. I have a nearly full bottle that you can have for free if you would like it!
Christine