# After weaning...



## asherah (Nov 25, 2001)

I weaned my almost 3-year old ds in January... long story, but had to do with medicine, so please, no snide remarks about the weaning.

Now, my breasts feel very odd at times. I have had some pain up by the armpits.. and a feeling of almost having a plugged duct.. like something is blocked up in there. I have not been outright engorged.. but it just feels.... weird. And there are lumps that come and go that were not there before.

I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this.. and if it IS related to weaning, how long does it take before they settle down?

I am not really WORRIED, as the lumps come and go and change size and get tender and then stop being tender, so I don't think they are anything malignant.. plus it would be a strange coincidence to have this happen right as I weaned...

I know it takes a while for milk production to stop completely.. so perhaps they really ARE slightly clogged ducts?

It is a pain, but I don't intuitively feel ALARMED, and I usually do get an inner alarm signal if something is really wrong...

What do you mamas think?


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## stafl (Jul 1, 2002)

sounds like plugged ducts to me. I have a friend who still leaks milk three years after weaning her daughter, so I don't think you completely quit lactating for a very very long time, if ever. I think I would try taking really hot showers and seeing if you can hand express anything, or at least massage the lumps under the hot water.


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## asherah (Nov 25, 2001)

Yeah, that's what I think too.
I do still feel my letdown sensation at times still.. and the breast discomfort comes and goes.

Just wanted to make sure this was normal and not something I needed to be worried about.


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## twilightmoon17 (Feb 17, 2005)

I have no advice on that, because my son still nurses. I just want to say kudos to you for making it to almost three! I don't see how anyone could make snide remarks, thats quite the accomplishment


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## asherah (Nov 25, 2001)

Thanks, I appreciate that.

I have been hesitant to write about my experience weaning here.. because believe it or not.. there ARE many people here who would criticize me for it.

I had planned to do child led weaning, though I was starting to get very uncomfortable dealing with societal/mil pressure... and very fearful of someone calling cps.. so it was starting to get very hard for me, even though I was committed to clw.

But fate intervened... my whole family got very ill, but with different manifestations of the illness.. and ds and I were put on different medicines.
The doctor felt the combination of what he was taking and what I was taking would be unsafe.. and after researching, I agreed.

Had he been younger, I might have forgone taking my medicine in order to keep nursing. But I was miserably sick.. and he is almost 3...
I explained to him that the medicine was making mommy's milky bad... and that we had to stop nursing now.

He was fine with it. Totally accepted it, and has only mentioned milky a couple of times. And even when he does.. he said "Mommy makes milky for babies... I am not a baby anymore.. I drank all the milky."

I, on the other hand, was very sad. I wanted to clw.. and barring that, had anticipated some kind of weaning party, after gradually cutting back.

Didn't happen, and that makes me sad, though he has no problem with it.

I suppose I could start again, given the fact that I still feel letdown and apparently have clogged ducts.. but it doesn't feel right to do that, given that he has accepted the end of nursing and moved on.

So, here we are.

I can't believe I even posted this, though it kind of feels good to do so.
I hope those inclined to make unkind remarks about weaning of any kind will refrain.


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## Black Orchid (Mar 28, 2005)

Hi-

I just wanted to add that it is not always harmless to leak milk, years after weaning... so if the pain and/or leaking continues past a month or two, I would contact a HC provider. This can be caused by a hormone inbalance, where your body produces too much prolactin and that can interfere with your menstral cycles and ability to concieve. It can also be indication that there is glandular interference of some kind. Or indicate thyroid issues.

The reason I know this, is that several years ago my father (yes, I said my DAD!) was having "leaking" issues and pain and got it checked out. Whatwe found was that he has several benign growths near one of his glands (can't remember which one, but it is his chest, right where you describe that pain). He has to have an MRI every year to make sure they have not grown or changed from benign. He was told that this more commonly occurs in women, but that sometimes will happen to men, as he learned. I don't mean to scare you at all, just wanted to give you another perspective on the normalcy of leaking milk.

As for weaning at 3 years! WOW, I am in AWE! I would hope that no one would give you a hard time about that since most people don't make it 6 months. Hope you are feeling healthier. I think you could even do a weaning party... it certainly doesn't sound like the weaning was completely mother-led either.







The hormones of weaning are pretty powerful, at any rate, you should make sure you pay special attention to yourself and take it easy.


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## asherah (Nov 25, 2001)

Thanks.. I am not actually leaking.. just still feeling the letdown sensation every now and then.

I only weaned in min-January, so I am not going to worry about it yet... especially cause I have very lumpy, cysty breasts anyway.. and they really don't feel any different.

I get my annual in June.. and if I am still having issues at that point, I will ask my OBGYN.

Thanks for the info and the kind words.


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## Fiercemama (May 30, 2003)

A friend of mine and her mother both had "ropey" breasts. The mother found that this stopped once she had breastfed - she had 2 kids. The friend has had one child, who nursed to a year (she's pg with her second). After her child weaned, she had some inflammation during her AF for another 3 years. She had tenderness with her AF, and was able to express a bit of milk in the shower.

Eventually our shared naturopath gave her a treatment that helped clear up the milk. She assumes that the tenderness was due to plugged ducts during AF only. She seems to have had a pretty remarkable experience - I've never heard of anyone else ever having this kind of situation, nor have the LLL leaders I've mentioned it to.

I would say that what you're experiencing at only 2 months after weaning is probably normal. It can take quite some time for the milk production to totally stop, and of course varies from mother to mother.

I'm sorry that you felt that you might be judged here for your weaning experience. It sounds to me like you made an informed decision about what was best for your family at the time. It also sounds like your child was ready for the change. Perhaps knowing that somewhere inside yourself was part of your decision to move forward with the treatment. What a difficult choice to make. It can be hard when weaning happens before we as mothers are really ready for it.


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## HerthElde (Sep 18, 2003)

There will always be a chance of leaking or mastitis or whatever. My mom just had mastitis about a month ago, and she hasn't nursed a baby in 22 years (I offered dd could nurse to clear it up, but she's a bit of a germophobe, so opted for the antibiotic treatment from hell instead - her stupid doc didn't think the mastitis had anything to do with the fact dd and I were staying with her for a week







)! I also know someone who had mastitis who had never even been pregnant. It's all within the realm of totally normal, but we're pretty divorced from our bodies in our society, so we view things like this as odd even though women have been unconsciously lactating or relactating to feed other's babies since the dawn of time.
Don't ignore it - if it starts feeling painful, it doesn't hurt to at least put a cabbage leaf in your bra.


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## asherah (Nov 25, 2001)

Thanks.
I figured this is what was going on...
hot water is helping... but yeah, cabbage leaves might be called for, too.


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## DaryLLL (Aug 12, 2002)

Hey Asherah.

Sorry you had to wean beofre you were really ready. I am sure you did your research as I know who commited you are to bfing and are a journalist with mad research skillz besides.

Now, as for breast tenderness, yes, of course, you are still lactating a little. Esp if your ds was bfing several times a day before weaning-- was he?

Did you pump after weaning for a few weeks to let your supply desrease gradually?

PM to talk more freely if you like.







Daryl


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## ian'smommaya (Jun 7, 2004)

((((hugs))))

no advice just hugs

maya- the huggy one


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## Calm (Sep 17, 2004)

Hey Asherah









I had some lump troubles, nothing big though. But I did have leaking and let down for a few months. I wish I had some advice. Dar's the one! And I would be completely proud for bf to three, that is what women aspire to! Good job, and then some.


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## asherah (Nov 25, 2001)

Thanks Calmaste...

Oh, Darylll.. now see, there I probably messed up.
He was nursing about twice a day.. morning and night..
and I pretty much did go cold turkey. I figured I'd pump if I actually got ENGORGED, but I never did... so I didn't pump.

This might be the root of my current problem, I guess.
The whole thing was so traumatic, with all of us sooo sick.. that I didn't research as much as I should have.








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## buwanlila (May 9, 2006)

hi everyone! I've read about your concerns and I think I've experienced those physical discomforts also after weaning my two-year old baby...but I guess the emotional and psychological discomfort is worse than the former. my decision to wean my baby is not really because of health risks but because I just wanted to wean her...months before I did this my breasts were already wounded fr my baby's teeth and i had to suffer the pain because I wanted to continue breastfeeding. But I couldn't sustain it.it just hurts and all the self pity settled in...it was a difficult decision. i had to talk to my partner over and over again and he told me it is I who should decide because it is my body and I have a direct relationship with my baby...he promised to support me all the way whatever my decision was...now, I don't know if I'm just justifying my decisions to free me of this guilt...I left my baby to my husband for a month and looked for a summer job..my loving husband promised to compensate for this difficult process of weaning...They go on dates every single day and my baby girl just loved it...they go swimming, go picnic on a nearby hill, take small trips in the nearby town and my partner said the baby was happy... when we were together, the only feeding my baby couldn't give up was the bedtime feeding, everything else was a breeze...so, a few days after I left, my partner reported the baby would wake up at 3 am consistently for three days to ask for "dede" (Filipino word for breasts) and my partner would carry her for an hour until she goes back to sleep (she never liked the bottle)...

It doesn't really matter if you'll read this or not, I just want this out...it still pains me badly...I felt I lost her because of my decision...even if my partner now tells me my baby sleeps thru the night already...

I congratulate the moms here who made it until the baby is really ready for weaning...I just wished I did the same...

Tanya


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