How to get rid of milk when you've switched to bottles

[hockeymum]

Following on from my bottle feeding thread I was wanting advice about boobs!

I fed ds from one side for 10 mins before his 2am feed and from the other side for 5 mins before his 6am feed and nothing since so boobs a bit sore!

What is the best way to get rid of excess milk? Should I just keep doing 5, then 4, then 3, etc mins before each formula feed to dry it up slowly? I'm happy to do that if necessary. How long does it take? Any other ideas? He is 10 days old btw. Thanks for your help again!

[peaches27]

This is going to be pounced on I expect because its old fashioned advice, but it worked for me. Tighten up your bra, dont fiddle with your breasts to avoid stimulation, and take some epsom salts. Stay near the loo. You can get epsom salts in tablet form too, they simply cause a rapid loss of fluid from the body.

Or there is the slow way ...

[myermay]

Peaches my mum and nan told me to do what you said, i didn't know any differnet. I was in agony, crying type agony, my boobs felt like they'd explode for 2 days! do it gradually if poss

[bramblina]

Can I ask why you're switching if the feeding is going well?

[hockeymum]

brambalina - i fed dd for 14 months and it did get a bit easier as time went on so i expected to bf ds too, but:-
he lost 20% of his birth weight as my milk didn't come in for 8 days after my caesarian, he spent 20 hours a day feeding and rest crying as he wasn't getting enough colustrum to fill himself up. I was told to supplement him and as soon as i started topping him up he turned into a happy contented little man. I cant express bm as i have truly ginormous norks and despite trying several different expressers, I got blocked ducts and mastitus each time (with dd).

Also due to norkage ?I can only feed in the rugby ball position which means it's a nightmare to feed when out without my huge selection of pillows. Last time that was ok, it was winter and it was just me and dd so we spent all day on the sofa. This time I have a wonderful active dd, aged 3 and after a truly horrendous pregnancy where I've not felt well enough to go anywhere with dd I finally feel a bit more human and want to make the most of the summer with my 2 little ones (dd's last summer before school). I cant bf subtly in the park or at the zoo and i dont want to spend 1 hour in every 2 or 3 at home on the sofa feeding. Plus ds is so content and alert and happy now his tummy is full so I think ffeeding really is the way to go for both of us.

Cor long story isnt it? scuse the typing, ds having a good sleep in my arms.

[bramblina]

Wow! LOL norkines?! That's the situation I kind of dread. My ds is 9m and feeding aloing with everything (except teeth, today) has been a dream but I'm aware that this cannot be the case next time, that just happened to a friend and she's beating herself up about it, I know I would too but as you have found out no point in persevering with an unhappy child.
Good luck with your norks!
But on a serious note, hope it does go well for you. At least he got a bit of the goodness.