My first baby “weaned” herself – she just lost interest.  But, with my second child it’s been different.  Weaning is a touchy subject.  How long should you nurse?  Should you wean at all?  It’s a highly personal decision that others should stay out of, in my opinion. 

I decided last week to wean my little boy, who’s now 14 months old.  He has been biting when nursing and he doesn’t show any signs of losing interest.  I’m ready to stop nursing.  Before we weaned Liam was nursing twice a day: once before bed and once at about 6 am in the morning.  I was hoping that a weaned baby might mean more sleep for everyone.

Day 1: It’s bedtime and time for Liam’s feeding.  Instead of nursing him, I let Daddy do the entire bedtime routine.  Liam went to sleep without a fuss and slept a little better than normal, waking at 7 am for a solid food breakfast.  I leaked all night and woke up a bit engorged.  As the day goes on, I leak like crazy and things get pretty uncomfortable.

Day 2: This is the WORST day!  I’m completely swollen and still leaking like a drippy faucet.  Where are my nursing pads?  (Stock up on nursing pads before weaning!)  I resort to using thin cotton socks.  It’s sad, but true.  My breasts look like they are filled with lumpy rocks.  They feal like it too.  I am in constant pain even sitting still or lying down.  Is this what it feels like post-partum if you don’t nurse?  I wonder if my boobs might fall off…  

Day 3: I realize I should get cabbage leaves or something to help with the pain, but I’m too lazy and busy!  At least I have real nursing pads now.  The leaking is slowing down, but the engorgement is still serious business.  Fortunately, I am no longer in constant pain.  Holding Liam or allowing anything to touch my chest is very painful. 

Day 4: We are over the worst!  Although my breasts are still very swollen, I believe that the swelling is starting to very, very gradually subside.  I am tempted to pump, but I know that will only stimulate more milk production.  I realize by the end of the day that I am no longer leaking. 

Day 5: Wait a minute, how long is this going to take?  Liam adjusted to weaning surprisingly well.  He “asked” to nurse a couple of times on day 2 and 3, but was pretty easily distracted by games or other food.  He’s sleeping until 7 or 7:30 each morning, with only a few nighttime wakings requiring little comforting (which is Dad’s job – yah!!!) to go back to sleep.  My boobs, on the other hand, seem unaware that we really don’t need that milk anymore.  I’m still lumpy and engorged.

Day 6: Some random leaks spring here and there.  Very odd.  However, things are definitely settling down and slowly going back to normal.  I have wonderful news: Liam slept through the night last night from 7 pm to 7:30 am with no need whatsoever for parent interaction.  Woohoo!!!! 

I have been told that it can take up to two weeks for your breasts to go back to normal after weaning.  I didn’t experience this at all with my first baby, because the process was so gradual.  It’s nice to have my body back to myself, and even nicer that someone else can put Liam to sleep at night without my help.  Now that Liam’s not breastfeeding, I’m making an extra effort to offer him lots of whole milk and cuddles.  He’s growing up! 

Can I get a little personal here?  I realized last night that I have had a milk blister!  I’m still nursing my youngest, who is almost one, and we’ve been problem-free this entire time.  In the last few weeks I noticed a little white dot on my nipple and thought, “Hmm, that’s strange.  Oh well.”  Then, it didn’t disappear.  Then, I started noticing a firmness in part of that breast even after nursing, like it wasn’t draining all the way.  Then, my milk supply on that breast drastically diminished. 

Was I concerned?  No!  I really didn’t put all the symptoms together.  Or, was I just in denial?  I mean, this seems pretty obvious now that I type it out!  I guess I thought that Liam was starting to wean, which could explain the milk supply, and that the white spot was just some kind of toughening up.

Well, the lightbulb went on last night.  You know how you tend to think crystal clear right before going to bed?  It’s like your mind finally relaxes and random, unprovoked solutions submit themselves just when you thought you were going to get some sleep. 

The littlest bit of research confirmed that I had a classic milk blister.  Not one caused by thrush, thank goodness! (That’s yeast infection in baby’s mouth and mama’s breat – I know, yuck!)   Just a milk duct plugged at the nipple by a miniscule layer of skin that grew in the wrong place.  The white spot is the milk stuck under the skin.  The affected breast’s inability to drain fully and consequent milk supply problems are an obvious result.

Turns out, a milk blister can be surprisingly easy to treat.  I gently scratched off the miniscule layer of skin.  This was the worst part, somewhat like getting a sliver removed.  Next I went to bed.  In the morning, I had my husband grab a warm compress when Liam woke up for his morning milk.  While Liam nursed on the unaffected breast, I applied the warm compress to the other.  The idea is that the warmth helps any thick milk or blockages to soften and flow out of the breast.  (By the way, it’s perfectly safe to feed baby when you have these problems.  Milk cannot “go bad” inside the breast).  After Liam finished his meal I was happy to discover the problem completely solved.  No white spot.  No blockages.  Nothing!

So, let this be a leason to all you breastfeeding mamas not to ignore a suspicious little white spot.  Removing the milk blister wasn’t so bad, but now I do have to deal with resultant milk supply problems.  And now… I’m off to pump!