If you are a new mother, breast-feeding your baby might be one of the most challenging parts of your new role. Although there are many benefits for you and your baby, you may choose not to breast-feed. Whether this is by choice, because of the baby's age or for a medical reason, there are ways to make the process of stopping easier and less painful.
Decrease Number of Sessions
According to the Mayo Clinic, breast-feeding is based on supply and demand. Whether your baby is getting your breast milk from a bottle or from your breast, the more frequent the feedings or pumping sessions, the more milk you will produce. Because of this, when you are attempting to stop breast-feeding, slowly decreasing feeding sessions will tell your body that you shouldn't produce as much milk, and your milk supply will slowly decrease.
Topical Treatments
If you decide to quit breast-feeding, and your body is used to producing milk, you may experience engorged breasts. This can be very uncomfortable. To ease this pain, put cold cabbage leaves on your breasts about every two hours. They can be put inside your bra for convenience. According to parenting.ivillage.com, you should continue this treatment as needed. Ice packs also will help reduce the swelling of your breasts.
Oral Treatments
Medications, such as ibuprofen, can be taken to ease the pain of engorged breasts and may also help dry up your milk supply. Make sure to get the okay from your doctor before taking any medicines while breast-feeding, and only take the amount of medication that your doctor recommends. There are also some natural beverages you can drink to decrease milk supply. According to justmommies.com, drinking sage tea can help inhibit your milk production.
Other Foods
Once you introduce other foods into your baby's diet, he will want to breast-feed less often. When your baby is about six months, you will probably start slowly introducing solid foods into his diet, which will help decrease your milk supply. If your baby is still under one year old, supplementing with formula is one way to provide nutrition to your baby without breast-feeding.
Wear Comfortable Clothes
According to parenting.ivillage.com, binding your breasts to decrease your milk supply is uncomfortable and could lead to a plugged duct or a breast infection. Wear a comfortable and supportive bra, especially if your breasts are engorged. When your breasts are engorged, they may start leaking milk. To prevent the milk from soaking through your bra and shirt, wear breast pads between your bra and breasts.
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