How to Painlessly Stop Breastfeeding

I dreaded the thought of stopping breastfeeding. I was worried that quitting cold turkey would be a painful process as my body learned to shut down the factory. So I tried my own 'ramping down' method. The process took a couple of months, but to not have to suffer one minute of engorgement made it totally worth the time.

To keep the milk going during the work day I'd pump every 3 hours. Then when Brooklyn was about 8 months old, I started spacing out the time to every 4 hours. I did this for about a month. Then 5 hours. And so on. Eventually, I pumped only twice a day - before bed and in the morning before work.

I did this for a week or two. Then I took a risk and pumped only 1 time a day to see what would happen. No engorgement. No pain. Yay! After a week or two of this, I only pumped once every couple of days. And then one day I just didn't pump ever again.

So when Brooklyn was about 11 1/2 months old, the factory closed for good. Honestly, I was happy to get my freedom back. I didn't mind the sacrifice at the time but now I'm thrilled to not be a slave to the breastpump.

I feel it is important to mention this part. Babies aren't supposed to have whole cow milk until they are 1 year old. My process eliminated my milk two weeks shy of her 1st birthday. So we used formula to fill the void. And to make sure she would accept formula, we gave her a bottle of it while I was still able to make my own milk. I didn't want to quit breastfeeding to find out that she wouldn't tolerate formula and then all of us be stuck without any options. Granted, she was eating solid foods by this time, but having a bottle of milk before bed time and to hold her over between meals was super convenient.

So there you go. Happy weaning!