How to stop leaking breast milk? - Pregnancy and Par...

Pregnancy and Parenting Support

58,449 members16,913 posts

How to stop leaking breast milk?

8 Replies

I've been breastfeeding my LO she's now six weeks and am trying to stop as it doesn't fill her up I still have top it up with formular.i haven't breast fed today but now am just leaking milk,now am in the middle of expressing .any tips on how to stop the leak?

8 Replies

Stop expressing and just stop altogether u breast milk will gradually dry up x

in reply to

Ok thanks x

2princes1princess profile image
2princes1princess

Yea its only way hun you will have a few days where your very engorged and breasts will be sore and tender xx can I ask how you got your bubs to take a bottle? My baba not keen lol xx

in reply to 2princes1princess

Started him on a bottle as well after when he was a week old because he was constantly feeding but had no problem at all.x

in reply to

Meant she!!I use dr browns bottles v easy but she just got on with it she's got a very good appetite.x

Yeah you just have to stop and wait it out! I ended up putting 3 breast pads in my bra and had to change 5 times a day! It will eventually stop, take paracetamol and ibuprofen if too painful and lay a cool flannel on them, some swear by cabbage leaves in the bra!! 2princesses1prince.. what bottle are you using!? I tried tommee tippee and Hugo refused point blank to take it... got avent and he took to it instantly!! Xx

2princes1princess profile image
2princes1princess

I've tried mam, tommee tippee and nuk lol I love feeding him but I just not filling him up anymore :-( I had no trouble with baby number 2 but 1 and 3 are lil monkeys xx

lunarkim profile image
lunarkim

Can I be nosey and ask why you think it's not filling her up? Around 6 weeks babies have a general growth spurt, so if she seems to be feeding more, or is fussing it could be that. If she is still having plenty of wet nappies and is still gaining weight then she is getting plenty. Your body will produce milk on a " supply and demand" basis...if your baby feeds more then your body will produce more, it usually takes a day or two for your supply to increase up a bit in response and then baby settles down again. The same thing works in reverse, if you are replacing a feed with formula then that's one less feed your body will think it doesn't need and so your supply will drop, and so begins a cycle where you have to replace more and your supply drops more.

I had my Daughter 8 years ago and fed her exclusively for 6 months before switching to formula as I was working full time and trying to keep up with pumping at work was getting harder. I now have a 6 month old boy, born 4 weeks early weighing 4lb 13oz. We have struggled with bf-ing this time due to various things: his small size meant he tired easily, so he was feeding every 30 mins-1 hour for many weeks. He also had a tongue-tie, (diagnosed by me, snipped at 14 weeks) which meant his latch was very shallow, again meaning he tired more easily. Up until about 4 weeks ago he still fed every 1-2 hours, before and after a nap, but is sleeping for 6 hours straight at night. We have tried bottles on numerous occasions but he point blank refuses to even try formula or breastmilk :( We have started him on first foods now, but he still nurses every 2-3 hours... oh and he's a healthy 18lb-er !

At the end of the day whatever you decide to do is right for you, so please don't think I'm judging or anything :) But if you are still enjoying breastfeeding, then it would be a shame for you to stop without getting some support to help you out first. There maybe a local bf-ing group nearby, Breastmates or something, which can explore all your options with you.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do Mummy, you're doing a great job !!! :)

x

You may also like...

how to stop my breasts getting engorged

dehydrated and she had to be bottle formula fed. She now won’t spend much if any time on the breast...

When will I produce Milk?

produce a small amount of milk but it wasn't substantial enough to feed my son. I tried Boo.B...

Breast feeding at night

what to do now. She won’t settle, and the only way of getting her settled is to feed her. Any...

Moving to cows milk

lovelies has anyone got any tips please on how to move my 12 month old on to cows milk from...

When to introduce a bottle of expressed milk

Any advice on when to introduce a bottle of expressed milk? Keen my son will use both and I’ve heard